11/5/2025 – GM Dorian Rogozenco demonstrates how to filter and analyse games by rating, year, and tournament to see which openings are currently popular and successful - without needing multiple databases. Rogozenco shows practical shortcuts and explains how to use live updates and tournament selections to instantly study what top grandmasters are playing right now. The episode concludes with insights on how to dig deeper into why certain lines become fashionable, often sparked by world-class players like Magnus Carlsen, experimenting with new ideas.

11/5/2025 – The World Cup entered a new phase on Tuesday in Goa, as chess heavyweights joined the field and the competition intensified. With the arrival of the top 50 seeds, 64 games were played in round two's first day, producing 21 decisive results. Many top players began cautiously, but some struck quickly — among them Wei Yi and Andrey Esipenko, who each scored 26-move wins with sharp attacking play to make confident starts to their campaigns. | Photo: Michal Walusza

11/4/2025 – Naroditsky's tragic passing, details still unclear, though with serious allegations levelled at a now-named former top player, invites us to look beyond the parish pump of chess. FIDE itself states in connection with the case: ‘Human life and dignity are fundamental values shared by all of us. While we hold deep respect and love for the game of chess that unites our community, these values must always come first." A philosopher comments.

11/4/2025 – Ljubomir Ljubojevic turned 75 on Sunday, 2 November. At the height of his career, he was one of the world's top players, ranking third behind Karpov and Kasparov in the 1980s. Thanks to his tactical attacking style, he was able to defeat almost any opponent. He retired from tournament chess in 2010. | Photo: Dagobert Kohlmeyer

11/4/2025 – The knight blocks the king: In an endgame it is often very important, if the attacking king can invade: White to move and win!

11/4/2025 – After a long break from competitive play, GM Jon Speelman returned to the board with three intense games in quick succession - each offering instructive lessons and a few painful oversights. In his latest column, he revisits the most critical moments from these battles, including a London League clash against Jonathan Parker and two 4NCL encounters, inviting readers to test their tactical vision and find the winning ideas that eluded him over the board. | Photo: John Saunders / 4NCL (2014)

11/4/2025 – A tense day of tiebreak battles brought the opening round of the FIDE World Cup to a close on Monday in Goa. Rapid and blitz games decided the fate of 20 hard-fought encounters, as most favourites advanced but a few unexpected heroes emerged. Among them were India's Aronyak Ghosh, Argentina's 12-year-old prodigy Faustino Oro and Kazakhstan's Alisher Suleymenov, each earning a remarkable victory to move into round two. | Photo: Michal Walusza

11/3/2025 – At the start of the 28th Open International Bavarian Chess Championships (OIBM) on the picturesque shores of Lake Tegernsee, there was palpable tension on the first day of the tournament, both around the chessboards and during the breaks when the more than 500 participants from over 30 countries gathered together. As soon as the first move was made, it was clear that this was a tournament where a passion for chess met international standards. It deserved special attention not only because of its size, but also because of the quality of the competitors. The historic Gut Kaltenbrunn estate provided the perfect setting for a tournament that skilfully combined leisure and competition. | Photos: Organiser / Stev Bonhage, Sandra Schmidt, Sebastian Siebrecht

11/3/2025 – FIDE Grand Swiss 2025: analyses by Giri, Bluebaum, Vaishali, Abdusattorov, Mishra, Vidit and many more – "The double blockade": Mihail Marin highlights scenarios in which it is advantageous to block passed pawns with a knight and bishop – Action in the Nimzo-Indian: Balázs Csonka examines 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.e4 d6 6.e5!? – "The key defender": In his ‘Practical Tips for Tournament Players’, Jan Markos shows how to identify and eliminate your opponent's most important piece – All in One: Romain Edouard himself was amazed at how well 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 e5!? works, and much more.

11/3/2025 – Bringing together veteran masters from across the globe, the World Senior Championships concluded in Gallipoli, Italy, after eleven rounds of classical play. The event attracted a record 467 participants from 67 countries. Victor Mikhalevski, Alexander Reprintsev, Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant and Galina Strutinskaia claimed the world titles, rounding off a memorable edition rich in experience and international spirit. | Photos: FIDE

11/3/2025 – The European Club Cup is always an interesting event, featuring all levels running from strong amateurs to absolute elite players. Both Germany's Vincent Keymer and Dutch Anish Giri used the opportunity to further rise in the world rankings, currently being 4th and 5th respectively. Giri started playing more aggressively recently, playing great Najdorf games against 1.e4. In our Game of the Week against Bobby Cheng he showed how you can attack with Black against the Catalan. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

11/3/2025 – The opening round of the 2025 FIDE World Cup neared its conclusion on Sunday, with most matches already producing a winner after the second classical game. Out of 78 encounters, 58 were decided without the need for tiebreaks, while 20 remain level and will continue on Monday. A few players managed to level their matches after early setbacks, and China's IM Wang Shixu (pictured) delivered the day's biggest surprise by eliminating Leon Luke Mendonca. | Photo: Michal Walusza