12/29/2024 – Beneath its deceptively simple facade of a game, chess conceals a rich tapestry of human ingenuity and thought. It is, as Anatoly Karpov succinctly remarked, art, science, and sport all rolled into one. Yet, while the competitive aspect of chess basks in the limelight with its high-stakes, action-packed tournaments and matches, the subtle but no less fascinating endeavour of chess composition, where artistry shines the brightest, languishes in relative obscurity. As a step towards redressing this imbalance, ChessBase India and the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC) present My First Endgame Study, a beginner-friendly study composing contest designed for chess enthusiasts eager to explore the creative world of chess composition, specifically studies. Details follow.

12/28/2024 – Day 2 of the World Rapid Chess Championships in New York delivered high drama. Magnus Carlsen's withdrawal following a dress code dispute dominated headlines, leaving the open section without its defending champion. Meanwhile, Alireza Firouzja, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Volodar Murzin emerged as co-leaders in the open. In the women's section, Ju Wenjun, Humpy Koneru and Harika Dronavalli now share the lead after impressive performances. With one day remaining, the race for the prestigious world titles heats up. | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

12/28/2024 – Simple pawn endings are vital, and can win you a World Championship. Ask Gukesh. So can you understand and play them proficiently? Do you recognize winning chances in your calculations? In the second part of our Christmas pawn endgame puzzle suite, we bring you new and entertaining positions that will test your skills. And hopefully leave you a better, more effective player.

12/28/2024 – From the bad position shown in the diagram, Black started to cleverly fish in muddy waters until White finally blundered. Chess trickery at its best - have fun!

12/27/2024 – The World Rapid and Blitz Championships began in New York on 26 December. Sagar Shah is reporting for ChessBase India, while Anish Giri is participating. They are good friends and, before the start of the tournament, Sagar invited the Dutch top player to try his luck in a little quiz about the most famous chess player in New York: Bobby Fischer! How well do you know Fischer's games? How well does Giri know Fischer's games?

12/27/2024 – Would you know that Black (to play) in this position can win? Would you recognize that, instantly, in your calculations? And would you be able to play it to victory? That could win you a World Championship! Today we want to check your pawn ending skills, with positions to solve and techniques to learn. It is an entertaining and instructive pastime in the Christmas week.

12/23/2024 – The greatest chess player of this era, Magnus Carlsen, has been announced as the Global Ambassador of chess at the Esports World Cup. The world's top online chess players will compete in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for a US$ 1.5 million prize pool. The event will take place from 31 July to 3 August 2025. The time control will be 10 minutes for the game, with no increments. Twelve players hoping to compete at the EWC will qualify through the Champions Chess Tour, which will host two online tour events in February and May. A final Last Chance Qualifier will take place in Riyadh to select the final four competitors. That competition will be open to amateur and professional players alike.

12/22/2024 – The chess tournament scene has exploded in recent years. And in addition to many exciting attacking games, there are also many amazing and instructive endgames. Karsten Müller is one of the world's greatest endgame experts. The sensitive radar of the grandmaster from Hamburg hardly misses an instructive endgame that has been played on this planet. At the end of the year, Müller shared with us the best, most interesting and most instructive endgames of the year.

12/22/2024 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In episode 209 of his "Understanding before Moving" show Herman looks back to the World Championship match between Ding Liren and Gukesh D in Singapore. | Photo: Pascal Simon

12/22/2024 – World Chess Championship 2024: All games with analyses by Giri, Howell, Shankland, So and others - ‘World Championship Special’: Dorian Rogozenco sheds light on the decisive moments of the match in his video analysis - ‘All in One’: A wing gambit against Sicilian and French! - ‘Show your inner Gukesh!’: Replay the victory of the new world champion against Fedoseev from the 2024 Chess Olympiad move by move with Robert Ris!- ‘Olympic Combinations’: Oliver Reeh's tactics column with 40 games and four interactive videos - ‘Black's Leverage on the Kingside’: In the French Steinitz Variation Christian Braun plays 7...h6!? and 8...g5 and much more.

12/22/2024 – Magnus Carlsen has once again proven his supremacy in the world of chess, claiming his fourth consecutive Champions Chess Tour title with a commanding 4-1 victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final. Dominating the series since its inception, Carlsen's brilliance shone through in critical moments. With the World Rapid and Blitz Championships just around the corner, the Norwegian superstar shows no signs of slowing down as he continues to redefine excellence in the game. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

12/22/2024 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris looks at a game in which Nodirbek Abdusattorov lost against a much lower-rated player, who was bold enough to try the Benoni against his famous opponent. Initially, Abdusattorov was better, but then fell victim to a counterattack by Iranian FM Reza Mahdavi. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.