5/8/2026 – In the diagram position Black has just attacked the white queen with 40...Rd8, completely unimpressed by the strike 41.Rxg6+. A game with fire - who do you think will end up burning their fingers?

5/8/2026 – Bent Larsen was the strongest chess player in Danish history and, for many years, the leading Western challenger behind Bobby Fischer, winning the Danish Championship six times and achieving major international successes. This ChessBase training course explores his brilliant attacking style, creative positional ideas, and opening innovations such as 1.b3 and his contributions to the Accelerated Dragon, while also examining his middlegame, endgame, and tactical mastery. Renowned experts including Peter Heine Nielsen, Dorian Rogozenco, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller, and Oliver Reeh provide deep analysis, personal stories, and insights into Larsen’s unique chess legacy.

5/7/2026 – Hans Niemann won the rapid section of the Super Rapid & Blitz tournament in Warsaw, scoring 13/18 as the only unbeaten player across the nine rounds. The 22-year-old Californian enters the 18 blitz rounds with a one-point lead over Wesley So and a two-point lead over defending champion Vladimir Fedoseev, while Fabiano Caruana, Gukesh Dommaraju and Jan-Krzysztof Duda share fourth place on 9/18. | Pictured: Hans Niemann and commentator Cristian Chirila | Photo: Lennart Ootes

5/7/2026 – Since 2012, chess has played a prominent role at Webster University in Saint Louis, as part of a chess scholarship programme. Now, despite great sportive success, the university has abruptly ended the programme and its collaboration with Susan Polgar's SPICE institute. | Photos: Webster University / SPICE

5/7/2026 – The TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament is taking place on 1–7 May in Malmö, Sweden. World number one Magnus Carlsen heads the field, as he faces ambitious opposition that includes Tata Steel Masters winner Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi and rising star Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, who recently became the youngest player to ever cross the 2700 rating mark. The event is an eight-player single round-robin. Follow the games live starting at 15.00 CEST (9.00 ET, 18.30 IST) | Photo: Peter Doggers / Official website

5/7/2026 – The TePe Sigeman tournament is having an amazing line-up. Erigaisi is impressively leading with 4.5 out of 6, ahead of 14-year-old Erdogmus and Carlsen, who are historically meeting in the final round. Abdusattorov is another heavy weight participant and it is cool to see 16-year-old Woodward in action. Zhu leaves a strong impression being the only female in the field and only local hero Grandelius has a tough tournament. Last but not least Van Foreest managed to beat the GOAT for the first time in his career, which is our GOTW. Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

5/7/2026 – Arjun Erigaisi took the sole lead at the TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament after beating Zhu Jiner with black in round six. Magnus Carlsen also won with black, defeating Andy Woodward, and is now half a point behind the leader alongside Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, who drew with Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Erigaisi will face Woodward in the final round, while Carlsen meets Erdogmus in a key encounter. | Photo: Peter Doggers / Official website

5/7/2026 – Wesley So (pictured) and Hans Niemann are tied for first place after day two of the Super Rapid & Blitz tournament in Warsaw, reaching 9/12 with six rapid rounds completed. Defending champion Vladimir Fedoseev stands one point behind, while Gukesh Dommaraju stands on fifty percent and, importantly, defeated Javokhir Sindarov with black in their first encounter since Sindarov gained the right to challenge the Indian star in a match for the world title. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

5/6/2026 – For the 59th consecutive year, Biel/Bienne will host its prestigious International Chess Festival. From 11 to 24 July 2026, over the course of two weeks, more than 500 participants — ranging from ambitious amateurs to the world’s elite — will showcase their creativity, tactical finesse and strategic depth across a variety of formats. Below is an overview of the twelve tournaments, offering the chance to play alongside living chess legends such as Levon Aronian and Alexandra Kosteniuk, as well as rising star Lu Miaoyi (pictured). Matthias Blübaum and Candidates Tournament winner Vaishali Rameshbabu will also play. | Photos: Biel Chess Festival

5/6/2026 – Discover the secrets of the Hippopotamus Defense with Andrew Martin, a unique and flexible opening that thrives on patience, timing, and psychological pressure. This course shows why many aggressive players fail against the Hippo, often attacking too early and falling into devastating counterplay. Learn how to stay calm, choose the right moment to strike, and turn this seemingly passive setup into a powerful weapon against your opponents.

5/6/2026 – His brilliancies captivate even seasoned grandmasters. Over 800 of his games in the Mega Database 2026 are annotated. In the ‘Special’ of the new ChessBase Magazine #231, our team of authors has taken a close look at 20 selected and previously unannotated winning games by Magnus Carlsen from 2014 to 2023. You can enjoy Karsten Mueller’s video analysis of the game Carlsen – Mamedyarov (Norway Chess 2022) this week as a free sample from CBM #231. Enjoy!

5/6/2026 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world's best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?