6/19/2026 – The standard sacrifice 20...Bxh3! in the diagram position works for Black, and after 21.gxh3 Qxh3 22.Bd3 he even has two winning moves. I'm curious to see which one you'll choose!

6/19/2026 – A true Hamburg tradition: since 1958, Hamburg's Right Alster Bank has played against the Left Alster Bank! Yesterday, 3,744 pupils gathered on Hamburg's Rathausmarkt to take part in the world's largest school chess competition. This year, the opening move was made by Schools Senator Ksenija Bekeris together with Francesca, 10, and Thore, 10, from the Windmühlenweg Primary School. In the end, the Left Alster Bank won for the fourth time in a row, albeit by a relatively narrow margin, with 951½ points to 920½. That takes the overall score across all years to 40–22 in favour of the Left Alster Bank. This year, the team from Wielandstraße School took home the large challenge cup. | Photos: Nils Rhode

6/18/2026 – Dragon Chilling emerged as the sole leaders after day two of the World Team Rapid Championship in Hong Kong, reaching 14/16 match points after eight rounds. The all-Chinese team remain unbeaten, while Team MGD1 climbed to second place with a strong run that included a win over WR Chess. Barys also deafened WR Chess and moved into contention, as they stand in sole third place a point behind Team MGD1. WR Chess' Magnus Carlsen suffered two defeats on Thursday. | Photo: FIDE

6/18/2026 – Imagine a passion that stays with you through every chapter of life. A passion that is there when you are a child discovering the world, when you are searching for direction, when life suddenly becomes uncertain and when you are trying to find your way back again. For Bhavesh Vyas, that passion is chess. It became a source of comfort, connection and hope through some of the most challenging moments of his life, including a battle with cancer at the age of 22. Read on to discover how chess helped Bhavesh navigate life's toughest challenges and find joy again.

6/18/2026 – For many players, the Sicilian Alapin remains a very unpleasant variation to face with Black. The game Muzychuk-Divya from the 10th round of Norway Chess is a good example what Black definitely needs to avoid. Up till move 13 the players were following a game I played myself back in 2003 (bringing back some painful memories😉) in which I got blown off the board in only 26 moves. Divya's treatment of this particular variation wasn't any better, and soon she found herself in big trouble. Muzychuk obtained a massive attack and decided to transform her advantage into an endgame with an extra exchange. In addition, I will show some extra examples by strong grandmasters to illustrate White's attacking chances in this line and recommend a few improvements as alternative ways to play with Black.

6/18/2026 – FIDE has opened its Shenzhen Office in Qianhai, establishing its first formal base in Asia since the federation was founded in 1924. The office will support liaison, coordination and partnerships across China and the wider Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on events, cultural exchange and chess development. Its inauguration also strengthens Shenzhen's position in international sports cooperation and reflects the city's growing role in the global mind sports community. | Photo: Liang Ziming

6/15/2026 – Mukhiddin Madaminov won the UzChess Cup in Tashkent after defeating Shamsiddin Vokhidov in blitz tiebreaks. The 19-year-old Uzbek player, the lowest-rated participant in the Masters section, had entered the field only after Javokhir Sindarov's withdrawal. Madaminov and Vokhidov finished level after drawing their final-round games with the black pieces, before Madaminov won both blitz games to take first place. | Photo: Official website

6/15/2026 – In this episode of ChessBase Tips for Beginners, viewers learn several practical ways to add games to their own chess databases. The video explains how to create a new database, transfer games with drag and drop, manually enter games from scoresheets, and save them with all relevant details. It also demonstrates how to build opening research databases by copying annotated reference games from similar positions, making it easier to organize training material and improve chess understanding.

6/15/2026 – Felix Blohberger defeated David Navara 3½-2½ in a six-game match held at the offices of the Austrian Chess Federation in Vienna. Five games were drawn, with Blohberger's win in game three proving decisive. The Austrian grandmaster organised the match as part of his effort to approach the 2600 Elo mark, while also providing post-game analysis of each encounter on his YouTube channel. | Photo: Emilia Castelao

6/15/2026 – The third edition of the UzChess Cup is taking place on 7-15 June in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Four Uzbek representatives face six international grandmasters in a single round-robin with a classical time control. Shamsiddin Vokhidov and Mukhiddin Madaminov are tied for first place after seven rounds. | Photo: Official website | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST)

6/14/2026 – Magnus Carlsen won the inaugural ASEAN E-Sports Chess Cup in Bangkok after beating Andrey Esipenko in an Armageddon decider. The 22-player rapid event featured leading Southeast Asian representatives and five international invitees. Fabiano Caruana was eliminated in the group stage, while Le Quang Liem took third place. | Pictured: Magnus Carlsen (right) next to 10-year-old Thai player Pakornnarong Liukasemsarn, who obtained an upset win over Andrey Esipenko in the event | Photo: Red Knight Chess Club

6/14/2026 – Take a look at this position. The black king is completely trapped and will soon be mated, but can White do it in just three moves? Try and work it out in your mind. Spoiler: it begins with an absurd-looking move. Test your skills on this and on three more tricky mating positions. In each case the diagrams will defend and refute any bad moves you play. Solutions to the problems, with full video explanations, will come in a week. Learn and enjoy.