3/6/2025 – The Tata Steel tournament in Wijk has caused the biggest changes in the current world rankings. Among the winners is World Champion Gukesh, among the losers are Caruana, Erigaisi and also Keymer, who lost some points and places. In the country list, Germany is the best of the rest behind the four chess superpowers USA, India, China and Russia.

3/6/2025 – The seventh round of the Masters at the Prague Chess Festival saw Aravindh Chithambaram beating Anish Giri with black in what perhaps was the best game of the tournament so far. With this victory, Aravindh took the sole lead in the standings, as Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu was unable to get more than a draw against Wei Yi. Vincent Keymer fared similarly, as he put David Navara under pressure for a long time, but in the end had to be satisfied with half a point. Sam Shankland and Ediz Gürel had more luck: Shankland won with black against Le Quang Liem, while Gürel won with white against Thai Dai Van Nguyen. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

3/5/2025 – Nowadays, you have to be careful with your old clothes so as not to violate sustainability laws. The best thing to do is to give your old clothes to a relative or friend. Or you can sell them on the internet. That's what Magnus Carlsen did, and he is probably happy with the proceeds.

3/5/2025 – GM Lei Tingjie has withdrawn from the 2024–25 FIDE Women's Grand Prix for personal reasons, with compatriot GM Zhu Jiner stepping in as her replacement. Zhu, China's fifth-ranked female player, will now compete in Cyprus, India, and Austria. A rising star, she secured her Grandmaster title in 2023 after an impressive showing in the previous Grand Prix cycle. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

3/5/2025 – After five draws in the sixth round of the Masters tournament at the Prague Chess Festival, there were no changes in the standings. Aravindh Chithambaram and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu remain in the shared lead. Despite ending in a draw, the duel between Sam Shankland and Pragg featured an exciting tactical battle. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

3/5/2025 – The Champions Showdown began on Tuesday at the Saint Louis Chess Club, featuring six of the top players from the United States competing in blitz, rapid, and semi-classical games. Instead of a points-based system, standings are determined by prize money earned. The first day saw Fabiano Caruana defeating Hikaru Nakamura in the semi-classical game, while Wesley So secured two victories against Levon Aronian. Meanwhile, Leinier Dominguez and Ray Robson won one game each in their head-to-head encounter. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

3/4/2025 – In mid-March, the Saint Louis Chess Club will present its first major tournament of 2025, the American Cup. The best male and female players in the USA will compete for $400,000 in a double elimination format from 15 to 24 March. But before that, six top players will battle it out in the Champions Showdown from 4-6 March.

3/4/2025 – Material is reduced in endgames, but attacks on the king still happen endgames. In the diagram position it is Black to move and draw. How?

3/4/2025 – In his latest column, GM Jon Speelman explores the fascinating Novotny theme in chess problems, sharing two of his own recent compositions. With the aid of modern software, he crafted problems that highlight this striking interference motif. He also delves into the theme's history, tracing its origins to Antonin Novotny (pictured) and Henry Turton, and recalls brilliant missed Novotnys in practical play.

3/3/2025 – The fifth round of the Masters tournament in Prague brought only one victory. Wei Yi managed it against Sam Shankland, who completely failed in the opening. All four other games ended in draws, with Vincent Keymer missing a good chance to score. At the halfway stage, Aravindh Chithambaram and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu are in the joint lead with 3½ out of 5 points each, a full point ahead of the chasing pack. In the Challengers, Nodirbek Yakubboev leads the field with 4 out of 5 points. | Photo: Petr Vrabec

3/3/2025 – After almost twenty years, Rainer Knaak handed over his CBM column ‘Topical opening traps’ to Micheal Prusikin at the end of last year. With the new author, not only the face but also the concept of the section has changed: Michael Prusikin will regularly present three traps from a specific opening in video form in his articles. The current ChessBase Magazine #224 starts with three traps for White in the French Advance Variation. You can watch his first contribution to CBM with all three videos this week as a free sample directly in your web browser in the ChessBase Books format - enjoy!

3/3/2025 – Boris Spassky died last Thursday, 27 February 2025. An exceptionally fine obituary by Leonard Barden appeared in the Guardian the following day. At 95, Barden continues to write chess columns for The Guardian and Financial Times, demonstrating his enduring passion and expertise in the field. Chess historian Edward Winter likewise presents some excellent material on Spassky.