1/8/2025 – The WEISSENHAUS Freestyle Chess Grand Slam starts on 7 February, with 10 participants competing, 9 of whom have already been determined. The tenth will be determined in a play-in. After a Swiss system tournament, 16 players competed against each other in a knockout format. Four of them are still in the running: Ian Nepomniachtchi, Vladimir Fedoseev, Yu Yangyi and Javokhir Sindarov. These four will compete today in the semi-finals and finals to determine who will take part in the Grand Slam. Starting at 17.00 CET (11.00 ET, 9.30 pm IST), live and with commentary.

1/8/2025 – "ChessBase have truly outdone themselves with the new CB18," say strong GM Iniyan Panneerselvam. "It makes life so much easier for players and coaches alike, thanks to its fantastic new features! We all know how precious time is; and CB18 is designed to save you a ton of time when you need it most." Today he describes how the software works with Mega Database 2025. and which additionsl bonus features it provides.

1/8/2025 – Arne Kähler and Johannes Fischer start 2025 with a review of 2024. They recall the highlights of the past year, talk about the Chess Olympiad, various world championships, Freestyle Chess, the future number 1, the successes of India and consider who the male (Carlsen, Gukesh or Erigaisi) and female (Tan Zhongyi, Ju Wenjun, Divya Deshmukh or Humpy Koneru) players of the year are. And they ask which games were particularly impressive in 2024.

1/8/2025 – One of our viewers’ favourite themes in Svitlana’s Smart Moves is the openings. This is probably due to the way Svitlana can splendidly explain the ideas, patterns, basics, and key points to consider in an opening. In this episode, the Canadian WIM tackles the Benko Gambit, an opening that Magnus Carlsen enjoyed for several years.

1/7/2025 – With his new video course "Modern Classics" Dorian Rogozenco, former German national coach and renowned chess theoretician, takes us on a journey through the fascinating world of chess games that have made history. | Photos: Nils Rohde

1/7/2025 – The famous classic Thomas-Alekhine is a strategical masterpiece. It has served as a lesson on how to play against weak white pawns on c3 and d4. Ever since Nimzowitsch has dealt with it in his famous work "My System" it has been popular with trainers and students alike. But did White really use all defensive options? This has not been debated enough in the past. Can you do this important job?

1/3/2025 – Are there any advantages of moving to the latest ChessBase 18? Are strong chess players doing it, and finding the software useful in their every-day tournament activity? A decided 'Yes!' is given by Indian grandmaster Pa. Iniyan, who sent us an in-depth three-part review. You would do well to read about his experience carefully, and learn how you too can dramatically improve your level of chess study and preparation.

1/3/2025 – The discussion about the level of play at the World Championship match in Singapore got out of hand on social media, says Thorsten Cmiel, who visited the event himself. Commentators and streamers, armed with opinionated machines, are criticised the players, claiming that the level of play was not that great. Objectively speaking, this was not the case.

1/3/2025 – As part of the Norwegian Grand Prix, chess is also played far up north, where Europe ends and the arctic region begins. Holger Blauhut travelled with his daughter to Alta for the Power Solutions Arctic Chess NGP tournament. Despite a snowstorm, they got to play a well-organised tournament and learned more about the region's sled dog racing. | Photos: Anna Blauhut, Holger Blauhut und Torill M. Wiggen

1/2/2025 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris analyses a fascinating variation in the Classical Variation of the French Defence. The line was used by Gukesh at the World Championship match in Singapore, and was also seen in game 4 of the final match between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi at the World Blitz Championship in New York. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

1/2/2025 – Just in time for the start of the new year, FIDE has published the new world rankings. With an Elo rating of 2831, Magnus Carlsen remains the clear number one, followed in second, third and fourth place by Fabiano Caruana (2803), Hikaru Nakamura (2802) and Arjun Erigaisi (2801). Gukesh Dommaraju, the new classical world champion, follows in fifth place with 2777 points, but is the highest-rated junior (under 20) in the world.

1/2/2025 – Magnus Carlsen is set to marry Ella Victoria Malone this weekend, just days after securing his eighth World Blitz Championship title. The couple, who confirmed the news to Verdens Gang (VG), plan to keep the ceremony private. Malone, who has an American father and a Norwegian mother, grew up in Oslo and now lives with Carlsen, as she has taken on an increasingly vital role in his support team. | Photo: Amruta Mokal