7/31/2023 – The tenth edition of the much-anticipated FIDE World Cup kicked off on Sunday in Baku. The 50 top seeds in the open and the 25 top seeds in the women’s section received byes and will join the fray on Wednesday. The remaining 234 contenders (156 in the open and 78 in the women’s) played their first classical encounters, though. There was no lack of surprises on the first day of action, with 14-year-old Ediz Gurel from Turkey (the youngest participant in the open) stunning Velimir Ivic in brilliant style. | Photo: chess.com / Maria Emelianova
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Winning starts with what you know The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
This isn’t just another chess tutorial—it’s your all-access pass to the strategies, insights, and techniques that define modern grandmaster play.
€39.90
No lack of surprises
We can look ahead to three and a half weeks of tense, enjoyable chess battles as the FIDE World Cup has started at the Marriott Hotel Boulevard in Baku, Azerbaijan. For a second time, a women’s knockout event will run concurrently with the now traditional open competition.
In this Fritztrainer: “Attack like a Super GM” with Gukesh we touch upon all aspects of his play, with special emphasis on how you can become a better attacking player.
The open sees 206 players, including world number one Magnus Carlsen, fighting for three spots in the next edition of the Candidates. In the women’s section, 103 contenders, including world champion Ju Wenjun, fight for the same three prizes (in the Women’s Candidates, of course). The top 50 seeds in the open and the 25 top seeds in the women’s received a bye and will join the fray in Wednesday’s second round.
As usual, opening day saw a number of imbalanced pairings (rating-wise) and a few of those favouring the underdog. We list below the most surprising results in both sections (200+ rating difference for draws and 100+ rating difference for wins).
Open section
Gianmarco Leiva (2374) beat Anton Demchenko (2623)
Mailie-Jade Ouellet from Canada | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman
Gurel steals the show
The youngest participant in the open section kicked off the event with a remarkable win. Turkish IM Ediz Gurel, aged 14, defeated Velimir Ivic, rated 90 points higher than him, in a 28-move game which featured a familiar bishop sacrifice.
Gurel vs. Ivic
As Gurel explained afterwards, Ivic apparently was not as prepared for this line as he was. When the youngster felt that something had gone wrong for his opponent (21...Bxc5 was wrong, while the difficult-to-find 21...d3 was the only defence), he looked for the kill and noticed that 22.Bxh7+ is winning.
There followed 22...Kxh7 23.Qh5+ Kg8 24.Qh6 g6 25.Ne4 Be7 26.Rf3 Bf5
Before entering the whole sequence, Gurel needed to foresee that here 27.Rxf5 is winning for White due to Ne4-f6+ next. After 27...Ra6 28.Rf3, Ivic decided to call it a day.
In a total of 6 chapters, we look at the following aspects: the right decision based on tactical factors, decisions in exchanges and moves, complex and psychological decisions in longer games and in defence.
Dutch star Eline Roebers, aged 17, was the highest-rated player in the women’s section on opening day — she kicked off the event with a win | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman
Carlos Alberto ColodroCarlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
The Trompowsky is especially suited for faster time controls as you don‘t have to memorise endless lines of theory, and you push your opponent out of their comfort zone after your second move.
Trompowsky Powerbook 2025 is based on 53,000 computer games from the engine room of playchess.com as well as 49,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Trompowsky Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 8727 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 316 are annotated.
2025 European Championship with a German double victory and analyses by Bluebaum, Svane, Rodshtein, Yuffa, Navara and many more. Opening videos by Engel, King and Marin. Training sections “The Fortress”, “The Trap” and “Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" etc.
2nd Move Anti-Sicilian Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 12090 games from Mega 2025 or the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 874 are annotated.
€9.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.
