7/30/2119 – From July 20th to the 31st, the Swiss watch metropolis of Biel/Bienne will once again be a focus of chess activity in Europe. The festival features many interesting and young players as well as a new format that combines rapid, classical and blitz chess. Vidit won again with Black adding to his immpressive run. Shankland is second. Live games and commentary from 12:00 UTC (14:00 CEST / 8:00 AM EDT).

12/27/2020 – For 24 days, you could guess who our distorted and blurred Fritztrainers were. We received over 6000 emails in total! That's great! Thank you very much. From all the entries, we randomly selected three winners for each day. Furthermore, we raffled off T-shirts and masks with a ChessBase motif, as well as a few DVDs with signatures of grandmasters. Those who guessed all 24 days correctly, also entered into our super raffle. Maybe you are one of them? After all, there were 90 prizes to be won.

12/24/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/23/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/22/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/21/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/20/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/19/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/18/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/17/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

12/16/2020 – This year we are launching our "Christmas Fritztrainer Calendar". For the next 24 days, you can open one of our Fritztrainer doors daily, and guess: Which Fritztrainer is this? If you send us the correct answer by email, you are participating in a raffle to win plenty of prizes, including our big Christmas surprise packages!

5/24/2021 – The International Chess Federation has published the qualification criteria that will be used to determine who participates in the next Candidates Tournament, scheduled to take place in 2022. Notably, Teimour Radjabov was granted a spot after the Azerbaijani withdrew from the previous edition, rightfully predicting that the sanitary crisis would become a real obstacle for the normal development of the event. FIDE has also eliminated the chance to qualify by rating. | Photo: FIDE

5/21/2021 – The International Chess Federation announced the new dates of the final stage of the Women’s FIDE Grand Prix, to be played in Gibraltar from May 22 to June 2. The best female chess players in the world will be competing in a crucial event in the race for the World Championship title, since the two best players from the Women Grand Prix Series qualify directly for the Candidates Tournament. | Photo: David Llada / FIDE

5/4/2021 – On 1 May the FIDE published the new World Ranking List. Magnus Carlsen (2847) continues to be the world's number one, followed by Fabiano Caruna (2820) on two. The second half of the Candidates Tournament helped Ding Liren (number 3, 2799) to eight additional rating points while Ian Nepomniachtchi (number 4, 2792) gained three rating points and Anish Giri (number 6, 2780) four. But it was the Iranian Parham Maghsoodloo who made the biggest jump ahead: after convincingly winning the Iranian Championship he now has a rating of 2698 and is the world's number 41.

5/7/2021 – The International Chess Federation will hold an online conference dubbed “Chess for Freedom” on May 11th at 15:30 CET (8:30 US Central Time). The conference will present a newly launched project focused on introducing chess to prisons. This conference will feature FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, the 12th World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, and other invited guests.

4/13/2021 – 13 April 2021, six days before the resumption of the FIDE Candidates Tournament in Yekaterinburg, the FIDE organised a press conference on the FIDE Candidates Tournament in Moscow, at the Rossiyskaya Gazeta Media Center. The speakers answered questions of journalists from all parts of the world, who were attending the event online. A press release by the FIDE has some details.

3/2/2021 – So far, the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee was the only over-the-board top tournament this year. It was played in the second half of January, but its results did not affect the rating list of February 2021. But Wijk changed the rating list from March 2021: Magnus Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave lost points, other players gained rating.

3/6/2021 – FIDE has announced that, as the epidemical situation remains complicated all over the World, a significant number of qualifiers will be held in the hybrid format. This decision is considered inevitable and exceptional. | Pictured: Ding Liren at the Danzhou Tournament, an online event in which the Chinese participants played from the Country Garden Havana Holiday Hotel. | Photo: Liang Ziming

1/20/2021 – A few weeks ago, the FIDE Council approved a new set of rules to be applied to official online chess competitions. The document also established the framework for "hybrid" events, a format where the games are played online, but the participants are physically present in a public place like a club, federation headquarters, hotel, et cetera. In this format, all games are played under the supervision of an arbiter present on site.

1/7/2021 – FIDE has a new Managing Director. Dana Reizniece-Ozola, Woman Grandmaster and former Latvian Minister of Economics and later Finance, leaves the world of Latvian politics and dedicates herself to the politics of chess. | Image: Janis Deinats

1/28/2021 – Originally, the match for the World Championship between Magnus Carlsen and the winner of the Candidates Tournament 2020, was planned for November 2020. But the corona pandemic put a stop to these plans. Now, the FIDE announced a new date for the World Championship match: if everything goes according to plan, it will take place from 24 November to 16 December 2021 in Dubai, as part of the Expo. | Picture: FIDE

11/19/2119 – When Magnus Carlsen decides to leave the Norwegian Chess Federation or gives interviews in Norway or plays for his new club in Norway's second league it is usually Tarjei Svensen who shares the news with the world, via his twitter account @TarjeiJS, which has thousands of ardent followers. STEFAN LOEFFLER spoke with the Norwegian chess journalist about Carlsen, chess in Norway and his wish to be always up-to-date. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

9/22/2119 – The 2019-2020 FIDE Women's Grand Prix, part of the Women's World Championship cycle, takes place in Skolkovo, a business centre in Moscow also known as the Russian Silicon Valley. Twelve players are competing in the first of four single round-robin events that will grant two spots at the next Women's Candidates Tournament. In the final round, Humpy Koneru earned the final half point needed to clinch victory ahead of Ju Wenjun. | Photo: Official site

5/5/2021 – On Sunday, 2 May, Magnus Carlsen won the New in Chess Classic Online Tournament, the first of the so far five Meltwater Champions Chess Tour tournaments the World Champion, who is as spoilt for success as he is hungry for it, could win. But Carlsen did not only entertain and impress at the board (or screen). In short video clips, shown during the live broadcast, he revealed what he thinks about previous World Champions and showed his amazing chess memory. | Image: Screenshot

4/29/2021 – If Bobby Fischer had not retired after becoming World Champion in 1972 we would have seen a decade dominated by Fischer, Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Kortschnoi. What would have happened, if there had been a match Fischer - Karpov or Fischer - Kortschnoi? And why did Fischer not play against Karpov in 1975? And how would Fischer's decision have turned out if the challenger had not been Karpov, but Kortschnoi? Some thoughts by Stephan Oliver Platz.

5/23/2021 – Today, on 23 May, Anatoly Karpov turns 70! The 12th World Champion is still very active and on 31 May 2021, he will give a simul at the Karpov Children’s Cup, an event supported by FIDE. Which made Alexey Root remember a remarkable Karpov simul in Austin, Texas, back in 1994. | Photo: V. Savostianov, Novosti Press (via D. Griffin)

6/12/2021 – The Grand Chess Tour (GCT) has confirmed the field for the Croatia Grand Chess Tour leg that will include four full tour participants and seven wildcards. With legendary World Champions Garry Kasparov and Vishy Anand as well as the World Championship title challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi from Russia the Croatia Grand Chess Tour promises to be action packed. | Pictured: Kasparov and Anand at the 2017 Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz Tournament | Photo: Lennart Ootes

6/16/2021 – Computer cheating in online chess is a real plague. Now an Indian billionaire and two Bollywood celebrities have even cheated when they had the chance to play against Vishy Anand at the online charity simul "Checkmate Covid", an event to help the Indian Red Cross' COVID-19 relief.

5/29/2021 – On the first day of the FTX Crypto Cup semifinals, Wesley So beat Ian Nepomniachtchi by winning game 4 after having agreed to three draws. Meanwhile, world champion Magnus Carlsen and Teimour Radjabov traded blows in games 3 and 4, which means their match is tied going into day 2 of the semis.

5/6/2021 – Wesley So has proven to be capable of beating any player from the elite, including world champion Magnus Carlsen. The Filipino-born grandmaster, currently representing the United States, obtained his highest-ever live rating in April 2017, following a streak of remarkable results in the elite circuit. We look back at the successes that helped the ever-humble star to reach the second spot in the world ranking. | Photo: South African Junior Chess Championship Facebook page

5/31/2021 – Wesley So and Magnus Carlsen traded blows in the first set of the FTX Crypto Cup Finals which will be decided in Monday’s second mini-match — and potential blitz tiebreaker. A draw was also seen in the match for third place, except that Teimour Radjabov and Ian Nepomniachtchi decided to give themselves a rest day, as they signed four quick draws on Sunday. | Photo: Nick Barton

6/15/2021 – In the last round of the Superbet Chess Classic, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov safely drew Maxime Vachier-Lagrave with the black to secure tournament victory. Wesley So, Levon Aronian and Alexander Grischuk shared second place a full point behind the Azerbaijani. The second event of the tour, the Paris Rapid & Blitz Tournament, kicks off on Friday. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

5/20/2021 – "Ask me anything" (AMA) is a "Question & Answer" format on the Reddit platform in which readers are invitid to ask a famous guest, well, anything. On 19 May, the Reddit readers asked Garry Kasparov about chess, Magnus Carlsen, Deep Blue, Artificial Intelligence, and much more. Kasparov's answer were open, frank, clear, and are a pleasure to read. | Photo: kasparov.com

6/12/2021 – After the rest day some of the players in the Superbet Chess Classic came back swinging. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov defeated Levon Aronian while Alexander Grischuk got the better of Constantin Lupulescu. Fabiano Caruana missed a good opportunity against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. The results left Grischuk and Mamedyarov atop the standings on 4/6 points. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

5/3/2021 – From 10 to 18 July, Dortmund will once again be Germany's chess capital. Chess fans in Dortmund organise the "Sparkassen Chess Trophy", a grandmaster tournament, and Vladimir Kramnik and Vishy Anand will play a match in No Castling Chess. In an interview Kramnik reveals more.

4/25/2021 – An exciting round with four decisive results left two players as the main contenders to win the Candidates Tournament. Anish Giri continued his run of excellent form and beat Fabiano Caruana with the black pieces, but could not catch up with Ian Nepomniachtchi, who got the better of Wang Hao. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Ding Liren also won. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

6/13/2021 – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is the sole leader at the Superbet Chess Classic after an eventful seventh round in Bucharest. The Azerbaijani beat Fabiano Caruana with black while former co-leader Alexander Grischuk was defeated by Levon Aronian. The third decisive game of the day saw Anish Giri getting a full point in his encounter against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

6/11/2021 – Surprising news from FIDE: in a press release the FIDE announced that World Champion Magnus Carlsen will play in the next World Cup, which will take place in Sochi, Russia, from July 10 to August 6. It's a knock-out event with 206 players, in which the two finalists will qualify for the Candidates 2022. However, as reigning World Champion Carlsen is already guaranteed a spot in the Candidates 2022 should he lose the World Championship match against Ian Nepomniachtchi in November. But maybe the World Champion wants to play some over-the-board chess again after the long break caused by the pandemic and enjoys the challenge of a very tough tournament. | Photo: David Llada

6/10/2021 – Shakhriyar Mamedyarov joined Wesley So and Alexander Grischuk in the lead of the Superbet Chess Classic after beating local hero Constantin Lupulescu in round 5. The Romanian, who played with the white pieces, faltered in time trouble and is now sharing last place with Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Anish Giri — a single point behind the leaders, though! | Photo: Bryan Adams

6/8/2021 – Train and analyse with video - almost like in a chess club, but simply via the browser! The new training functions in the PlayChess web browser are already being actively used by Stefan Kindermann and the Munich Chess Academy! You can see, hear, analyse, train and of course play! Anyone can create their own virtual room, invite friends and training groups and get started. Martin Fischer explains step-by-step how it works. Online training has never been so much fun!

6/12/2021 – In endgames, a "petite combinaison" à la Capablanca is often the quickest (if not the only) way to convert a material advantage. In the diagram position, White is a pawn up - how does he save himself a lot of work?

6/8/2021 – Connected passed pawns can be powerful, in the middlegame but especially in the endgame. A good reason to stop them sooner rather than later. What should White do in the diagram position to stop Black's pawns from becoming really powerful?

6/5/2021 – White's continuation in the diagram position truly belongs into the category "very special". How about a little test: how did White continue here and was this move among your first three candidate moves?

6/16/2021 – The ChessBase Magazine Extra is up-to-date and attractive. In the new Extra # 201, Mihail Marin takes the game Grischuk-Vachier-Lagrave from the Candidates Tournament as the starting point of his opening video "Anti-Najdorf à la Carlsen" (1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Qd2 ), and Daniel King provides a video analysis of the way Caruana handled the King's Indian in Wojtaszek-Caruana (Tata Steel 2021). And in the famous "Lucky Bag" you will find many high-quality analyses and chess treats. "The brilliancy" is one example of the 25 extensively annotated games in the new edition. Take a look!

6/15/2021 – The diagram position is complicated and extremely sharp. Both sides have dangerous passed pawns which the knights might or might not stop. However, it was Black to move and he had a way to win. But in the game Black failed to find the winning move - can you do better?

6/1/2021 – In the duel between bishop and knight it is often the knight which is too slow. However, one should not underestimate knights - they are versatile and often surprisingly quick, e.g. in the diagram position. Can the black knight play on both wings to help Black win the game?

5/29/2021 – White has misplayed the opening (six moves with the queen!), and in the diagram position Black's huge delevopment advantage is just crying out to be exploited. How did Black (MVL) proceed?

5/25/2021 – Simplifying into a pawn ending must always be calculated carefully. In the diagram position Black is a rook up but White has powerful passed pawns. But how and when to advance them?

6/4/2021 – The ChessBase Magazine offers a window to the world of professional chess and it also provides arsenal for the tournament player. This issue offers games from two major events, the Magnus Carlsen Invitational and the Opera Euro Rapid, 547 games, 3 opening videos, 12 opening surveys, demo, lectures and exercises for training. It also includes games annotated by Anish Giri, Wesley So and Jan-Krzysztof Duda to mention a few. Prof. Nagesh Havanur takes a look.

5/22/2021 – The diagram shows a position from the game L. Dominguez vs M. Carlsen, Opera Euro 2021. Black's last move 27...Kh6? gave White the chance to hunt the bold king down and to win against the World Champion. But as this was a rapid game and White did not have much time left on the clock, he failed to find the win. Can you do better, without a ticking clock and all the time in the world?

5/18/2021 – The German word "Zugzwang" describes the phenomenom that the rules of chess force you to make a move when it's your turn even if it would be better to do nothing. In chess, you simply cannot pass. "Zugzwang" is a typical endgame phenomenon that often decides the game. In the diagram position White can use "zugzwang" to force the opponent to self-destruct. How?

5/15/2021 – After White's bishop retreat from f4 to h2 (see diagram position), Black needed no second invitation to unleash her forces. What did she play?

5/11/2021 – In the diagram position White just attacked the bishop on f6 which is a prelude to a bishop sacrifice on e7 which will allow the white pawns to run. But with correct play the black bishop can stop the pawns. How?

5/8/2021 – If Black plays 30...Nxc3 in the diagram position he attacks White's rook on b1 and opens the bishop's diagonal a8-g2. So, everything seems fine for Black - unless White can spoil the fun with 31.Bc5. Well, can he?

4/17/2021 – In the diagram position, 32...Qf3+! 33.Kh3 would have led to victory for Black, a "wow move" included. Enjoy!

5/3/2021 – The title comes from Bobby Fischer's description of how he handles the Dragon, and is quite appropriate for the game presented here. In a classic Keres Attack, with just seven moves given to them, Fat Fritz 2 and a top-notch Leela duke it out on powerful hardware. White builds up a massive position and then starts dropping bombs. Don't miss this spectacular game!

4/27/2021 – In the diagram position White is two pawns up but has only one winning move. Which one?