4/12/2024 – At the halfway mark in the Candidates Tournament, Ian Nepomniachtchi tops the standings with 4½ points to his name. Former co-leader Gukesh D was defeated by Alireza Firouzja, who came from losing 3 out of the first 6 games he played in Toronto. Gukesh is now sharing second place — a half point behind Nepomniachtchi — with Praggnanandhaa R and Fabiano Caruana. Rounds 8-10 will take place between Saturday and Monday, following the tournament’s second rest day. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
new: ChessBase Magazine 225
Chess Festival Prague 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara and others. ‘Special’: 27 highly entertaining miniatures. Opening videos by Werle, King and Ris. 10 opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more. ChessBase Magazine offers first-class training material for club players and professionals! World-class players analyse their brilliant games and explain the ideas behind the moves. Opening specialists present the latest trends in opening theory and exciting ideas for your repertoire. Master trainers in tactics, strategy and endgames show you the tricks and techniques you need to be a successful tournament player! Available as a direct download (incl. booklet as pdf file) or booklet with download key by post. Included in delivery: ChessBase Magazine #225 as “ChessBase Book” for iPad, tablet, Mac etc.!
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before. FRITZ is more than just a chess engine – it’s a training revolution! Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
This is a full repertoire after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 focussing on the Evans Gambit as the main weapon.
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Firouzja bounces back
After Ian Nepomniachtchi grabbed the sole lead in round 4 of the Candidates Tournament, we pointed out that the Russian GM had similarly climbed to sole first place in the tournament’s previous edition (which he ended up winning). Three rounds later, Nepomniachtchi regained the sole lead thanks to Firouzja’s victory over former co-leader Gukesh D.
Nepo was also the sole leader at the halfway mark in Madrid, though back then he had impressively collected 5½ points by round 7 (he beat Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Ding Liren in rounds 5 and 6), while he is now atop the standings ‘only’ with 4½ points to his name.
If we continue looking for coincidences between the two editions, we note that Fabiano Caruana also stood a half point behind Nepo in 2022 — back then, though, he was in sole second place, while now he is tied for second with Praggnanandhaa R and Gukesh D.
Two other parallelisms can be made between the events in Madrid and Toronto: i.e. the number of points achieved by Firouzja and Hikaru Nakamura after seven rounds of play. Nakamura finished the first half of both events with 3½ points, while an out-of-form Firouzja collected 2½ points on both occasions.
Firouzja signed 3 draws and suffered 3 losses in the first six rounds of the tournament in Toronto. After a painful loss against Vidit on Wednesday, though, the 20-year-old bounced immediately back with a victory over Gukesh. Since Nepo did not have a first half as strong as his first half in Madrid, Firouzja stands not 3 but 2 points behind the leader this time around — still with outside (yet realistic) chances of fighting for the title.
The Ruy Lopez is one of the oldest openings which continues to enjoy high popularity from club level to the absolute world top. In this video series, American super GM Fabiano Caruana, talking to IM Oliver Reeh, presents a complete repertoire for White.
A half point behind the leader — Fabiano Caruana drew Praggnanandhaa with white in the seventh round | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
Glorious sacrifices, unexpected tactics and checkmating attacks. The King's Gambit is one of the oldest and most romantic openings in the game of chess. These DVDs contain all you need to know to play the King's Gambit.
In Calculation Training – Sharpen Your Game! a total of 73 examples have been selected, the vast majority containing multiple questions, and more than 160 questions of varying difficulty.
On his way to a third Candidates victory in a row? — Ian Nepomniachtchi | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
The Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi with an ELO of over 2700 (June 2023) is one of the best 20 players in the world. For the first time, the sympathetic top player presents himself in a video course. Let a world-class player show you tactical moti
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.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
2026 Chess Olympiad with analyses by Abdusattorov, Donchenko, Duda, So and many more – ‘Rooks love open files’: Tactics training with Oliver Reeh – ‘Don’t underestimate it’: Caruana’s blitz weapon 1.e4 e5 2.d3 – Total Video playing time: over 6 hours!
Keep it simple. Stay objective. Watch the clock. Sometimes take the risk. GM Loek van Wely explains the ten principles that decide real games. They aren’t about theory. They’re about what you do at the board when it counts.
Most players don’t lack the urge to attack, they just strike at the wrong moment, and GM Sipke Ernst shows you which signals tell you to go for the king and which tell you to choose another plan.
How grandmasters win without fireworks: GM Jan Markos shows you 11 very practical tips from "How to play in a lost position" to "Be patient like Carlsen" that will improve your tournament chess.
The Nimzo-Indian has stood the test of time for over a century: Still a top choice for elite players today, from Magnus Carlsen to Praggnanandhaa, it remains one of Black's most reliable ways to fight for real chances against 1.d4 2.c4 3.Nc3.
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