1/25/2026 – The grenke Chess Festival returns to Karlsruhe at Easter 2026, bringing together thousands of players for one of the world's largest chess gatherings. Alongside the traditional classical Open, the festival will stage a Freestyle Chess Open that serves as a qualifier for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship. With leading grandmasters expected and substantial prizes at stake, the event combines large-scale participation with direct international sporting significance.
new: Fritz 20
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.
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.
The King‘s Indian Attack is a universal opening: easy to learn, flexible, and rich in both tactical and positional opportunities.
€39.90
All are invited
The grenke Chess Festival will return to Karlsruhe from 2 to 6 April 2026, with the Karlsruhe Congress Centre again serving as the central venue. Organised by the Baden-Baden Chess Centre in cooperation with grenke AG and Freestyle Chess, the festival is expected to draw around 3,000 participants. For the first time, the grenke Freestyle Chess Open will function as a qualifying event for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship, adding a direct sporting pathway to the established open format.
This video course features the ins-and-outs of the possible setups Black can choose. You’ll learn the key concepts and strategies needed to add this fantastic opening to your repertoire. An easy-to-learn and yet venomous weapon.
The 2026 festival will feature two parallel tournaments of equal standing: the grenke Freestyle Chess Open and the grenke Chess Open for classical chess. Both events will be nine-round Swiss tournaments played under classical time control, with players permitted to switch from the classical Open to the Freestyle Open until the fifth round. In the Freestyle event, each round will begin from a newly drawn starting position announced immediately before play.
The Freestyle Chess Open offers a total prize fund of €215,000, with €205,250 allocated to Open A. The winner will receive €60,000 and qualify for the 2027 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship, while the three highest-placed women in Open A will earn places in the 2026 FIDE Freestyle Chess Women's World Championship.
Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer are among the expected participants, continuing the festival's role as a major meeting point for the international chess community. Registration and full event details are available via the official tournament website.
Let our authors show you how Carlsen tailored his openings to be able to outplay his opponents strategically in the middlegame or to obtain an enduring advantage into the endgame.
1/24/2026 – The grenke Chess Festival will return to Karlsruhe over Easter 2026, bringing together thousands of players for parallel classical and Freestyle opens. For the first time, the Freestyle event will serve as a qualifier for the FIDE Freestyle Chess World Championship, adding direct sporting stakes to the established festival format. Leading figures including Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer are set to feature in one of the largest open gatherings in world chess. | Photo: Stev Bonhage
12/30/2025 – Tuesday marks the final day of the World Blitz Championships in Doha. Both the open and the women's sections will be decided in four-player knockouts once the first stage (Swiss opens lasting 19 and 15 rounds respectively) come to an end. The time control throughout is 3+2. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CET (6.00 ET, 16.30 IST)
The Elephant Gambit (1.e4.e5 2.Nf3 d5!?) has never really been given the attention it deserves. It is a very useful surprise weapon. Let us list the advantages of playing this particular opening: 1) Shock value 2) It is very aggressive. Black can take over the initiative early. 3) Many tricky lines 4) Unorthodox. Black is basically taking the game to the opponent as early as move two. Not many openings do that! It's a perfect opening for young players and club players to adopt. Let Andrew Martin select a repertoire for you on this 60 mins, which, if used with discretion, will rack up the points. I am sure that you will enjoy this unusual tour of the Elephant Gambit.
Instead of forcing you to memorise endless lines, Raja focuses on clear plans, typical ideas, and attacking motifs that you can apply in your own games without delay. A short, focused, and practical repertoire.
FIDE World Cup 2025 with analyses by Adams, Bluebaum, Donchenko, Shankland, Wei Yi and many more. Opening videos by Blohberger, King and Marin. 11 exciting opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
GM Blohberger presents a complete two-part repertoire for Black: practical, clear, and flexible – instead of endless theory, you’ll get straightforward concepts and strategies that are easy to learn and apply.
Opening videos: Sipke Ernst brings the Ulvestad Variation up to date + Part II of ‘Mikhalchishin's Miniatures’. Special: Jan Werle shows highlights from the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 in the video. ‘Lucky bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, Illingworth et al.
€14.90
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