3/25/2026 – A classical match between Hans Niemann and Awonder Liang will take place in Paris from 10 to 15 April, as the US grandmasters contest a 12-game showdown at the Blitz Society. Played at a 60+30 time control with two games per day, the encounter combines sporting stakes with a charitable pledge from the loser. Both players arrive with recent match experience, adding competitive context to a fixture unfolding alongside the Candidates cycle. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club (US Championship 2025)
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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.
With the moves d4-Nf3-e3-Bd3 White aims for simple piece development and to slowly build up a devastating attack on the kingside!
€39.90
Charity pledge adds stakes to all-American encounter
A head-to-head match between US grandmasters Hans Niemann and Awonder Liang is set to take place in Paris from 10 to 15 April, offering a demanding classical contest at a time when much of the chess world's attention is focused on the Candidates Tournaments in Cyprus. The encounter will be staged at the Blitz Society and will consist of twelve classical games played over six days.
The format requires the players to contest two games per day, each played with a time control of 60 minutes for the entire game plus a 30-second increment from move one. With a morning start at 10:00 and a second round scheduled for 14:30, the match is expected to test both competitors' stamina and consistency across a tightly packed programme.
YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY: Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product. YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY
Be well prepared with the new Opening Encyclopaedia 2026! Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product and is the ideal start for your opening training. Many new articles enrich the current theory with new or revisited ideas. The Encyclopaedia can help you learn openings quickly and give you a head start on your next opponent. Each article contains explanations and annotated games illustrating typical plans to deepen your understanding.
An unusual feature of the event is its charitable dimension: the player who loses the match has pledged to donate $10,000 to a cause of his choice. The contest provides both grandmasters with an opportunity to reinforce their competitive credentials in a classical setting, away from the online arena and the rapid-fire formats that have become increasingly prevalent.
The timing of the Paris showdown coincides with the release of a widely anticipated documentary examining the Niemann-Carlsen controversy from 2022. Niemann is likely to attract particular public attention, and the match may serve as one of his first major appearances in an over-the-board event following the documentary's premiere.
Untold: Chess Mates - Official trailer
Niemann has played similar matches about two years ago. In August 2024, he undertook a series of three multi-format contests against Anish Giri, Nikita Vitiugov and Étienne Bacrot, securing clear overall victories in each. His performance in classical games during that stretch was especially notable: he scored 11½ points from 18 encounters, losing only his first game against Giri. The results translated into a gain of 22 rating points and a climb into the top 20 of the live world rankings, a position he continues to occupy in the official list.
Liang, meanwhile, arrives in Paris shortly after defeating Hikaru Nakamura 6–4 in a three-day training match in Saint Louis organised as preparation for the Candidates Tournament. After two drawn classical games, all eight faster encounters produced decisive results, with Liang prevailing mostly thanks to his tactical resourcefulness. Ranked 25th in the world with a rating of 2714, the 22-year-old former two-time world youth champion has developed a reputation for troubling higher-rated opponents.
In this course, you will learn the foundations and key ideas of the Vienna Game and discover a variety of systems that make you extremely difficult to prepare for. The Vienna Game is one of the most underrated openings in modern chess. While the Ruy Lopez and Italian dominate elite practice, the Vienna offers rich, creative play with far less theoretical burden and enormous practical value.
Free video sample: Introduction
Free video sample: 1: 1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 exf4 - Martin vs Adams
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.
3/16/2026 – Hikaru Nakamura was defeated 6–4 by Awonder Liang in a three-day training match in Saint Louis held as preparation for the Candidates Tournament. After two drawn classical games, all eight encounters in the rapid and blitz sessions ended decisively, with Liang ultimately prevailing. The match provided Nakamura with competitive practice ahead of a demanding event, for which several of his future rivals have recently been active. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes
3/15/2026 – Hikaru Nakamura is playing a training match against Awonder Liang in Saint Louis as he fine-tunes his form ahead of the Candidates Tournament, which begins in two weeks' time. The three-day encounter, running from 13 to 15 March, combines classical, rapid and blitz games. Liang, ranked 25th in the world, provides strong opposition in a match broadcast live on Nakamura's Kick channel. | Follow the games live starting at 18.00 CET (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST)
For a long time the Scotch opening was considered harmless and rarely played. This changed in 1990 when Garry Kasparov successfully employed the Scotch opening in his World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov. But that was 25 years ago. Now, there is no need to panic if you want to play 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 and need a line against the Scotch. On this 60 Minutes renowned and successful coach Adrian Mikhalchishin gives simple practical tips how to neutralize and counter the Scotch.
In this course, you’ll learn how to take the initiative against the London and prevent White from comfortably playing their usual system by playing 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 Nh5.
London System Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains in all 11 285 games from Mega 2026 and the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 282 are annotated.
The London System Powerbook 2026 is based on more than 410 000 games or game fragments from different opening moves and ECO codes; what they all have in common is that White plays d4 and Bf4 but does not play c4.
In this course, Grandmaster Elisabeth Pähtz presents the London System, a structured and ambitious approach based on the immediate Bf4, leading to rich and dynamic positions.
Opening videos: Open Spanish (Sipke Ernst) and Classical Sicilian (Nico Zwirs). Endgame Special by Igor Stohl: ‘Short or long side’ – where should the defending king be placed in rook endgames? ‘Lucky bag’ with 35 master analyses.
YOUR EASY ACCESS TO OPENING THEORY: Whether you want to build up a reliable and powerful opening repertoire or find new opening ideas for your existing repertoire, the Opening Encyclopaedia covers the entire opening theory on one product.
The Queen’s Gambit Declined Exchange Variation with 5.Bf4 has a great balance between positional play and sharp pawn pushes; and will be a surprise for your opponents while being easy to learn for you, as the key patterns are familiar.
€9.90
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