12/24/2025 – The 12th Sunway Sitges Chess Festival concluded with a closely contested open tournament in the Catalonian seaside town. After ten rounds, first place was shared before a blitz play-off decided the title, while an additional knockout determined third place. Iranian GM Mahdi Gholami Orimi emerged as overall winner, ahead of Spanish GM Josep Manuel López, with French GM Jules Moussard completing the podium. | Photo: David Llada / Sunway Sitges Chess Festival (2024)
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Gholami beats López in final playoff
The 12th edition of the Sunway Sitges Chess Festival concluded on Monday in Sitges, once again combining high-level competition with the relaxed coastal setting for which the event has become known. The main open tournament was played as a 10-round Swiss and attracted a field of 242 players representing 42 federations. Among them were 16 GMs and 25 IMs, underlining the event's strong international profile.
After ten rounds of play, first place was shared on points by two players, both finishing on 8/10. Iranian GM Mahdi Gholami Orimi, seeded seventh, and Spanish GM Josep Manuel López, the ninth seed, emerged at the top of the standings.
Going into the final round, Gholami was the sole leader on 7½ points, with a large, eight-player chasing group only half a point behind.
EXPAND YOUR CHESS HORIZONS Data, plans, practice – the new Opening Report In ChessBase there are always attempts to show the typical plans of an opening variation. In the age of engines, chess is much more concrete than previously thought. But amateurs in particular love openings with clear plans, see the London System. In ChessBase ’26, three functions deal with the display of plans. The new opening report examines which piece moves or pawn advances are significant for each important variation. In the reference search you can now see on the board where the pieces usually go. If you start the new Monte Carlo analysis, the board also shows the most common figure paths.
In the decisive tenth round, Gholami opted for a solid approach with the white pieces and drew against top seed SL Narayanan, ensuring at least a share of first place. Among the eight players still in contention, only López managed to convert his chances, scoring a win with white against China's fifth seed Li Di to join Gholami at the top.
Tournament regulations required a two-game blitz play-off between Gholami and López to determine the overall winner. Gholami took the initiative by winning the first game with the black pieces, and then secured the title by holding a draw with white in the second encounter. This result crowned him champion of the 2025 Sunway Sitges Chess Tournament.
A separate blitz knockout was organised to decide third place. Eight players tied from third to tenth in the final standings on 7½/10 qualified for this playoff. French GM Jules Moussard, the tournament's third seed, navigated the blitz stage successfully and claimed the bronze medal to complete the podium.
After 10 intense rounds, the champion of the tournament had to be decided in a playoff, that also decided 3rd place among 6 players tied with half a point less than the 2 leaders. Amazing setup as usual thanks to #SunwaySitges team! pic.twitter.com/HYX6lD20Ze
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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.
12/24/2025 – This video is a valuable chess lesson by IM Mkrtchian. Watch Lilit walk through a full “real tournament” prep routine in ChessBase 26. Find out how she scouts an opponent in the Mega Database, predict their openings, and steer the game into a line she specifically prepared. The payoff: a sharp Rossolimo move-order trap explained in a super teachable way, plus how she converts the advantage into a clean endgame win.
12/19/2025 – The 2025 Hungarian National Individual Chess Championships took place in Budapest from 10 to 18 December, featuring open and women's events played as 10-player round-robins. Despite a few high-profile absences, both tournaments produced closely contested races. The open title went to 21-year-old Gleb Dudin, while the women's championship was decided on tiebreaks, with Szidonia Lazarne Vajda claiming her fourth national crown. | Photos: Hungarian Chess Federation
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.
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