3/16/2026 – With the Candidates Tournament set to begin later this month, FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky has addressed concerns about security, travel logistics and organisational preparations in an interview with Sagar Shah. While acknowledging regional tensions, Sutovsky stressed that plans for the event in Cyprus remain unchanged, with contingency measures in place and close coordination with local authorities. | Pictured: Sutovsky at the 2024 World Corporate Chess Championship in New York. | Photo: FIDE / Rafal Oleksiewicz
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.!
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FIDE in close contact with Cypriot authorities
With the start of the Candidates Tournaments drawing closer, concerns about regional instability have prompted questions over whether the event in Cyprus could be affected. In an interview with Sagar Shah for ChessBase India, FIDE CEO Emil Sutovsky addressed these issues in detail, discussing the federation's preparations, its assessment of the current situation and the practical steps being taken to ensure the tournament proceeds as scheduled.
Sutovsky stated that FIDE's plans remain unchanged despite recent geopolitical tensions. While acknowledging Cyprus' relative proximity to areas experiencing conflict, he emphasised that the country is not directly involved and is not facing an emergency situation. Organisers are continuing to monitor developments on a daily basis and remain in regular contact with state authorities, seeking updated information and guidance.
In this course, we will learn how to identify passively placed pieces in any given situation and how to improve their health by bringing them into active squares.
He also highlighted the significance of the Candidates from the host nation's perspective, noting that it is viewed as a major international sporting event. The president of Cyprus is expected to open the tournament, reflecting the level of official support. Although FIDE has prepared contingency plans for a range of possible scenarios, Sutovsky maintained that there are currently no reasonable grounds to postpone the event or move it to a different location.
The luxurious Cap St Georges Hotel & Resort will be the venue of the 2026 Candidates and Women's Candidates Tournaments | Photo: FIDE
Much of the uncertainty in recent weeks has centred on travel logistics. Disruptions affecting flight routes through Middle Eastern transit hubs have complicated travel plans for several participants, particularly players arriving from Asia. Sutovsky explained that alternative routes via European cities such as London, Vienna or Frankfurt have been identified, and that FIDE is prepared to cover additional costs to ensure that all players and key personnel can reach the venue without undue difficulty.
The FIDE chief acknowledged that some competitors had sought clarification regarding safety conditions, describing these concerns as understandable, especially for those unfamiliar with the region. He stressed that the federation's role is to provide clear and accurate information rather than react hastily to speculation, and pointed to ongoing communication with players, federations and organisers as an important part of the preparation process.
Alongside the sporting contest itself, organisers are planning a range of accompanying activities aimed at improving the overall experience for spectators. The official broadcast will feature grandmasters Peter Svidler and Jan Gustafsson, while former world champion Viswanathan Anand and other notable figures are expected to take part in commentary segments, fan-zone appearances and educational sessions.
Additional initiatives include historical exhibitions on the Candidates cycle and youth-oriented events for local players.
Experts examine the games of Max Euwe. Let them show you which openings Euwe chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, which tactical abilities he had or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame. Max Euwe became the fifth World Chess Champion after beating Alexander Alekhine in the 1935 World Championship match. A maths teacher by profession, Euwe remained an amateur throughout his life, but was still the best chess player in the Netherlands, and one of the world's best players. Euwe holds the record for the most Dutch national championships, with twelve. After winning the World Championship, Euwe was also the world's best player for a while. He lost the title again in 1937 in the rematch against Alexander Alekhine.
Free video sample: Openings
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.
3/14/2026 – The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 is set to begin on 29 March, when eight elite grandmasters will start their fourteen-round quest to earn the right to challenge reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. The lineup combines seasoned contenders such as Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura with rising stars including Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Javokhir Sindarov. | Image: FIDE
3/11/2026 – The FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 will take place from 28 March to 16 April in Cap St. Georges Hotel & Resort, Cyprus, where eight leading players will compete in a double round-robin to decide the challenger to the reigning champion, Ju Wenjun. The field combines experienced Candidates participants such as Humpy Koneru and Tan Zhongyi with younger contenders including Zhu Jiner and Divya Deshmukh. | Image: FIDE
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.
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.
After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Qxd4 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Qd3, White sidesteps mainline theory and steers the game into less explored, strategically rich positions.
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.
Tata Steel 2026 with analyses by Bluebaum, Giri, L'Ami, Woodward and many more. Opening videos by Kasimdzhanov, Marin and Zwirs. 10 exciting opening articles with new repertoire ideas and much more.
In this course, Dutch Grandmaster Jan Werle presents a modern and practical repertoire in the French Advance Variation, focusing on the critical line 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3.
One of the major battlegrounds of the Queen’s Gambit Declined is the Catalan, and against it Zwirs chose an ambitious strategy: accept the pawn and hold onto it with …c6 and …b5, aiming for an unbalanced fight from the very start.
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