2/28/2024 – In a world where experience is often said to take the lead, young prodigies are proving it wrong. An 8-year-old boy defeated a grandmaster in classical chess — he is the youngest ever to achieve this feat! This victory over GM Jacek Stopa from Poland marked a significant highlight of the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open in Switzerland. Tina Popli writes about Ashwath’s remarkable feat and his journey so far. | Photo: David Llada

2/12/2024 – In the concluding article for the Christmas Composition Contest, we see the final prize-winning compositions, which were a touch ahead of the others! Like always, all compositions were evaluated on the basis of economy, harmony and aesthetics! We also included a special prize for the best story behind the composition, and the cook-stopping that took place! Hope you enjoyed reading the article and playing through the excellent compositions.

2/1/2024 – In the second instalment, we see some more compositions submitted to the Christmas Contest that are worthy of a mention but missed out on the prizes by a whisker! Though some are by beginners, others are by well-seasoned experts. But all problems were evaluated through economy, harmony and aesthetics. Hope you have fun reading these!

1/26/2024 – In the recently concluded ChessBase Christmas Composition Contest, we received many entries, and thus the decision-making was much harder! The problems submitted were tested upon the criterion of economy, harmony and aesthetics. We decided to make three articles on it, with the final one being about the prize-winners! Hope you have fun replalying these very nice little puzzles!

1/22/2024 – In the second segment of our problem-solving experiment, we invited a former world champion of chess solving (!) to answer the unorthodox chess puzzles, featured in our Dec. 31st article. This strong grandmaster breezed past the first two problems, and so we gave a final composition which proved to be slightly more challenging for the mathematician!

1/11/2024 – It's an experiment. We wanted to know how a number of different personalities reacted to some unusual problems we presented in our Christmas Puzzle week. So we gave them two positions and let them wrestle with them online. For starters, we bring you video of a super-talent, Leon Luke Mendonca, and his first-time encounter with anything like this. Did you react in similar fashion to the problems?

1/10/2024 – The ChessBase Christmas Puzzle week has concluded, but one final competition remains! To all amateurs and aspiring composers, now is your chance to gain fame by submitting a composition with chance for prizes too – with ChessBase publications in the brand-new eBook format up for grabs! The deadline for submission is January 21st – this article provides all other details! So good luck and happy composing to all!

1/7/2024 – On the final day of the (really quite traumatic) year 2023 we gave you two unusual chess puzzles: one where you had to add a king and bishop to construct a mate in two, and one where you had to reconstruct the entire position. We got them from Frank Scarpa, who today provides full explanations in two very fine videos. You're 'gonna hafta' watch them to get the solutions.

1/5/2024 – How did you fare with the three fun-to-solve puzzles we provided on December 30? They were fairly subtle, one quite amuzing. We got them from Gauri Shankar is a FIDE Master with eight IM norms. He lives in Chicago and produces entertaining video shorts explaining problems and studies. You can watch them for the solutions to our Christmas selection.

1/3/2024 – In part four of our Christmas Puzzle Week we had some seasonal chess problems – a candle and two Christmas trees. But we also included a helpmate in two, with a devilishly difficult retroanalytical part. Were you able to find the two solutions, and explain why one of them was illegal? Try and follow the analysis of our problem expert.

1/1/2024 – Today we bring you the first instalment of solutions, to the puzzles on our Christmas Day page. It includes charming video of two 14 year old lads solving one of the problems. Today, both are Candidates for the World Championship. Solutions to the next six puzzle pages will follow soon – together with details on our composition competition, which will end on January 15.

12/31/2023 – Today we have two very special problems. They are doubtlessly like no other chess puzzle you have seen. And warning: they are very hard. You could easily spend a substantial part of the final day of the year 2023 struggling to solve them. But if you succeed, you will experience an exhilarating feeling of pride. Take a look.

12/30/2023 – Today you get three puzzles that are simply enjoyable to solve. Very strong players should try to solve them in their minds, straight from the diagrams, mere mortals can move pieces. They may be surprised to see that our live diagrams will defend for the black side, stopping you from reaching the goal. Unless you find the unexpected solutions, which will be presented to you with instructive and entertaining videos in the new year.

12/29/2023 – Today we provide you with a master-level lesson. Leonid Ivanovich Kubbel, born in 1891 in St. Petersburg, Russia, was one of the greatest composers in chess history. One of the greatest composers of our time was GM Pal Benkö, born in 1928, died in 2019. The latter shows us how he improved on one of the most famous studies of all time, composed by the former.

12/28/2023 – Problemists love to construct problems in shapes that symbolize something auspicious. The great composer (and World Championship candidate) Pal Benkö sent us a problem shaped like a candle. Today we bring you two problems shaped like Christmas trees. They are not too hard, which we cannot say about the third problem, which taxes the brain.

12/25/2023 – For two decades we ended each year with traditional Christmas puzzles – here are some of the best from the early years. Many of our younger readers will not have seen them – remember, some of them were not born when we started. For others it will hopefully bring back nostalgic memories. And perhaps some additional joy on the big festive day. From today until January 1st 2024 we revive the tradition, with new contributors who will hopefully maintain it in the decades to come.

10/26/2023 – Stewart Reuben has officiated and/or organised several top-level chess events held in Great Britain and other countries, including the World Chess Championship, the British Chess Championship and a number of Hastings Congresses. Also an author and a poker player, he even met and played Bobby Fischer: “Each game he won, he gained $1. Had I ever won one, I would have received $10”. | Photo: John Upham

1/3/2023 – The Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) celebrated its 20th anniversary this year with a gala on November 16th. However, the gala event was not the last event of the year as there was one more work session left. In the week before Christmas, from December 16-18, Garry Kasparov trained six talented youngsters, who had an average age of 13 and an average Elo rating of 2490. | Photos: Kasparov Chess Foundation

12/25/2022 – To help you enjoy your seasonal feast, we have a turkey, a tree and a turbulent priest; a circus trip, a corkscrew and a silent (k)night – and lots more for your festive chess delight! Graham Phythian presents some fun and challenging positions to help you while away the festive period. They all appear in the Christmas section of CHESS Magazine, which has a special gift ready for you. You can download the entire magazine to read, free of charge! In any case we all wish you a Merry Christmas – CHESS and ChessBase.

9/5/2022 – The August issue of BCM is dedicated to the centenary of the great London 1922 tournament which saw the greatest players in the world take part, including Jose Raul Capablanca who appeared in public for the first time since winning the World Title. With century-old comments about the tournament and photos, and with contemporary reviews of the event and the opening theory, the August issue of BCM includes everything you need to know about the great London 1922 event.

2/25/2022 – Did you solve the Sam Loyd problem? The key is the move you would least expect! A week ago we showed you a small collection of delightful problems from the January issue of CHESS Magazine. Today we give you the solutions, annotated by Graham Phythian. You can figure out all the variations with the help of the built-in engines in our replay app.

12/26/2021 – In November we launched a new edition of our flagship program, Fritz. Version 18 has a special mode in which Fritz allows its opponent to actually win games, if he is able to find clever moves. Many amateurs and club players have sent in games that they won with brilliant ideas. But how about grandmasters? Fritz determines the playing strength of its opponent, and makes him find more difficult brilliancies. Iniyan Panneerselvam, a young GM, has written a report on his experience with Fritz 18.

12/24/2021 – That's almost it! It's the last day of the calendar, and we want to say a huge thank you for the thousands of entries! Yesterday we had to send the king to c2 because of the virtual opposition. Finally, there is a really nice endgame treat to solve.

12/23/2021 – The youngest GM ever, played the move Nf3+. Although the game was played this year, it is already a classic. On the penultimate day, there is a fast-paced task in which a white king has to find the right square. Can you help?