8/3/2025 – Frederic Friedel reveals what the Egyptian pyramids, an internship with Otto Borik and a frog game on the home computer have to do with his career in Germany's leading chess magazine SCHACH-MAGAZIN 64, where he was interviewed by Stefan Liebig. The four-page article is reproduced here in English with the kind permission of Schuenemann-Verlag. | Photos: Archiv Frederic Friedel

6/15/2025 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer, and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In episode 234 of his "Understanding before Moving" show, Herman continues his exploration of brilliant moments from chess history. | Photo: Pascal Simon

5/6/2025 – He is one of our oldest friends, a valuable assistant and advisor when ChessBase was first launched. The Oxford mathematician has had a long and very illustrious career in chess, sometimes counted amongst the top ten in the world. So how does he celebrate his 70th birthday? Let John Nunn show us how – and give us two celebratory puzzles to solve.

4/23/2025 – Anthony Miles was one of the best players in the world in the 1980s. He died in 2001 at the age of just 46 from a heart attack caused by diabetes. Today he would have celebrated his 70th birthday. | Photo: British Chess News

3/11/2025 – Today is publishing day. Susan Polgar's book, Rebel Queen, is available in book outlets, or on Amazon, where you can also get the Kindle edition. It describes the trials and tribulations of a super-talent at odds with her federation, and how she overcame it to rise to the very top of women's chess. Today we excerpt a passage from her book that describes her encounter with ChessBase. We are proud to have played a role in her chess career. | Photo Renata Goreczk

2/27/2025 – The 2025 World Senior Team Chess Championship in Prague showcased thrilling battles as veteran players proved their enduring brilliance. In the 50+ category, top-seeded USA edged out Italy on tiebreaks, while Kazakhstan secured bronze. England 1 dominated the 65+ section, claiming gold ahead of Lasker Schachstiftung GK and Saxonia. The women's teams shone, with the Czech Republic and Latvia taking top honours. Across nine rounds, legendary grandmasters proved that chess truly knows no age limits. | Photos: Ave Chess

2/8/2025 – Peter Enders was one of the greatest talents in the German Democratic Republic in the 1970s, but often came into conflict with the authorities. After reunification, Peter Enders was able to develop more fully, becoming an international champion and grandmaster. Peter Enders died on his 62nd birthday in Freyburg. | Photo: Georgios Souleidis

1/26/2025 – Today, 26 January 2025, the legendary Icelandic Grandmaster Fridrik Olafsson celebrates his 90th birthday. Heartfelt congratulations to the Chess Coryphaeus! Our author Eduard Frey presents highlights from a remarkable biography.

11/3/2024 – When facing a young, ambitious opponent, it's best not to let them gain momentum. At the recent Hoogeveen Open, Surya Shekhar Ganguly learned this the hard way against Emil Frederick Schuricht, a German teenager who, despite being rated 2145, outplayed the Indian GM spectacularly on the dark squares. Meanwhile, young chess prodigies keep raising the bar - most notably 9-year-old Ethan Pang (pictured), who reached an impressive 2303 rating this month. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

10/27/2024 – The 'Kalashnikov' variation in the Sicilian Defence is an improved version of the Sveshnikov. Black sets up the system quickly and then gets many different possibilities. Fabien Libiszevsky presents the system in his recently released course. Christian Hoethe had a look at the Fritztrainer and sent us a review.

9/10/2024 – Today, Tuesday 10 September, at 18:00, the 45th Chess Olympiad in Budapest will begin with the Opening Ceremony. To get in the mood for this Olympiad, it might be worth looking back at another Olympiad - the one held in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1988. The English comedian, writer, actor and chess enthusiast Stephen Fry made a documentary about it - witty, entertaining, full of irony and humour. As Fry said: "An event I wouldn't have missed for the world." | Image: Screenshot from the documentary - Stephen Fry (left), Jonathan Speelman (right)

7/25/2024 – Last week we showed you some chess puzzles of a different kind – some were quite easy, some pretty hard. They were at least most entertaining, bringing smiles to our faces. Today we show you the solutions, and video of a strong chess player solving the problems in real time.

7/20/2024 – Let us take a little journey through time. It was 1989 when the supermarket chain 'SPAR' organised a magnificent chess tournament in the Sartory halls in Cologne. Robert Hübner, Boris Spassky, Mikhail Tal, Viktor Korchnoi and the Polgar sisters were invited as the big stars. Television was still in its infancy, but it was already broadcasting moving images. | Photo: Sartory-Säle (via satory.de)

7/16/2024 – Here are some chess puzzles of a different kind. Some of you might find them very easy, some quite hard. They are at least most entertaining and should bring smiles to your face. Tell us which ones you could master. Next week we will give you the solutions – and show you a video of a strong chess player solving the problems live.

7/14/2024 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In the 186th episode of his ChessBase show "Understanding before moving" Herman continues his series "Chess history in a nutshell" and continues to look at the life and games of Garry Kasparov who many consider to be the best player of all time. | Photo: Pascal Simon

7/8/2024 – After six rounds, Iceland is leading the 50+ tournament at the World Senior Team Championship in Krakow. In the 65+ tournament, the Chess Club Strasbourg, with the Roos brothers, is in the lead. The French have so far only conceded one team point - against top favourites England. FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich opened the 6th round. | Photos: Mark Livshitz

7/3/2024 – The grandmaster teams from the USA, England, Iceland and Italy, the favourites for the World Senior Team Championships according to the ratings, had no trouble in the first round of the event. England and Iceland both won 4-0, the USA and Italy both won 3.5-0.5. | Photos: Mark Livshitz/ Organiser

7/2/2024 – The World Team Championships for seniors over 50 and over 65 begin today (2 July) in Krakow, Poland. The USA and England are the top seeds. The first round will be played today at 3 pm.

6/30/2024 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In the 184th episode of his ChessBase show "Understanding before moving" Herman continues his series "Chess history in a nutshell" and continues to look at the life and games of Garry Kasparov who many consider to be the best player of all time. | Photo: Pascal Simon

6/2/2024 – Study composition is one of the aspects of chess that has been both most helped and most muddied by computers. Sometimes it turns out that a study is actually unsound or at least has dual(s), and sometimes there are complications regarding the 50-move rule, for example. But if you have an idea, then it has never been easier to test it, so that a process that would once have taken days can now be finalised in mere minutes. | Photo: John Upham

5/26/2024 – The 8th Youth Chess Composing Challenge is on the way! The youngest contributors to chess art (born 2001 and younger) were offered three different sections to inspire their creations till June 10, with five special prizes of 500 Euros vouchers each for the best representatives of the five most successful countries. The tradition of YCCC was established in 2016 to stimulate young minds and to mentor their work. | Pictured: Christopher Woojin Yoo | Photo: Eric Rosen

5/16/2024 – England won no less than three gold medals at the European Senior Team Championships: in the 50+ and 65+ events and in the 50+ women's competition. The gold medal in the 65+ women's competition went to Germany. | Photos: Lukas Rilej (ECU)

5/15/2024 – The European Senior Team Championships 50+ and 65+ are currently being held in Terme Catez (Slovenia). Over 50 teams and a number of well-known grandmasters are taking part, including players such as John Nunn, Alexander Beliavsky, Adrian Mikhailchishin, Johann Hjartarsson and Rainer Knaak. Live games from 15:00 local time (9:00 ET). The last round starts at 14:00 local time.

5/4/2024 – In 1988, at the Chess Olympiad, a young Greek IM won two notable games. Both games weren’t in line with modern and long opening fashion analysis. Old and tricky openings were applied by the black players, which can be rather annoying. What can we learn from them? If you study the ideas and then try to apply healthy set-ups, you are already in the right track.