2/9/2026 – Who is your favourite chess player – of all time, from the history of chess? Whose games do you enjoy the most? Is it one of the greats from the 19th century, the world champion legends of the twentieth? Or is it a player who is still active? Tell us your choices – and we will compare them with what a chess AI chooses, after evaluating millions of games.

2/4/2026 – FIDE traces the history of the Candidates Tournament, the event that determines who earns the right to challenge for the world chess title. Established in 1950 to replace earlier informal arrangements, the Candidates has evolved through different formats and eras, reflecting changes in the championship cycle. From Budapest to recent editions in major cities, the tournament has remained the decisive stage in the path to a world title match, with Cyprus set to host the next chapter. | Image: FIDE

1/30/2026 – ChessBase Magazine offers a window to the world of professional chess. Nagesh Havanur takes a look at the current issue, CBM 229. All games from the FIDE World Cup, 27 annotated, 11 opening surveys, 3 opening videos, demo lectures and several exercises for training. Annotators include Sam Shankland, Wei Yi, Nodirbek Yakubboev and Gabriel Sargissian among others. The icing on the cake is the Special feature "Giri's Gems", offering the Dutch star's eight best games from the year 2025.

1/22/2026 – Auckland, 21 January 2026 – The 2026 edition of the Bob Wade Memorial round robin event concluded in Auckland, New Zealand, with English super GM Michael Adams finishing top with 6.5 points out of 9 rounds and a final tally of +4 -0 =5, half a point ahead of Commonwealth Chess Champion and ChessBase columnist, GM Daniel Fernandez (+3 -0 = 6). Report by Edwin Lam Choong Wai, photos by Weiyang Yu, Cadence

1/10/2026 – In this analytical column, GM Jon Speelman examines the disproportionate power of subtle “creeping” moves in chess. Using examples from games by Alireza Firouzja, Boris Spassky (pictured in 1964) and Garry Kasparov, he shows how small, almost inconspicuous piece shifts can radically alter complex positions. Blending modern encounters with classic material and personal recollections, Speelman explains why these quiet moves are so hard to anticipate and so decisive when they occur. | Photo: P. van Zoest / ANP, via geheugenvannederland.nl

1/7/2026 – At Christmas 2025, Stefan Löffler delighted readers of his chess column in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung—one of Germany’s leading national newspapers—with a Christmas story. Forty years earlier, Garry Kasparov, still not yet world champion, had played a clock simul against the Bundesliga team of Hamburger SK and lost. Two years later, Kasparov returned to Hamburg as world champion. This time he won the rematch, and during the visit encountered a remarkable new development that was to change the game profoundly: a chess database.

10/30/2025 – What makes a chess club feel like home? The Saint Louis Chess Club shows that it's the people, the stories and the shared love for the game. They form the heart and soul of this legendary chess club. From world champions to beginners, everyone is welcome at this place, which is driven by a community of passionate chess lovers. Recently, the club hosted the Clutch Chess Legends 2025, where two icons, Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand, faced each other once again. In the middle of all the action, IM Sagar Shah interviewed the person behind this beloved chess club, Rex Sinquefield, the visionary whose dream turned Saint Louis into the chess capital of the world.

10/8/2025 – Who else but Vlastimil Hort would have deserved a memorial tournament? Although it is sad that the Czech chess legend passed away on 12 May this year at the age of 81, it is remarkable that the first memorial tournament in his honour took place just a few months later. The last Sunday in September is set to become a fixed date for this rapid tournament. Brigitte and Daniel Hort attended the premiere. | Photos: Organiser / Teaser photo: André Schulz

9/15/2025 – Seventy years ago, on September 8, 1955, a column appeared in the Manchester Guardian, about a Russian teenager, Boris Spassky. It was written by a budding young chess master from Croydon. Leonard Barden went on to become one of Britain's strongest chess players – and a columnist who has set a Guinness World Record. | Photo John Saunders

8/27/2025 – Arpad Emmerich Elo, born 122 years ago, revolutionised competitive chess with his groundbreaking rating system, officially adopted by FIDE in 1970. A physicist and accomplished player, Elo helped bring structure and fairness to measuring performance, with his system later extending beyond chess into other sports. From Fischer topping the first FIDE list in 1971 to Carlsen's record 2882, ratings have shaped the modern game. Today, FIDE continues refining the system to meet new challenges and a growing global player base.

8/19/2025 – Grandmaster Jonathan Levitt has recently ventured into an unexpected field: songwriting. Inspired by a shared poetry routine with his wife, he has written lyrics dedicated to figures such as Bobby Fischer, Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov. With nine chess-themed songs now available, Levitt continues to explore new forms of creativity while maintaining his deep connection to the game. | Photo: Jonathan Levitt

8/6/2025 – It was the ever observant Leonard Barden who pointed it out to me: for the first time since FIDE began publishing its rating lists, 1971, there are no Russians in the top ten. The Guardian's weekly chess columnist turns 96 this month, and still keeps providing us with interesting reports.

7/1/2025 – The Elo ratings were introduced by the World Chess Federation as the official system to rank players on 1 July 1971. Robert "Bobby" Fischer led the rankings by a huge margin a year before his memorable World Championship match. The rating formula was developed by mathematician and chess enthusiast Arpad Elo.

6/10/2025 – "Enjoy the best game. Ever." That’s the slogan of the "New in Chess Magazine" – and the current issue lives up to that promise. It explores the question of whether Boris Spassky would have preferred to be buried next to Bobby Fischer, features in-depth interviews with Hikaru Nakamura and Aravindh Chithambaram, and includes the magazine’s regular columns offering training advice and entertaining insights from the world of chess. Informative and engaging.

5/13/2025 – 2025 is a year of farewells. After Robert Huebner, another great player and outstanding personality in the world of chess has passed away: Vlastimil Hort. Vlastimil Hort was one of the best players in the world in the 1970s. After moving to Germany he entertained television viewers with his subtle humour on the programme 'Schach der Großmeister'. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

5/8/2025 – Boris Spassky (30 January 1935 - 27 February 2025), the tenth World Champion in chess history, was a versatile player who could attack and defend and was equally at home in sharp and in quiet positions. The ChessBase Master Class on Boris Spassky presents and analyses his rich chess legacy. Eugene Manlapao took a look at the course and was surprised and impressed.

5/5/2025 – "The BBC has posted a 1972 interview with Fischer by James Burke on YouTube," our friend Yasser Seirawan told us. BBC Two had was broadcast this video, which is 35 minutes long, on 2 July, 1972, nine days before the epic match began. "Personally, I thought that it is fantastic, vintage stuff. You see the Fischer that I met in 1992. Engaging, funny, self-assured. But also aware of his own shortcomings." It is really something you don't want to miss.

5/1/2025 – Prague Chess Festival 2025: Analyses by Aravindh, Giri, Gurel, Navara, Nguyen, Shankland, Wei Yi and others - ‘My favourite miniature’: Entertaining, instructive, short - 27 games under 20 moves, annotated by CBM authors - Dutch vs. London: Yago Santiago counters with 1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.e3 Nc6! - ‘Rooks in seventh heaven’: Oliver Reeh's tactical tests with over 30 current games + four interactive videos - ‘3.Bf4! – Something for the lazy?": Sam Shankland dissects his victory over Ediz Gurel from the Prague Masters with the London System – Opening videos by Daniel King, Jan Werle and Robert Ris and much more.

4/15/2025 – On 4 April, Iceland's first grandmaster Fridrik Olafsson passed away. Olafsson had celebrated his 90th birthday in January. After ending his career as a professional chess player, he became a lawyer and eventually became FIDE President. FIDE published Olafsson's last interview, in which he talks about computers, his chess career and his friendship with Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, among other things.

4/11/2025 – GM Jonathan Levitt explains why and how he has suddenly taken up writing lyrics for songs, including one on Bobby Fischer and one on Boris Spassky. Have a look, listen and enjoy!

3/26/2025 – In the new instalment of the Power Play Show, GM Daniel King explores Boris Spassky's attacking skills. A classical game from the Candidates 1977 is explored - specifically the ninth game of the semifinal match between Spassky and Lajos Portisch. | Power Play is on air most Fridays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

3/18/2025 – The living chess legend from Argentina, Oscar Panno, celebrated his 90th birthday on Monday. The Argentine ranks sixth on the list of the oldest living chess grandmasters. His international career began in 1953 when he won the U20 World Championship. A number of remarkable achievements followed in what turned out to be a memorable chess career.

3/11/2025 – In his new Game of the Week show Merijn van Delft looks at one of the most remarkable games played in 2025: Aravindh Chithambarm's crucial victory against Anish Giri at the Prague Masters. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

3/10/2025 – On July 13, 2004, Bobby Fischer was detained in Japan with an invalid U.S. passport. That marked the beginning of a nine-month ordeal for him in Japanese custody. Among the supporters fighting for his release was former World Champion Boris Spassky, whom Fischer had dethroned thirty years earlier. Spassky, who passed last week, even wrote a personal letter of appeal to President George Bush, asking to be locked up in the same cell as Fischer. "And give us a chess set," he said.