4/21/2020 – In his weekly show IM Lawrence Trent takes a look at some of the games Magnus Carlsen and Alireza Firouzja played against each other at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational 2020. | Lawrence' show is available at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, 12 Noon EDT) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

4/20/2020 – After Monday's round, the Magnus Carlsen Invitational has a sole leader in the world champion himself. Magnus Carlsen got a 2½:1½ victory over 16-year-old Alireza Firouzja, thus gaining three points for the overall standings. Firouzja did get to win a game, when Carlsen blundered the game away in one move. In the other match of the day, Hikaru Nakamura defeated Anish Giri. Round-up show by GM Daniel King. | Photo: Official site

4/18/2020 – The Magnus Carlsen Invitational kicked off with two stellar match-ups. The world champion traded blows with Hikaru Nakamura and won the Armageddon decider to get two points for the overall standings table, while Ding Liren defeated Alireza Firouzja without needing a tiebreaker. There was no lack of drama, as a small technical glitch and an intervention by the arbiter distracted Nakamura — the American grandmaster was understanding and accepted defeat. Round-up show by Yannick Pelletier. | Photo: Official site

4/17/2020 – In today's Power Play Show Grandmaster Daniel King presents a game by Mir Sultan Khan, the Indian player who was virtually unknown when he came to London in 1929 but quickly became one of the world's best players. | Power Play is on air most Fridays at 17:00 UK (18:00 CEST, Noon EST) on playchess.com. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

4/16/2020 – With no over-the-board action, online playing has gained strength among chess fans. Moreover, the world champion himself has decided to make the most out of a dire situation by organizing an unprecedented elite tournament to be played over the internet. Eight of the strongest players in the world will fight for a $70,000 first prize. The tournament will run from April 18th to May 3rd.

4/10/2020 – In today's Power Play Show Grandmaster Daniel King first presents an interesting position from a current game and then takes a look at a spectacular blitz game that Magnus played online a few days ago. Power Play is on air most Fridays at 17:00 UK (18:00 CEST, Noon EST) on playchess.com. -for a limited time you can watch the episode for free! All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

4/10/2020 – Alireza Firouzja is 16 years old and with a rating of 2728 currently number 20 on the FIDE World Ranking List. Many people believe that he will soon challenge Magnus Carlsen for the world title. But for now, at the beginning of April, the two first met for an online blitz marathon match in which they played 194 bullet (1+0) games. And the winner was...

4/9/2020 – Fans, professionals and anybody who follows the world of professional chess agree on the fact that Magnus Carlsen is on a class of his own. Besides reigning as World Champion in all three formats (classical, rapid and blitz), the Norwegian has managed not to lose a single classical game in over twenty months. Let us recap Carlsen's astounding — and ongoing — streak! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

4/3/2020 – Grandmaster Daniel King reflects on some online games between Carlsen vs Firouzja and wonders if this is the chess of the future. Power Play is live most Fridays at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, Noon EST) on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free! All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

4/3/2020 – This new series of articles will focus on reliving some of the best chess events from a relatively recent past. We will go back eleven years in the first instalment, to the 2009 edition of the Linares Tournament. Viswanathan Anand was the world champion at the time and headed an eight-player field set to play a double round robin. In the end, seventh seed Alexander Grischuk got the title, after scoring 8/14 and edging Vassily Ivanchuk on tiebreaks (most wins). An 18-year-old Magnus Carlsen finished third. | Photos: Frederic Friedel

3/26/2020 – Looking at the games of the Candidates one could see the influence of AlphaZero on modern chess, as in various games a quick launch of the h-pawn was seen. IM Robert Ris elaborates...Live from 18:00 UTC (19:00 CET / 14:00 EDT) and free to watch on-demand for a limited time (or forever for ChessBase Premium account holders. To chat when Robert is live, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows. In the diagram, it's Black to play!

3/18/2020 – The renowned American business magazine "Forbes" is famous for its lists and rankings. Recently, the magazine released its "30 under 30" list, naming 30 people under 30 years of age who have made a significant impact on modern life as entrepreneurs, sport stars, activists, artists or in other fields. Magnus Carlsen is one of them! | Photo: Magnus Carlsen by Alina L'Ami

3/1/2020 – With the 2020 Candidates looming, there were few tournaments held in February to attract the world's top grandmasters, with two notable exceptions in Prague and Saint Louis. Alireze Firouzja (pictured) was the winner at the Prague Masters and Humpy Koneru took the second annual Cairns Cup. Gibraltar was also rated in February and provides the only change to the top 10: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave notched up one spot back to number eight, while Shakhriyar Mamedyarov slips to the tenth position after withdrawing prematurely due to illness. | Photo: Vladimir Jagr

2/20/2020 – Easter is still a bit less than two months away, but it is already clear that the Easter holidays will be a boon for chess fans. From April 9th ​​to 13th the GRENKE Chess Open, the largest open tournament in Europe, takes place in Karlsruhe, Germany. And on Easter Saturday, April 11th, the GRENKE Chess Classic begins — with Carlsen and Caruana leading the field. To get in the mood for the tournament, the organizers have prepared a small video with the highlights of the past years.

2/19/2020 – The Grand Chess Tour, which was announced one month ago, is a standard-bearer for world-class events. In the latest press release, the organizers have now announced dates, confirmed participants and venues for this year's tour. There will be two tournaments with classical time controls and three rapid and blitz tournaments. The three best players in the world — Magnus Carlsen, Fabiano Caruana and Ding Liren — all take part. | Picture: Grand Chess Tour

2/1/2020 – Fabiano Caruana did phenomenally at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee and was able to reduce his Elo distance to World Champion Magnus Carlsen from 50 to 20 points — Carlsen now stands at 2862 and Caruana at 2842. Ju Wenjun remained Women's World Champion, and world number two. Firouzja won the Juniors battle in the Tata Steel Masters, and Zhansaya Abdumalik maintains a healthy lead in among the top girls. | Pictured: Caruana watches the game Firouzja vs Dubov | Photo: Alina l'Ami

1/31/2020 – At a press conference in Stockholm, Magnus Carlsen announced his collaboration with Unibet, a provider of sports betting, online casinos, online bingo and poker. In 2020 and 2021, Carlsen will act as a "global ambassador" for the gaming provider, which will be Carlsen's main sponsor for the next two years. | Photo: Magnus Carlsen on YouTube

1/23/2020 – Fabiano Caruana inflicted Alireza Firouzja's second straight loss to remain in the sole lead of the Tata Steel Masters prior to the third and last rest day of the event. Magnus Carlsen stands a half point back after scoring his third consecutive victory. The world champion was not the only one getting a third straight full point, as David Anton grabbed the lead in the Challengers with an impressive win over former co-leader Pavel Eljanov. Expert analysis by GMs CONSTANTIN LUPULESCU and DANIEL KING. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

1/22/2020 – Once again live from the Wijk aan Zee studio, IM Merijn van Delft tackles the game from the Masters that was hotly anticipated: the first classical chess battle between World Champion Magnus Carlsen and rising phenom Alireza Firouzja. The live show is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). Merijn is live this week starting at 19:00 UTC (20:00 CET / 4 PM EST).

1/22/2020 – Fabiano Caruana became the sole leader of the Tata Steel Masters after Magnus Carlsen took down former co-leader Alireza Firouzja in a highly anticipated match-up between the world champion and the 16-year-old. Carlsen is now one of four players trailing the leader by a half point. In the meantime, David Anton and Erwin l'Ami caught up with Pavel Eljanov in the lead of the Challengers. Expert analysis by GMs CONSTANTIN LUPULESCU and YANNICK PELLETIER. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

1/20/2020 – Fabiano Caruana caught up with Alireza Firouzja atop the standings table of the Tata Steel Masters after beating Vishy Anand from a clearly lost position. In the meantime, Magnus Carlsen, Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Vladislav Kovalev grabbed their first wins of the event. In the Challengers, Nils Grandelius and David Anton joined the four-player chasing pack that stands a half point behind sole leader Pavel Eljanov. Do not miss the thorough analyses provided by GMs DANIEL FERNANDEZ and YANNICK PELLETIER. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

1/15/2020 – Tonight's show will be recorded from Wijk aan Zee, very close to where the action happens. IM Merijn van Delft tackles the game from the Masters that was the talk of the town: Jorden van Foreest vs Magnus Carlsen. The live show is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). Merijn is live this week starting at 19:00 UTC (20:00 CET / 4 PM EST).

1/15/2020 – Wesley So defeated Alireza Firouzja to leapfrog him in the standings table of the Tata Steel Masters and become the new sole leader before the first rest day of the event. Five players are a half point back, including Vladislav Artemiev, who took down Vladislav Kovalev on Tuesday. In the meantime, Magnus Carlsen salvaged a draw from an inferior position again to set a new record of undefeated classical games. Surya Ganguly is now the sole leader in the Challengers. Expert analysis by GMs STEPHEN GORDON and DANIEL KING. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

1/12/2020 – It is hard to call a win by Alireza Firouzja a surprise after his stellar performance at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships — and his general good form from last year — but it is still noteworthy that he won his first ever game in Wijk aan Zee. He is joined in the lead in the Masters by Jorden van Foreest, who beat Yu Yangyi. In the Challengers, Pavel Eljanov, Surya Ganguly and Erwin l'Ami kicked off with victories. GM ALEX YERMOLINSKY reports. Round-up show by IM LAWRENCE TRENT. | Photo: Official site