3/14/2024 – WGM Mitra Hejazipor was born on 19 February 1993 in Mashdad, Iran, and became Iranian Women's Champion in 2012. But she left her country because she did not want to wear the hijab, or headscarf, and went to France, where she became a French citizen in 2023. She also became the French women's champion that year. She recently played in the Werder Bremen Jubilee Tournament, which ended last week. After the tournament Mitra Hejazipor found time for an interview with Vera Jürgens and talked about her career, how chess helped her to see the world and whether she would like to become a professional chess player. | Photos: Werder Bremen

3/10/2024 – The ChessBase opening tutorials are a compact, quick introduction to opening theory. They will soon be available in full in the new ChessBase book format. Volume one on the open games (1.e4 e5) has already been published. In an interview with Stefan Liebig, chess trainer and grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco explains the concept: "Memorising variations is a thing of the past". | Photos: German Chess Federation

2/6/2024 – Jan Henric Buettner is the man behind the Freestyle Chess G.O.A.T. Challenge in Weissenhaus, which starts on Friday and sets new standards in terms of the line-up and the presentation of a chess tournament. In an interview with André Schulz, the successful entrepreneur introduces the tournament: “It’s going to be mega fun!”

1/14/2024 – Chess legend Vlastimil Hort turned 80 on Friday. In a short interview, he talks about when and how he learned to play chess, which player he admired the most, why he left the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and what he thinks of online chess tournaments. | See also: Vlastimil Hort, the great chess entertainer, turns 80! by Eduard Frey

12/20/2023 – The name "Hastings" has a very special ring to it in the chess world. In 1895 one of the most important tournaments in chess history took place in the seaside resort on the south-east coast of England, and chess tournaments are still regularly held there today - no tournament in chess history has a longer tradition. The Berlin FM Jürgen Brustkern is a great expert on Hastings and has written a book on the history of this tradition together with Norbert Wallet. In an interview with ChessBase he reveals what fascinates him so much about Hastings.

11/21/2023 – On 12 October IM Dinara Wagner sat down with international chess journalist Tatiana Flores to talk about her chess career and personal interests. Wagner also shared her impressions of the European Chess Club Cup and gave interesting insights into the support she receives from her surroundings. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

11/7/2023 – How do you train, what do you train, why do you train and how useful is it to train or play chess at all? These and a whole series of other questions were answered by the Slovakian grandmaster, successful author and renowned coach Jan Markos in a ChessBase interview with Johannes Fischer.

10/16/2023 – Piers Morgan is one of the best known interviewers of our day, having had one-on-ones with people of all walks of life and interests. Among the more unexpected guests on his program which is now streamed on YouTube was none other than Hans Niemann, who needs no introduction. Piers Morgan was exceptionally direct, and the interview speaks for itself.

9/20/2023 – IM Andrew Martin recently produced his upcoming Fritztrainer on the Black Knight Tango opening at the ChessBase Headquarters in Hamburg. We seized the opportunity to chat with him and delve into his extensive chess journey. Born and raised in London, Andrew turned to chess as a solace during a challenging childhood. This passion shaped his entire life around the captivating game. He's done it all: from authoring multiple books, collaborating closely with ChessBase, competing in tournaments, mentoring students, to even setting a simultaneous play world record against 321 opponents. The conversation with Andrew is profoundly insightful, offering listeners a wealth of knowledge.

7/5/2023 – In an exclusive interview for ChessBase, IA and WIM Tshepiso Lopang talks to chess journalist Tatiana Flores about her beginnings in chess, her path to becoming a sought-after international arbiter and the first woman to be elected President of the African Chess Confederation. She also shares her ideas for improving chess around the world. | Photo: Courtesy of Tshepiso Lopang

5/28/2023 – In an exclusive interview for ChessBase, American Fide Master Alice Lee talks to chess journalist Tatiana Flores about her ambitions in chess as well as in her private life, gives some insights into her training routine and answers the big questions about her future in chess. | Photo: Alice Lee, ready for the start of the 4th day of the American Women's Cup 2023. | Photo: St. Louis Chess Club, courtesy of Alice Lee.

5/3/2023 – One of Robert Ris long-time students is Eline Roebers, who advanced from a chess beginner to an International Master. Ris has a clear message - if you are new to chess, and want to get better - learning how to calculate is key! This is why his calculation Fritztrainers are so popular. Two new ones were published very recently - time to ask the Dutch IM about the "making of" these courses. Robert shared interesting insights and also showed a number of nice examples!

4/28/2023 – Recently the brillant Grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Champion Ruslan Ponomariov visited Hamburg to record his first FritzTrainer, and Arne Kähler used the chance to interview him. Throughout the conversation Ponomariov offered invaluable insights into his chess journey and the key moments that have shaped his career, but he also talked about his personal life, the books he reads and how he spends his time in the Basque sun. As an added treat, the Grandmaster also presented a thrilling game where he emerged victorious against the formidable Vassily Ivanchuk.

2/24/2023 – "Blitz" is a French cult manga based on the Japanese model. It revolves around chess, and Garry Kasparov is an advisor to the team of authors. Tatiana Flores spoke to the creator of the series, Cédric Biscay | Picture: The cover of Blitz volume one and a glimpse of one of the exciting chess games (French edition). | Photo: IWA/Shibuya Productions

2/3/2023 – Artur Jussupow belonged to the absolute top of the world during his active time and after moving to Germany he opened a successful chess school together with his wife. At the Staufer Open Martin Hahn had the opportunity to interview the former World Championship candidate. Among other things, the grandmaster talked about chess training, cheating in chess, and the best junior players. | Photos: German Chess Federation (Bernd Vökler)

10/13/2022 – After Maxim Dlugy's recent statement on the actions that brought him into the spotlight, suggesting a connection with the accusations Magnus Carlsen had initially made against Hans Niemann. In an interview with DER SPIEGEL, Europe's most influential news magazine and portal, Max speaks of those accusations for the first time and discusses whether he will take legal action.

10/4/2022 – There is a sense of frustration at this stage by parties wide and large, and while the quote in the headline will hit closer to home for chess players, the venerable British newspaper 'The Guardian' also took an unprecedented step by declaring their own official position regarding the entire scandal.

8/29/2022 – Jennifer Shahade, two-time US Chess Champion, poker player and commentator is an activist for the role of women in chess and has published several books. Her most recent one is "Chess Queens". Tatiana Flores spoke with Jennifer Shahade about women in chess, her passion for writing and "Chess Queens". | Jennifer Shahade's "Chess Queens" is also availabe as audiobook. | Photo: Maria Emelianova /Chess.com

2/21/2022 – In an exclusive interview with Tatiana Flores, Carissa Yip talks about her chess career, her studies, some of her most important games, memorable chess moments, and shares her chess schedule for this year! | Photo: Austin Fuller (Saint Louis Chess Club)

2/2/2022 – The 11-year-old Candidate Master from the Ukraine is streaming regularly on Twitch.tv and YouTube. But his passion for chess and streaming started even earlier. In our interview, Tykhon tells us how he learned to play chess, what Minecraft has to do with his English-speaking skills, and why he always seems to be in a good mood. Furthermore, we take a look at one of his favourite games, including nice, insightful analysis.

1/31/2022 – Chess is an integral part of the lives of Pia Cramling and her daughter Anna. But mother and daughter are successful in very different ways. While Pia Cramling has been one of the world's best women player for decades, Anna Cramling Bellón has now become a successful chess streamer. But both pursue a common goal. As they explain in an interview with Tatiana Flores, they both want to promote chess and bring more women into the community.

1/21/2022 – Anatoly Karpov is one of the World Champions who is featured in the ChessBase NFT series. The 12th World Champion is a passionate stamp collector and immediately understood the idea. In an interview Karpov talks about NFTs, the story behind his brilliant win against Viktor Kortschnoi in the Candidates Final 1974, the World Championship match Carlsen vs. Nepomniachtchi, and Carlsen's statements about defending the title.

11/10/2021 – Elisabeth Paehtz played an outstanding tournament in the Women’s Grand Swiss, where she came second. Her performance granted her a spot in the next Grand Prix, and she also scored a GM norm, but it is not entirely clear whether this was her second or third norm. In an interview, she explains why and talks about the factors that helped her improve during the last year or so. | Photos: FIDE

11/2/2021 – Patrick Bet-David, CEO of Valuetainment, sits down with Garry Kasparov, in what was easily one of the best interviews by the former world champion in years. He candidly discusses topics such as chess today compared to his day, AI and why it is not the boogeyman, politics, Putin, the US, and truth. "I'm not a politician, I'm not running for office; I won't waffle, I won't duck." And he didn't.