Efim Geller was born on 8 March 1925, a hundred years ago today. Between 1950 and 1970, he was one of the best players in the world, even though he never managed to become world champion. Geller's record against the world champions is remarkable - mostly positive. | Photo: Hugo van Gelderen (Anefo)
GM Mateusz Bartel is scheduled to deliver a live lecture at the Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) Academy on March 9, 2025, at 6:00 PM CET. This event is part of KCF Academy's ongoing training program, crafted to provide high-quality chess education worldwide.
The seventh edition of the Prague Chess Festival concluded with Aravindh Chithambaram winning the Masters section after securing an undefeated 6/9 score. His final-round draw against Ediz Gürel ensured victory as Anish Giri defeated Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, the only player who could have caught...
Fabiano Caruana won the Champions Showdown 2025 in Saint Louis. On the last day of action, Caruana defended his lead in the three-game mini-match against Ray Robson with victories in blitz and the semi-classical game. Wesley So finished second, ahead of Levon Aronian. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
In round seven of the Masters tournament at the Prague Chess Festival, Indian grandmaster Aravindh Chithambaram took the lead in the standings, and in round eight he defended it with a draw against David Navara, as the second-placed player, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, also signed a draw. The wins...
The Tata Steel tournament in Wijk has caused the biggest changes in the current world rankings. Among the winners is the tournament winner Gukesh, among the losers are Caruana, Erigaisi and also Keymer, who lost some points and places. In the country list, Germany is the best of the rest behind...
The seventh round of the Masters at the Prague Chess Festival saw Aravindh Chithambaram beating Anish Giri with black in what perhaps was the best game of the tournament so far. With this victory, Aravindh took the sole lead in the standings, as Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu was unable to get more...
Nowadays, you have to be careful with your old clothes so as not to violate sustainability laws. The best thing to do is to give your old clothes to a relative or friend. Or you can sell them on the internet. That's what Magnus Carlsen did, and he is probably happy with the proceeds.
After five draws in the sixth round of the Masters tournament at the Prague Chess Festival, there were no changes in the standings. Aravindh Chithambaram and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu remain in the shared lead. Despite ending in a draw, the duel between Sam Shankland and Pragg featured an...
The Champions Showdown began on Tuesday at the Saint Louis Chess Club, featuring six of the top players from the United States competing in blitz, rapid, and semi-classical games. Instead of a points-based system, standings are determined by prize money earned. The first day saw Fabiano Caruana...
"The 2025 Champions Showdown: The Kings" is a tournament featuring six of the best American chess players, competing in a daily triathlon of blitz, rapid and semi-classical chess from 4-6 March.
In mid-March, the Saint Louis Chess Club will present its first major tournament of 2025, the American Cup. The best male and female players in the USA will compete for $400,000 in a double elimination format from 15 to 24 March. But before that, six top players will battle it out in the...
In his latest column, GM Jon Speelman explores the fascinating Novotny theme in chess problems, sharing two of his own recent compositions. With the aid of modern software, he crafted problems that highlight this striking interference motif. He also delves into the theme's history, tracing its...
The fifth round of the Masters tournament in Prague brought only one victory. Wei Yi managed it against Sam Shankland, who completely failed in the opening. All four other games ended in draws, with Vincent Keymer missing a good chance to score. At the halfway stage, Aravindh Chithambaram and...
Boris Spassky died last Thursday, 27 February 2025. An exceptionally fine obituary by Leonard Barden appeared in the Guardian the following day. At 95, Barden continues to write chess columns for The Guardian and Financial Times, demonstrating his enduring passion and expertise in the field....
A trapped piece is a piece that has no escape squares or squares where it can safely move without being captured. Even ‘heavier’ pieces can become ensnared, as can minor pieces. Today GM and International Trainer Efstratios Grivas shows us what can happen to such pieces if you are not careful....
Just goes to show that even in round 1, the higher rated players are not invincible.
The 2025 Grand Chess Tour marks its 10th anniversary with a record $1.6 million prize fund and the return of the GCT Finals - held for the first time in South America, in São Paulo. Featuring an elite field, including world champion Gukesh Dommaraju and past GCT winners, the tour will span...
When you work with a programme on a regular basis, you should make that work as pleasant as possible. ChessBase 18 offers endless possibilities - and that goes for the look too. Make your workspace individual and pleasant. In part 4 of our new series of tutorials we will show you how easy it is...
Vincent Keymer continues to go all-in at the Masters section of the Chess Festival in Prague: the German went for an attack against Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, and lost. As a result, Pragg caught up with his compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram in the lead. Meanwhile, Wei Yi bounced back from his loss...
A loud machine, an empty battery - that's the usual result when powerful chess engines perform deep analysis on a notebook. A tough test for the hardware. With the ChessBase Engine Cloud you avoid these problems and have access to powerful computers that do the calculations for you. We present...
After laying the foundation in Volume 1, it's time to dive deeper into key strategic concepts that will elevate your middlegame play. But don't expect long theoretical explanations - this course is all about active learning!
Aravindh Chithambaran grabbed a second win in a row to grab the sole lead at the Masters section of the Prague Chess Festival. Meanwhile, Vincent Keymer continues to play all or nothing - after his round-one win against Wei Yi, he lost to Aravindh, and has now defeated Sam Shankland with black....
What's new at ChessBase? Whether it's video courses, the ChessBase Magazine or databases: there's a lot going on at ChessBase and we have something for everyone. Many new video courses have already been released during the cold season. Find out which ones they are in the following article...
Three players finished tied for first place at the Women's Grand Prix in Monaco, with Aleksandra Goryachkina, Batkhuyag Munguntuul and Humpy Koneru each scoring 5½ points. Goryachkina was declared the tournament winner on tiebreaks, securing her second consecutive Grand Prix victory. The final...