Ivan Sokolov shows his class in Salzgitter-Bad!

9/16/2025 – On 12 September, the sixth edition of the popular simultaneous chess series "Grandmaster Meets Amateurs" took place in the café of the Salzgitter-Bad Grammar School – featuring a world-class player: GM Ivan Sokolov. The Dutch-Bosnian grandmaster faced 31 opponents and showed an impressive form, scoring 30½–½. Only Jannes Haverlandt managed to withstand the pressure and secure a draw – surely an admirable achievement.
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Yagiz Erdogmus: The youngest Top 100 in 36 years

9/16/2025 – It happened almost without notice, because it is so rare. Yagiz Erdogmus came swooping in and took the record for the second youngest player ever to enter the Top 100. We are conditioned to seek the youngest grandmaster or the youngest 2600 (he's that too), but actually entering the Top 100 before the age of 15 is a feat accomplished by only three players, and Erdogmus is one. | Photo: Michal Walusza/FIDE
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Tempo moves

9/16/2025 – Having time to spare is often a luxury – in chess, it can mean the difference between a win and a draw. In the diagram position, it’s White to move and win. What should he do?

Giri outright winner at FIDE Grand Swiss, Bluebaum grabs second Candidates spot

9/16/2025 – Anish Giri captured clear first place at the 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss, scoring 8/11 and sealing victory with a final-round win over Hans Niemann to book his third appearance at the Candidates. Matthias Bluebaum's undefeated run, which included wins over Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Arjun Erigaisi, earned him second place on tiebreaks and Germany's first Candidates spot since Robert Hübner. Vincent Keymer narrowly missed converting a winning chance in the penultimate round and failed to make the most of an advantageous position against Arjun on Monday. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
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Vaishali wins Women's Grand Swiss for a second time in a row, Lagno reaches Candidates

9/16/2025 – Vaishali Rameshbabu won her second consecutive Women's Grand Swiss, scoring 8/11 and edging Kateryna Lagno on tiebreaks to take first place. Both players secured qualification to the 2026 Women's Candidates Tournament. In the final round, Vaishali held Tan Zhongyi to a draw with black, while Lagno drew safely against Ulviyya Fataliyeva. Bibisara Assaubayeva missed a chance to join them in a three-way tie for first, settling for third place despite an undefeated run in Samarkand. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
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Leonard Barden, going strong at 96

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
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Svitlana's Smart Moves - Bishop vs. Knight: Who wins the endgame battle?

9/15/2025 – In this episode, Svitlana Demchenko explores bishop vs. knight endgames, showing when each piece can be stronger depending on pawn structure and king activity. Bishops excel with play on both sides of the board and outside passed pawns, while knights perform better in closed or narrow positions and against pawns fixed on the bishop’s colour. Classic examples, including Karpov and Kasparov, highlight practical rules and surprising techniques, like sacrificing pawns to open king entry routes.
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Grand Swiss - Live!

9/15/2025 – The FIDE Grand Swiss is taking place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on 4-15 September. An open event and a women's event are being played concurrently. Both tournaments are 11-round Swiss opens with classical time controls. Each tournament grants two spots in the next edition of the Candidates. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST)
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Jacob Murey in Paris - A personal recollection

9/14/2025 – For many, the passing of Jacob Murey will elicit a passing nod, or barely that as a name that brings no recognition. This is fair, but for the chess community located in Paris, France, he was a deeply respected character and fixture who left an indelible mark.
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ChessBase 18 – Tips for Beginners, part 31: Endgame expert with the "LiveBook"

9/14/2025 – How do you train endgames? To be honest, the question might be better phrased as: Do you even train endgames at all? After all, the magical richness of the final phase of a game is something not everyone appreciates. This makes it all the more important that training is enjoyable and not bogged down by unnecessarily long searches for the right solution. In this regard, the LiveBook feature of ChessBase 18 may not be familiar to everyone. All the more reason, then, to introduce this highly practical tool in this tutorial.
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Grand Swiss: Keymer, Giri and Firouzja join Bluebaum in the lead

9/14/2025 – Matthias Bluebaum's quiet draw with Nodirbek Abdusattorov allowed three players to catch him at the top of the FIDE Grand Swiss standings, setting up a four-way tie with two rounds to go. Alireza Firouzja outlasted Nihal Sarin in a dramatic 82-move encounter, Vincent Keymer claimed a second consecutive win by beating Parham Maghsoodloo, while Anish Giri overcame Jorden van Foreest in a tense Queen's Gambit Declined. In the women's tournament, Kateryna Lagno survived a lost position against Bibisara Assaubayeva to hold the lead by half a point. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
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Final call: Share your story in the FIDE Social Chess Storytelling Challenge

9/14/2025 – The FIDE Social Chess Storytelling Challenge 2025 is underway, inviting filmmakers, educators, and community leaders to share how chess transforms lives. Open to all ages and nationalities, the competition accepts both professional and grassroots submissions until 25 October. The best films will be showcased at the Social Chess Conference and across FIDE platforms, with winners receiving trophies, global recognition and an invitation to the 2026 Chess Olympiad Opening Ceremony.
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Granda returns: Peruvian legend set to face Oro and Lu at Madrid round-robin

9/13/2025 – From 17 to 25 September, the closed tournament “Legends and Prodigies” will be held in Madrid, featuring five GMs and five IMs in a generational clash. The event will be played as a single round-robin with a classical time control. Among the participants are Peruvian GM Julio Granda, a legend of Latin American chess, and the young talents Faustino Oro and Lu Miaoyi. The tournament will award a GM norm to players scoring 6/9 points. | Photo: Andina

Sudden death on the c-file

9/13/2025 – In the diagram position, White has to win back the piece without to simplify the position and without letting his development advantage evaporate. What would you suggest?

Grand Swiss: A relatively quiet day in the open, Lagno sole leader in the women's section

9/13/2025 – Round eight of the FIDE Grand Swiss tightened the race without changing the leaders, as Matthias Bluebaum and Nihal Sarin drew quickly to remain joint frontrunners. Vincent Keymer scored his fourth win of the event, this time against defending champion Vidit Gujrathi, while Jorden van Foreest claimed his first classical victory over Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. In the women's tournament, Vaishali Rameshbabu's first loss of the event allowed Kateryna Lagno (pictured) to take over the sole lead, with Bibisara Assaubayeva, Song Yuxin and Vaishali now in joint second. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
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Felix Blohberger's Réti - A clever repertoire for the practical player

9/13/2025 – GM Felix Blohberger takes the road less traveled with his two-part video course on the Réti Opening. In nearly eight hours of material, he explains the ideas he has developed for the Réti – drawing on his own practical experience. Hannes Langrock, an International Master and literary editor at a fiction publishing house, lives in Leipzig and plays for ESV Nickelhütte-Aue. He took an in-depth look at the course and now shares his impressions. | Photos: ChessBase

Jacob Murey passed away at 84

9/13/2025 – On 9 September 2025, Jacob Murey passed away in a care home in Israel. Born in Moscow in 1941, Murey immigrated to Israel in 1976. In 1978, he worked as Viktor Korchnoi's second in the World Championship match against Anatoly Karpov. In 2001, he became the first European Senior Champion. At his peak, Murey was among the 50 best players in the world.
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KCF Chess in Education Conference

9/12/2025 – On Saturday, December 6, 2025, leading educators, academics, and chess professionals will share their experiences, research, and insights on the dynamic field of chess in education. Drawing broadly on the concept of mindsets, this conference will explore the role of chess in education–ranging from fundamental concerns about curriculum, educational policy, the positive uses of failure, and the nature of play, to practical questions about classrooms and other sites of learning.
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Larsen Opening with 3...d5 and 4...Nge7

9/12/2025 – Having to play Black against the Larsen Defence (1.b3) can be quite unpleasant. This is because the white bishops on b2 and b5 love to attack the opponent's centre. In the main line with 1...e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.e3, Petra Papp recommends the pawn sacrifice 3...d5 4.Bb5 Nge7!? in the current ChessBase Magazine #227. If White rejects the sacrifice with 5.Nf3, 5...e4 leads to an attractive position for Black. If White accepts the sacrifice with 5.Bxe5, they must part with their bishop pair after 5...a6... Papp: ‘There are many setups against the Larsen Defence, but I particularly like the pawn sacrifice 4...Nge7!?’ Take a look at the new CBM reading sample - on your iPad, tablet, smartphone or PC!
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