Chess News

1. Tata Steel Chess: Niemann and Abdusattorov grab wins, share the lead
   Round four of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament featured three decisive games in the Masters, with Hans Niemann scoring an impressive win over Aravind Chithambaram, which included a well-timed queen sacrifice. Nodirbek Abdusattorov also won to share the lead, while Javokhir Sindarov defeated Matthias Bluebaim to stay in close contention. In the Challengers, Aydin Suleymanli kept the sole lead after defeating Lu Miaoyi with the white pieces. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lenart Ootes
2. Daniel Naroditsky toxicology report at time of death is released
   After the shocking death of the American Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky at the age of 29, speculations and accusations were rampant on whether it had been suicide or other. The Chief Medical Examiner of the North Carolina Office released the toxicology report, stating it had found a number of drugs in his system that could lead to addiction or death, though it leaves as many questions as answers. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
3. Norway Chess announces move to Oslo for 2026 edition
   Norway Chess will enter a new chapter in 2026 as the tournament moves from Stavanger to Oslo after thirteen editions. From 25 May to 5 June, both Norway Chess and Norway Chess Women will be staged at Deichman Bjørvika Public Library, bringing the event to the country's capital for the first time. Magnus Carlsen has already confirmed his participation, with further players to be announced. | Photo: Norway Chess / Michal Walusza
4. 27 Years Ago, in Wijk
   On 20 January 1999, Garry Kasparov played what may have been the greatest chess game of all time in Wijk. With a series of sacrifices he drove the black king onto the back rank, where he finally delivered checkmate. In a free reader, Robert Ris presents Kasparov’s masterpiece and other brilliancies from Wijk aan Zee.
5. The man behind Chess Hub
   The year 2025 is a significant one for the chess community in Malaysia as the country finally achieved its long-drawn-out dream of having its first grandmaster. IM Yeoh Li Tian achieved his third and final GM norm to finally complete the dream outlined by the late Malaysian chess philanthropist, Dato’ Tan Chin Nam. The Malaysian Prime Minister called to congratulate the newly-minted GM right after his historic achievement.
6. Review: All new releases in December!
   ChessBase 26 is certainly the highlight among the November releases, but the other databases also offer a wealth of study material. There are many new options to explore, as well as in Harald Schneider-Zinner’s checkmate course, which combines a book with an online course. Finally, there are also new installments of Karsten Müller’s Endgame Academy and Ivan Sokolov’s middlegame strategy series. | All photos: ChessBase
7. Christmas Puzzles 7 – long and short
   Take a look at this relatively simple position. Can you figure out how White can win? And how many moves it will require to overcome Black's most resolute defence? You won't believe it. To relax we bring you the arguably easiest chess study ever composed, and other entertaining puzzles, many from the out-of-the-box legend Karl Fabel.
8. Christmas Puzzles 6 – cover the board!
   In August 2019 I spent a week in France, at the training camp I had organized (together with ChessBase India) for young Indian super talents. Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik did the chess training, while I pestered the kids with logic puzzles. Most did not involve chess, but some did. Here are a couple for you.
9. Christmas Puzzles 5 – Rotary problems
   In rotary problems the board is rotated by 180° for a second position with a different solution. It is usually pawns that make a different when you turn the board around. Or the king/queen positions, or castling is involved. Can one devise problems where these factors do not play a role? Yes one can, as our expert for out-of-the-box problems, Werner Keym, proves.
10. Christmas Puzzles 4 – Retractors
    These days it is not easy to challenge anyone with problems or studies. Loading the PGN and clicking Start will usually get you the solution in seconds. So we are trying to provide you with "computer resistant" puzzles in this year's Christmas Puzzle Week. Today the subject is taking back a move in a given position and looking for a move to fulfil the condition. As in this 100-year-old problem by Thomas Dawson: it requires you to take back one move and then mate the opponent in two. Can you think how?
11. Christmas Puzzles 3 – Just some text
    There are chess puzzles which only consist of a line of text, asking you to construct a position or a game that it describes. Some can be awesomely difficult, like the puzzle we first posted 41 years ago. Two world champions were not able to solve it. We tell you about that, and present a new ones, not quite as tough, for you to solve.
12. Christmas Puzzles 2 – Not that easy!
    Take a look at this position, in which White should mate in two. Looks very easy, and hundreds of readers of the newspaper in which it appeared submitted a solution. But it was not correct. In our Christmas Puzzle week the consummate expert of unusual chess problems, Werner Keym, asks you to look carefully at the position and find a genuine way for White to mate Black in two moves. There are two other problems to solve.
13. ChessBase Christmas Puzzle Week
    Christmas day is usually celebrated with a Christmas tree – in problem chess circles occasionally with a puzzle shaped like a Christmas tree. Like this example, composed by the famous Thomas Rayner Dawson, 101 years ago. It illustrates the universal principle of symmetry, and how it can be broken in a chess problem. Mathematics professor Christian Hesse delves into the very profound thinking behind the problem. But you are invited to solve it first.
14. Global Chess League Finals - Live!
    The Tech Mahindra Global Chess League returns for its third season from 14 to 23 December, continuing its franchise-based format that combines elite male and female players. Featuring a team structure, the league again brings together established stars and juniors, with the title to be decided through a double round-robin stage followed by a two-match final. | Follow the action live starting at 11.00 CET (5.00 ET, 15.30 IST)
15. London Chess Classic - Live!
    The XTX Markets London Chess Classic is a 10-player all-play-all tournament taking place from 26 November to 5 December at the Emirates Stadium, home to Arsenal Football Club. Four English players and six international representatives make up the lineup, which includes top seeds Alireza Firouzja and Nodirbek Abdusattorov. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 17.00 CET (11.00 ET, 21.30 IST)
16. Attacking and sacrifice games
    Ed Schröder, pioneer of chess engine programming, has in his retirement turned his attention to a new and very exciting project: to extract games from a database collection that are especially aggressive – that are short and have daring sacrifices and king attacks. He shows us the kinds of result you can get. Best of all: you can download the utility and use it on your databases.
17. Rebel and playing style in chess
    Ed Schröder is a pioneer in chess programming. In the 1990s his program Rebel won a number of World Championships in computer chess, and always had a special place in the community, due to its playing style. In 2003 he retired from competitive computer chess, only releasing freeware versions of Rebel. Now Ed has come out of retirement and is undertaking some interesting new projects – like extracting the most interesting games from historical databases. And he is sharing them with us.
18. Riddle: Korchnoi-Karpov 1978
    As chess players occasionally do, Alex Fishbein, the U.S. grandmaster, was recently looking at a classic game from the past: Viktor Kortschnoj's victory over Anatoly Karpov in the 21st game of their 1978 match. Something was wrong. Charles Sullivan had done some intense research on this volatile encounter and asks for your assessment on the results he presents.
19. FIDE World Cup, Finals - Live!
    Today marks the final day of the World Cup in Goa, which began on October 31. But the key question of who will play in the Candidates Tournament in March and April 2026 has already been settled: Wei Yi, Javokhir Sindarov and Andrey Esipenko are in. Now it’s “only” a matter of deciding who wins the tournament. That will be determined today in the tiebreak between Wei Yi and Sindarov. The winner takes home the title and 120,000 USD, the runner-up receives 85,000 USD. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 10.30 CET (5.30 ET, 15.00 IST)
20. Ivan Sokolov: Understanding Middlegame Strategy Vol 12: Reversed Colour Systems – King’s Indian/Pirc Defence
    Ivan Sokolov’s new course examines colour-reversed King’s Indian and Pirc structures, showing how extra tempi influence typical plans and why these positions feel uncomfortable for humans but not for engines. He analyses key model games from Kramnik, Botvinnik, and Fischer, demonstrating that White usually gets a pleasant setup without a guaranteed advantage, leading to sharp, dynamic battles decided by understanding rather than theory. The course equips practical players, both with white and black, with clear ideas, typical patterns, and concrete plans for navigating these complex reversed-colour systems.
21. World Women's Team Championship - Live!
    The World Women's Team Championship took place in Linares, Spain, from 18 to 23 November. The knockout stage saw Russia beating China in the semifinals, while Azerbaijan got the better of Kazakhstan. In the final, Russia (FIDE team) defeated Azerbaijan convincingly, while China grabbed third place. | Follow the games live starting at 13.30 CET (8.30 ET, 18.00 IST)
22. Review: All new releases in October!
    ChessBase’s October releases cover everything from chess history to opening repertoire and calculation training. In episode 19 of the Master Class series, the expert team of Dorian Rogozenco, Karsten Müller, Mihail Marin and Oliver Reeh presents the first World Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz. Robert Ris’ new opening course also reaches back to that era, as the opening he examines in depth is named after two classical masters: the Colle & Zukertort System. And who doesn’t enjoy looking into the thought processes of grandmasters and world-class trainers? Discover calculation techniques at the highest level — Surya Ganguly’s “Calculation Step by Step” is sure to climb the ChessBase bestseller list quickly. | All photos: ChessBase
23. Svitlana's Smart Moves - In memory of Danya
    Svitlana dedicates the episode to the memory of Daniel “Danya” Naroditsky, whose impact as a player, coach, and communicator reached far beyond the chessboard. She explores one of his favourite ideas in the Four Knights Opening - the powerful Nd5!, a move Danya loved to highlight for its elegance and instructional value. This episode blends clear educational insight with a heartfelt tribute, showing how Danya’s creative spirit continues to inspire players through the ideas he championed.
24. Review: 60 minutes against the French
    The concept behind Chessbase's "60-minute" courses is simple: a one-hour video course for just under 10 Euros. There are also courses on middle game and endgame topics, but most courses focus on quite "specialised" opening variations. In the second instalment of a short series, Jochen Schwarz presents the most important 60-minute courses for 1.e4 players against the French Defence.
25. World Cup SF: Two draws, no lack of tension
    Friday’s opening games of the FIDE World Cup semifinals offered balanced results but no shortage of depth. Both encounters were drawn, yet Wei Yi and Andrey Esipenko (pictured) produced an intricate tactical sequence, while Nodirbek Yakubboev and Javokhir Sindarov explored a queenless middlegame full of subtle decisions. With three Candidates spots at stake, every nuance now carries considerable weight as the matches head into their second classical games. | Photo: Michal Walusza