Defending champions Obiettivo Risarcimento Padova won the 55th edition of the Italian Team Championship, but had to work hard to do so. They only won the final against ASD Pedone Isolano in the second tie-break. However, ASD Pedone Isolano won the women's title (photo). | Photos: Matteo Zoldan ..read more

"I am a big fan of Aron Nimzowitsch," writes IM Zoran Petronijevic, who works as a chess trainer and lives in Nis (Serbia). "In yesterday's game Firouzja-Nepo, I found some ideas by him. We can often read that the study of the classical heritage of chess is completely unnecessary for advancing in chess, that the games of the classics are outdated, and that there is no (or almost no) benefit from them. I deeply disagree with that ..read more

Lei Tingjie scored a fourth win in five rounds to join Tan Zhongyi in the lead of the Women’s Candidates Tournament in Toronto. Lei defeated direct contender Aleksandra Goryachkina with the black pieces. With four rounds to go, the Chinese leading duo stands a full point ahead of Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno. Meanwhile, one more game ended decisively on Monday, with Vaishali R first surviving a losing position and then managing to beat Nurgyul Salimova. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza ..read more

U.S. grandmasters Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura collected vital wins in round 10 of the Candidates Tournament, as they now stand a half point behind co-leaders Ian Nepomniachtchi and Gukesh D. Nakamura got the better of a struggling Nijat Abasov, while Caruana defeated Alireza Firouzja out of a double-edged Sicilian Najdorf. The participants will get rest days on Tuesday and Friday, as there are only four rounds to go in Toronto. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza ..read more

Vidit Gujrathi bounced back from his round-8 loss against Gukesh D by beating Hikaru Nakamura with the white pieces on Sunday. The remaining three games ended drawn, which means Ian Nepomniachtchi and Gukesh continue to share the lead with 5½ points each. Since Nakamura lost, now only Praggnanandhaa R stands a half point behind the co-leaders. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza ..read more

In this New In Chess podcast episode, after the first half of the Candidates, Super-grandmaster Anish Giri gives his take. In an hour-long interview by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, he candidly shares his assessment of the players so far. Anish sees Ian Nepomniachtchi as one of the top favourites to win the Candidates and qualify for the World Championship match. But he also speaks at great length about the other players ..read more

Anish Giri's Opening Fritztrainer's are available 18th of April. But we added a sneak peek to his take on the Caro-Kann and King's Indian openings. Since this is still quite a new feature, we made a video which explains the setup in just 3 minutes ..read more

When you begin your journey of building an opening repertoire, how nice would it be to get a glimpse of what each opening looks like through the eyes of a super GM. It would help building your opening repertoire and understanding the vast world of chess openings. It is exactly with this thought that "A Supergrandmaster's Guide to Openings with Anish Giri" was made. Pre-order now! Delivery on 18 April 2024 ..read more

Arne recently played in a chess tournament, and one of his opponents played the unusual 1.f4, which was quite a surprise. Sadly, he didn't film this Smart Moves episode before the tournament, to get to know the surprising answer Nh6!? The so called - Horsefly Defence in the Bird Opening. Even the engines think that this counter is absolutely legit, and the Mega Database shows excellent results as well. Svitlana shows, why it is a powerful move ..read more

At the halfway mark in the Candidates Tournament, Ian Nepomniachtchi tops the standings with 4½ points to his name. Former co-leader Gukesh D was defeated by Alireza Firouzja, who came from losing 3 out of the first 6 games he played in Toronto. Gukesh is now sharing second place — a half point behind Nepomniachtchi — with Praggnanandhaa R and Fabiano Caruana. Rounds 8-10 will take place between Saturday and Monday, following the tournament’s second rest day. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza ..read more