Have all playable alternatives in the early opening been discovered? Despite the huge number of possibilities, there seem to be no surprises in the first moves of a chess game, right? Well, I think I might just have blown that theory out of the water. Yes, I believe that I have discovered a new opening! Let me present you with the Wirral-Squirrel Variation, which introduces an entirely new idea as early as on move 4 ..read more

ChessBase Magazine offers a window to the world of professional chess. Our columnist Nagesh Havanur takes a look at our recent issue, CBM 218. 540 games from Tata Steel Chess and Chessable Masters 2024, 12 opening surveys, 3 opening videos, 6 demo lectures and several exercises for training. Annotators include Wei Yi, Anish Giri, Nordibek Abdusattorov, Alireza Firouzja, Vidit Gujrathi and Praggnanandhaa among others. The icing on the cake is a special feature on Richard Rapport, with 28 annotated games. | Pictured: Gukesh D playing white against Ding Liren in Wijk aan Zee | Photo: Jurriaan Hoe ..read more

The top duels in the fifth round of the Women's European Championship ended in draws. This allowed 15-year-old Ukrainian WCM Bozhena Piddubna (pictured) to catch the leaders with a win. Piddubna is now sharing the lead with Ulviyya Fataliyeva (Azerbaijan) and Marta Garcia (Spain). Piddubna will play black against Fataliyeva in Thursday’s sixth round. | Photos: European Chess Union ..read more

Cheating in chess took centre stage when Magnus Carlsen lost to Hans Niemann in September 2022, and then tweeted about it. Now, top grandmasters Vladimir Kramnik and Fabiano Caruana are sharing numbers about how many cheaters there are. What is being debated, what is known, and what is only a feeling? In its latest issue, New In Chess magazine deals with a subject that concerns us all ..read more

The FIDE Candidates Tournament, which captivated audiences for three weeks, is in the books. The closing ceremony was held at 1 Hotel Toronto, the residence of the players for almost a month. The champions, Gukesh D and Tan Zhongyi, were honored with unique trophies crafted from reclaimed Toronto wood, symbolizing their achievement and the enduring connection with the city they’ll carry home. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza ..read more

Alexander Donchenko was the rating favourite at the third edition of the Sunway Formentera Open and lived up to the role at the end of the event. Before the final round, he was tied for first place with Vasyl Ivanchuk. Doncehnko scored a full point in the last round, while Ivanchuk only managed a draw. | Photos: Sunway Formentera Chess Festival ..read more

Round 12 of the Candidates Tournament saw three players scoring full points to greatly increase their chances of achieving overall victory. Hikaru Nakamura and Gukesh D defeated Alireza Firouzja and Nijat Abasov respectively to join Ian Nepomniachtchi in the lead, while Fabiano Caruana got the better of Vidit Gujrathi to go into the final two rounds at a half-point distance from the co-leaders. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza ..read more

Anish Giri has recorded a two-volume Fritztrainer course in which he gives an overview of all the openings. The course is now available, also in ChessBase Book format. In a live stream, Anish Giri and his co-author Sagar Shah talk about Giri's Fritztrainer and what else is important in the chess world ..read more

The Indian Grandmaster RB Ramesh is regarded as one of the best and most successful coaches in the world, and he has played a significant role in the many successes of talented Indian players. In the ChessBase course "Improve your Pieces" he now reveals his chess and training philosophy. Harry Schaack watched the course and was impressed ..read more

Three out of four games ended drawn in round 12 of the Women’s Candidates Tournament, as Vaishali R scored her third win in a row in her encounter with black against Anna Muzychuk. The games that featured Tan Zhongyi and Lei Tingjie could have easily ended with decisive results — Tan escaped with a draw from a losing position against Nurgyul Salimova, while Lei failed to make the most of clear winning chances against Kateryna Lagno. Thus, Tan kept her half-point lead over Lei. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza ..read more