ChessBase

• World Rapid: Carlsen and Gukesh among co-leaders in the open, Zhu with perfect start in the women's

  The World Rapid Championship began in Doha with five rounds in the open and four in the women's event, producing clear early reference points without deciding the race. Magnus Carlsen, Gukesh Dommaraju, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Arjun Erigaisi and Vladislav Artemiev share the lead in the open section, while Zhu Jiner (pictured) emerged as the sole leader in the women's tournament. | Photo: FIDE / Lennart Ootes

• The best endgames of 2025!

  This article presents a curated selection of the most instructive endgames of the year, chosen by renowned endgame specialist Karsten Müller. Drawing on examples from elite tournaments and beyond, the collection highlights the enduring relevance of endgame technique in modern chess, with contributions from players such as Magnus Carlsen and reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju.

• 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.

• All eyes on Doha: Carlsen, Gukesh & co. meet at the World Rapid and Blitz Championships

  The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships 2025 will be held in Doha from 26 to 30 December, bringing together leading players from across the world in Open and Women's events. Played at Qatar University, the championships feature Swiss tournaments in Rapid and multi-stage competition in Blitz, with over €1,000,000 in prize money. The event marks Doha's return as host after nine years and concludes the international chess calendar. | Pictured: Classical chess world champion Gukesh Dommaraju | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

• 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.

• Chess Tradition Returns to Simpson’s

  One of the world’s most famous chess cafés is Simpson’s-in-the-Strand in London, which is also among the city’s best-known restaurants. It was here that the “Immortal Game” was played. After several years of closure, the historic venue has now reopened — and chess will once again be played there on a regular basis.

• Lilit Mkrtchian’s Best Games of 2025 - Opening preparation that actually works

  This video is a valuable chess lesson by IM Mkrtchian. Watch Lilit walk through a full “real tournament” prep routine in ChessBase 26. Find out how she scouts an opponent in the Mega Database, predict their openings, and steer the game into a line she specifically prepared. The payoff: a sharp Rossolimo move-order trap explained in a super teachable way, plus how she converts the advantage into a clean endgame win.

• 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)

• 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)

• 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.