ChessBase

• Candidates Tournaments: A ceremony worthy of champions

  The Candidates Tournaments opened with a ceremonial evening combining formal addresses, player introductions and cultural performances, setting the stage for the competitions ahead. Held in Cyprus, the event brought together all sixteen contenders from the open and women's sections, alongside officials and guests. With the opening ceremony concluded, attention now turns to the start of play on 29 March, when the race to decide the next challengers begins. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

• Reykjavík Open - Live!

  The Reykjavík Open is taking place from 25 to 31 March at the Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre, once again bringing together a large international field for its traditional nine-round Swiss competition. Led by top seed Amin Tabatabaei and featuring a mix of experienced contenders - such as Vasyl Ivanchuk - and young stars, the event continues a tradition that dates back to Mikhail Tal's victory in the inaugural 1964 edition. | Follow the action live starting at 17.00 CET (12.00 ET, 21.30 IST) | Photo: Skáksamband Íslands

• Review: "Calculation Step by Step" by Surya Ganguly

  Accurate calculation is the be-all and end-all in chess. That is precisely what Surya Ganguly aims to teach. Young FIDE Master Bahne Fuhrmann of Hamburger SK reviews Ganguly’s video course “Calculation Step by Step – Vol. 1: Foundations.” In his article, he takes a closer look at the tips and techniques proposed by the Indian grandmaster for calculating variations with precision. A course that demands active participation…

• The Birth of a Journey

  Praful Zaveri is the founder of Indian Chess School, where he has trained more than 5000 students. In 2023 he began writing a book, Shat Shat Vande Chess, on the cultural, historical, and philosophical journey of chess, on the 15,000‑year “odyssey” of the game. Now he has decided to make it into a film. Here is the first trailer – and Praful's thoughts on the enterprise.

• Chess Olympiad: Cloud power for your national squad

  Success in world-class chess is built long before the game begins. With the "Federation Package", developed specifically for national federations, players and coaches gain access to the complete professional ChessBase software, the world's largest chess database, and powerful cloud analysis – at a price that provides up to five times more computing power than individual solutions! A long-term investment that will measurably enhance the performance of the entire team.

• News on the 1896 Schiffers vs Steinitz Match

  Wilhelm Steinitz had lost his World Championship title to Emanuel Lasker in 1894, but he still retained the right to a return match. That rematch was scheduled to take place in Moscow at the end of 1896. Before that, however, Steinitz played a training match against Emanuel Schiffers. Join us on a brief journey back in time to Rostov-on-Don in 1896.

• Endgame Challenge Solutions

  Were you able to solve the challenge positions we gave you last week? Were you able to defeat the diagrams, which defended tenatiously? Today we bring you all solutions, with very instructive video explanations by Jared Modica, a chess content creator from Austin, Texas. He shows us how to solve tatical lines of play, and how to handle pawns in endgames.

• Most attractive chess players

  Who is your favourite chess player – of all time, from the history of chess? Whose games do you enjoy the most? Is it one of the greats from the 19th century, the world champion legends of the twentieth? Or is it a player who is still active? Tell us your choices – and we will compare them with what a chess AI chooses, after evaluating millions of games.

• ChessBase´26: A Players Guide (5)

  "Many players use ChessBase, it is the most popular chess software by far, writes GM Iniyan Pa. "Yet, not many people are fully aware of all of its features, and fail to utilise most of them. In this guide I have tried to show the features that I think are vital and important so that the user may gain the most out of the ChessBase. I hope it helps them in their development." We are deeply indebted to Iniyan for his remarkable five-part training review.

• The Chess World in 2026

  The chess world has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. From a game on the fringes of public interest, it has become part of the media mainstream. This year will see several major events and developments that promise to have a profound impact on the future of chess. Milan Dinić, editor of The British Chess Magazine, has described the main driving factors and what we can expect in 2026.