ChessBase

• Prague Chess Festival - Live!

  From 25 February to 6 March 2026, the eighth Prague International Chess Festival is taking place at the Don Giovanni Hotel, bringing together elite competition and a wide programme of side events. Following the rest day, round six sees sole leader Jorden van Foreest facing one of the players tied for second place, David Navara. | Follow the action live starting at 15.00 CET (9.00 ET, 19.30 IST) | Photo: David Anton | Photo: Petr Vrabec | Chess Festival Prague

• Commentator or strong GM? Harshit Raja's inspiring run at Saint Louis Masters

  After a small break, GM Harshit Raja made a fine return to classical chess at the Saint Louis Masters, an elite invitational tournament featuring a powerhouse lineup of just 70 players. Facing a gauntlet of opponents with an average rating of nearly 2580, Harshit proved what a strong player he is, leading to a performance rating of 2600+ and a gain of 13 Elo points. From daring "coffeehouse complications" against Grigoriy Oparin to a strategic masterclass in the Najdorf, Harshit shares the insights behind his "chill" and inspired approach to the game. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

• FIDE ratings - March 2026

  The new FIDE world ranking for March includes the tournaments played in Wijk aan Zee. Among the biggest gainers are Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov, as well as Matthias Bluebaum. The top of the women's world ranking remains firmly in Chinese hands. World Champion Gukesh, in his final year as a junior, is still number one on the U20 list. The (temporary) return of Sergey Karjakin caused some irritation.

• 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.

• ChessBase´26: A Players Guide (4)

  What is the secret of becoming really good at chess? How can you best improve your understanding, your results and your rating? Well, use the cutting edge study and training software. But also spend some time discovering all the advantages it offers! GM Iniyan Pa has uncovered all the secrets of ChessBase´26, and presents his findings in his training/review reports.

• Tata Steel Chess - Live!

  The 88th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament is taking place from 17 January to 1 February and once again features the traditional structure of parallel Masters and Challengers tournaments, each consisting of 14 players competing in a single round-robin. Nodirbek Abdusattorov enters the final round as the sole leader in the Masters, while Andy Woodward and Aydin Suleymanli are tied for first place in the Challengers. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CET (6.00 ET, 16.30 IST)