ChessBase

• ChessBase and the Georgian Chess Federation agree on a cooperation

  The President of the Georgian Chess Federation and FIDE official Akaki Iashvili visited the ChessBase office in Hamburg to familiarise himself with the company’s training and educational programs. He was particularly impressed by the children’s chess learning program Fritz & Chesster. ChessBase CEO Rainer Woisin (pictured, on the right) and Akaki Iashvili (pictured, on the left) agreed on a cooperation in the field of scholastic chess.

• Can you solve these studies?

  Take as look at this position. Is there any way you can stop the two black pawns that are ready to promote? And actually win this game? There are three challenging positions to solve on our live diagrams. And in a few days we will provide full explanations and strategies – in video clips. It is a learning experience.

• Who am I?

  A regular fixture in the German "Schachkalender", edited by Wolf Böese and Stefan Löffler, is the biographical puzzle. The task is to identify a player who is celebrating a milestone birthday this year.

• Fifth titles for Jobava and Batsiashvili at Georgian Championships

  Baadur Jobava and Nino Batsiashvili claimed their fifth national titles at the 2026 Georgian Chess Championships, held in Tbilisi from late January to early February. Jobava led the open tournament from the early rounds and finished unbeaten, while Batsiashvili dominated the women's event with a decisive mid-tournament winning streak. | Photos: Georgian Chess Federation

• Paula Wolf-Kalmar - An Austrian Enigma

  Paula Wolf-Kalmar only came to chess at the age of 30, but then went on to compete in three Women’s World Championships. However, she died young from diabetes. Much about the biography of the Austrian chess pioneer remains unclear. With his detective-like flair, Alan McGowan has brought order to the available data and uncovered new sources.

• 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.

• Megabase 2026: Living legends and rising stars

  MegaBase 2026 is Chess History in action. Regularly updated every month, the Main Database currently offers 11.8 million games, many of them annotated. Here our columnist offers a review with focus on chess in the 21st Century.

• 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)