ChessBase

• Global Chess League - 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 with fixed lineups, 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 12.30 CET (6.30 ET, 17.00 IST)

• GCL: Firouzja beats Gukesh, Mumba Masters and Continental Kings lead

  The Global Chess League began with a clear early hierarchy, as two teams emerged with perfect records after the first two days of action. Defending champion Triveni Continental Kings and upGrad Mumba Masters both secured back-to-back victories, while the remaining teams experienced mixed fortunes. The top scorers for the leading teams are Alireza Firouzja (Continental Kings), Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Bardiya Daneshvar (Mumba Masters), who have won both their games in Mumbai. | Photo: Aditya Sur Roy

• Can India’s 91st GM take the cake?

  Last year Indian GM Iniyan Panneerselvam won the 9th Johor International Chess Open. In second place was Indian IM Raahul VS. This year the 22-year-old Raahul returns to the Johor Open as the second-highest ranked player in the field – fresh from receiving his full GM title and thirsting for more. It is an exciting chess festival which you can attend. Here are all the details.

• My ChessBase 26 Desktop! - Laura Unuk

  We take a unique behind-the-scenes look at how top chess masters organize their digital workspace. Grandmasters and trainers reveal their personal ChessBase 26 setups — from meticulously clean desktops to chaotic databases full of ideas. They show us their board designs, current projects, and discuss their favourite or most-used ChessBase functions, offering fascinating insights into how great minds prepare, study, and work with chess every day.

• FIDE General Assembly votes to lift sanctions against Russia and Belarus

  At the FIDE General Assembly, which was held digitally, the majority of delegates voted to lift sanctions against Belarus and Russia. At youth competitions, anthems may be played and the flags of both federations may be displayed again. Their teams are once again eligible to participate in official FIDE competitions.

• GCL: Firouzja's brilliant win over Caruana helps Continental Kings score first victory

  The Global Chess League began its third season in Mumbai with three matches played in succession at the Royal Opera House. Day one combined a revised time control with the league's established scoring system and immediately produced several high-profile encounters on the top boards. Defending champions Triveni Continental Knights, led by Alireza Firouzja (who defeated Fabiano Caruana), opened with a win, much like Upgrad Mumba Masters and Fyers American Gambits. | Photo: Official website

• Christmas offer: ChessBase'26 plus Fritz 20 – the winning bundle!

  Available now, but only until 24 December: The bundle for winners: ChessBase'26 & Fritz 20 in a Christmas bundle. Instead of 268.80 €, only 229.90 €. Extend your chess horizons with ChessBase'26 and train intelligently with Fritz 20! Get yours now!

• 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.

• Rebel and playing style in chess

  Ed Schröder is a pioneer in chess programming. In the 1990s his program Rebel won a number of World Championships in computer chess, and always had a special place in the community, due to its playing style. In 2003 he retired from competitive computer chess, only releasing freeware versions of Rebel. Now Ed has come out of retirement and is undertaking some interesting new projects – like extracting the most interesting games from historical databases. And he is sharing them with us.