ChessBase

• An interview with Ding Liren: Sports, engines, rest

  In early March, Jonathan Zhi had the chance to do a written interview with Ding Liren. His answers are translated from Chinese - the original answers are available here. The questions draw heavily from previous interviews, articles, podcasts and TV shows that Ding has given. Jonathan started following professional chess during college. At some point, he realised that many interesting players don't get to fully express themselves in the media. He started doing interviews to highlight those players and help them share their thoughts, stories and personalities. | Photo: Amruta Mokal / ChessBase India

• Alice Lee beats Carissa Yip, claims third consecutive American Cup title

  The women's title at the American Cup was only decided after the Grand Final Reset on Thursday, as Alice Lee defeated Carissa Yip to claim the title. Lee won the first rapid game with the black pieces and then secured a 117-move draw to clinch her third consecutive triumph in the event. The victory capped another strong campaign for the 16-year-old, who also made significant rating gains across both classical and blitz formats. | Pictured: Alice Lee and Maurice Ashley | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

• Bodhana Sivanandan gains 200+ rating points in a month to secure FIDE Master title at 11

  A sustained run of strong tournament results has enabled Bodhana Sivanandan to secure the FIDE Master title after she crossed the 2300 rating threshold for the first time. The British prodigy, who recently turned 11, gained more than 200 rating points across appearances in the 4NCL, Graz Open and Cannes Chess Festival, consistently holding her own against titled opposition. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza

• Record at grenke Chess Festival

  Weeks before the first move is played, the grenke Chess Festival 2026 is surpassing all previous dimensions. More than 3,000 registrations mark a new record for the world’s largest open chess festival. With Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer among the participants, and the chance to qualify for the next Freestyle World Championship, Karlsruhe will become the central meeting point of the international chess scene over Easter. | Photos: Darius Gorzinski

• Bled Chess Festival: Chess tradition in idyllic surroundings

  For almost a century, the Slovenian spa town of Bled has held a special place in international chess history. With the chess festival currently running until the weekend, this traditional venue continues the legacy of great tournaments – combining its historical prestige with an event for ambitious title holders, amateurs and young players. | Photos: Chess Festival Bled / Luka Rifelj

• Wesley So wins fifth edition of American Cup

  Day nine of the American Cup in Saint Louis brought the open section to a conclusion, with Wesley So winning the fifth edition of the tournament, while the women's event remained unresolved after Carissa Yip forced a Grand Final Reset against Alice Lee. In the open, the title was settled without the need for further tiebreaks, as So converted his lead from Tuesday into overall victory. In the women's section, by contrast, another long day of classical and blitz play still proved insufficient to crown a champion. | Pictured: Wesley So and Maurice Ashley | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

• 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.