ChessBase

• Wijk aan Zee: A 360-degree look behind the scenes

  The long-standing tournament in Wijk aan Zee offers a wealth of chess content, stories, images and interesting personalities. The following report takes a look behind the scenes, with background information and interviews. For example, you can meet the man behind the fantastic live experience on the Tata Steel Chess website, Menno Pals (pictured). | Photos: Nils Rhode / Interviews: André Schulz and Arne Kähler

• Tata Steel Chess: Giri stops Abdusattorov's momentum, Gukesh beats Fedoseev

  Play in Wijk aan Zee continued with an important result in the Masters, where Anish Giri defeated leader Nodirbek Abdusattorov, though Abdusattorov remains in first place. Javokhir Sindarov stays close behind after drawing Vinceny Keymer. Meanwhile, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju scored a win with the black pieces over Vladimir Fedoseev to bounce back from a pair of painful losses. In the Challengers, Andy Woodward and Marc'Andria Maurizzi both won to remain co-leaders, with Aydin Suleymanli half a point back. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes

• Chessbase 2026: A Players Guide (1)

  Recently we sent a friend of our company a copy of our latest database software, asking him what he thought of it. Instead of simply using it in the customary fashon, Iniyan P, a strong and very active grandmaster, spent weeks delving into every corner of the program, searching for all new featurs and enhancements: And he submitted an extensive training review, which we share with our readers.

• Review: "Calculation Step by Step Vol. 1" by Surya Ganguly

  Calculation separates the wheat from the chaff in chess. At the same time, many club players devote too little of their training to the skills involved. In today’s flood of courses and databases, everyone can bring their openings to a solid level and make “sensible” moves. Yet most games are still decided in close combat. Hannes Langrock is an editor at a fiction publishing house and an International Master. He lives in Leipzig and plays for ESV Nickelhütte Aue. He reviews Surya Ganguly's course “Calculation Step by Step Vol. 1”. | Photos: ChessBase

• Christmas Puzzles 7 – long and short

  Take a look at this relatively simple position. Can you figure out how White can win? And how many moves it will require to overcome Black's most resolute defence? You won't believe it. To relax we bring you the arguably easiest chess study ever composed, and other entertaining puzzles, many from the out-of-the-box legend Karl Fabel.

• Christmas Puzzles 6 – cover the board!

  In August 2019 I spent a week in France, at the training camp I had organized (together with ChessBase India) for young Indian super talents. Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik did the chess training, while I pestered the kids with logic puzzles. Most did not involve chess, but some did. Here are a couple for you.

• Christmas Puzzles 5 – Rotary problems

  In rotary problems the board is rotated by 180° for a second position with a different solution. It is usually pawns that make a different when you turn the board around. Or the king/queen positions, or castling is involved. Can one devise problems where these factors do not play a role? Yes one can, as our expert for out-of-the-box problems, Werner Keym, proves.

• Christmas Puzzles 4 – Retractors

  These days it is not easy to challenge anyone with problems or studies. Loading the PGN and clicking Start will usually get you the solution in seconds. So we are trying to provide you with "computer resistant" puzzles in this year's Christmas Puzzle Week. Today the subject is taking back a move in a given position and looking for a move to fulfil the condition. As in this 100-year-old problem by Thomas Dawson: it requires you to take back one move and then mate the opponent in two. Can you think how?

• Christmas Puzzles 3 – Just some text

  There are chess puzzles which only consist of a line of text, asking you to construct a position or a game that it describes. Some can be awesomely difficult, like the puzzle we first posted 41 years ago. Two world champions were not able to solve it. We tell you about that, and present a new ones, not quite as tough, for you to solve.

• Christmas Puzzles 2 – Not that easy!

  Take a look at this position, in which White should mate in two. Looks very easy, and hundreds of readers of the newspaper in which it appeared submitted a solution. But it was not correct. In our Christmas Puzzle week the consummate expert of unusual chess problems, Werner Keym, asks you to look carefully at the position and find a genuine way for White to mate Black in two moves. There are two other problems to solve.