ChessBase

• Svitlana's Smart Moves - The Cowboy Attack with Leon Mendonca

  Today we have a special guest on Svitlana’s Smart Moves: Leon Mendonca. Since we all got to know each other well during the Biel Chess Festival 2024, we decided it was finally time to record a show together. In this episode, Svitlana Demchenko introduces the tricky Cowboy Attack in the Sicilian, and surprisingly, Leon turns out to be a genuine fan of the opening as well, making this an opening variation that is definitely worth a closer look.

• ChessBase´26 – Tips for beginners, part 14: Save resources with remote engines

  When you are on the move, it is particularly important that your computer does not consume too much power when analysing. With ChessBase´26, you can conserve your battery and connect to top-quality hardware via a remote engine whenever you need it. This means that the engine installed on your computer can remain off and the computing power is provided by an Internet server. But there are advantages at home too: the wide selection is sure to include engines that are more powerful than the one on your own computer, and the fan stays quiet. In this tutorial series, you will learn how convenient and resource-efficient you can analyse with your engine of choice.

• Hans Niemann wins Super Rapid & Blitz Poland, reaches new milestone

  Fabiano Caruana scored 7/9 points on the final day of blitz action at the Super Rapid & Blitz Poland tournament. In the end, he fell half a point short of catching Hans Niemann in the overall standings. Alireza Firouzja made a strong start in the blitz tournament on Friday, but his gap to Niemann in first place only grew on the final day of the blitz event. With this tournament victory, against world stars such as Fabiano Caruana, reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju and Candidates' winner Javokhir Sindarov, Niemann has reached a new milestone in his chess career. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

• A memorable upset: Wolfgang Uhlmann beats the world champion at the 1962 Varna Olympiad

  Winning against the reigning world champion is always difficult. The first German player to achieve this feat after the Second World War was Wolfgang Unzicker, for many years the number one player in the Federal Republic of Germany. At the 1961 European Team Championship, he outplayed the then world champion Mikhail Botvinnik. Wolfgang Uhlmann, for many years the number one player in the GDR, was not to be outdone. In 1962, at the Chess Olympiad in Varna, he defeated Botvinnik - though not quite as convincingly as Unzicker had done a year earlier. | Image: Wolfgang Uhlmann in 1970 | Photo: Rob Mieremet, Anefo

• Super Rapid & Blitz Poland - Live!

  Kicking off the 2026 Grand Chess Tour is the Super Rapid & Blitz Poland, the first of three speed chess events, which is taking place on 5-9 May in Warsaw. Ahead of the final day of action, Hans Niemann is the sole leader, with Wesley So standing close behind, at a mere half-point distance. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 12.00 CEST (6.00 ET, 15.30 IST) | Photo: Lennart Ootes

• Three beautiful Sicilian tactics - The Monthly Dragon

  In this episode of Monthly Dragon, Chris Ward presents three entertaining and highly tactical Dragon games, focusing on key themes such as the thematic d5-break, the power of the Dragon bishop and active king play in the endgame. Particularly impressive are the games featuring Havard Haug, Emre Can and Hikaru Nakamura, where Black repeatedly seizes the initiative through tactical motifs, loose pieces, and aggressive rook and queen activity. The main lesson throughout the episode is that in the Dragon, dynamic play, piece activity, and tactical awareness are often far more important than perfect pawn structure. | Photo: John Upham

• Review: "Mastering the French Advance Main Line" by Jan Werle

  The Advance Variation in the French Defence can be seen as the purest form of handling this opening, as White forms the thematic French pawn chain as early as move three and aims to rely on his advantage in space and minor pieces. In his review, Lukas Köpl examines Jan Werle's contribution to the "60 Minutes" series from the perspective of both player and trainer.

• Super Rapid & Blitz: Niemann leads, Firouzja shines on first day of blitz

  Alireza Firouzja scored 6½/9 to top the first day of blitz at the Super Rapid & Blitz Poland tournament, but his difficult rapid section left him only eighth overall. Hans Niemann remains the sole leader despite scoring 3½/9 on Friday, with Wesley So half a point behind. Fabiano Caruana and Vladimir Fedoseev are tied for third, a full point behind So. The standings remain tightly packed before Saturday's final day of action. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

• England's new chess star is nine!

  Recently we had the remarkable British rapid chess champion Bodhana Sivanandan, 11 years old, for a visit. Now we learn that English chess has found another primary school super-talent: nine-year-old Kayal Vijay, from Hertfordshire, triumphed at the 2026 European School Chess Championships in Croatia. The two London schoolgirls have something in common: Indian heritage.

• TePe Sigeman - Live!

  The TePe Sigeman Chess Tournament is taking place on 1–7 May in Malmö, Sweden. World number one Magnus Carlsen heads the field, as he faces ambitious opposition that includes Tata Steel Masters winner Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Arjun Erigaisi and rising star Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, who recently became the youngest player to ever cross the 2700 rating mark. The event is an eight-player single round-robin. Follow the games live starting at 15.00 CEST (9.00 ET, 18.30 IST) | Photo: Peter Doggers / Official website