ChessBase

• Qualification paths for the FIDE Women's Freestyle Chess World Championship

  FIDE has confirmed the qualification routes for the 2026 FIDE Women's Freestyle Chess World Championship, establishing a structured pathway into the 8-player event. Bibisara Assaubayeva (pictured) has already secured her place after winning an exhibition match in Weissenhaus. The remaining spots will be decided through the Grenke Freestyle Open, rating-based invitations, an online qualifier for titled players and designated over-the-board qualifying events. | Photo: Freestyle Chess / Lennart Ootes

• Chess as a mirror of universal tension

  Chess has long been treated as more than a game. With its fixed rules and opposing sides, it offers a compact model of conflict, balance and choice. The board becomes a space where order and unpredictability meet, and where every move carries consequence. This article considers chess not simply as strategy, but as a reflection of the tensions that shape thought, action and the wider world. | Photo: Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Lennart Ootes (Archive)

• Liang beats Salem in Sharjah's "Battle of Minds"

  US grandmaster Awonder Liang travelled to Sharjah to face Saleh Salem in the 12-game "Battle of the Minds", a mixed-format match held from 7 to 12 February. Combining rapid, classical and blitz chess, the contest remained closely balanced throughout. An early lead in the rapid segment ultimately enabled Liang to secure a narrow 8½–7½ victory. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

• 30 years ago: Kasparov takes down Deep Blue

  Deep Blue was the first computer to win a match against the reigning World Champion. In May 1997, Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in a six-game match by 3½–2½. Deep Blue was also the first computer ever to win a game under classical time control against a reigning World Champion - the first game of the first match between Deep Blue and Kasparov. In light of these successes, it is easy to forget that Kasparov won the first match 4–2 and at times made the supercomputer, which calculated an average of 126 million positions per second, look like little more than a competent beginner. Kasparov recognised the computer's potential at an early stage. | Photo: ChessBase

• 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.

• Review: New releases in January!

  We have a new author at ChessBase: Harshit Raja. And the Indian grandmaster is ambitious – he offers a complete 1.d4-repertoire! In addition, new episodes of Ivan Sokolov’s Middlegame Strategy series were released in January, and ChessBase Magazine fans can look forward to CBM Extra #229, packed with a rich "Lucky Bag". | All photos: ChessBase

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.