ChessBase

1. World Women's Team Championship - Live!

   The World Women's Team Championship is taking place in Linares, Spain, from 18 to 23 November. The knockout stage kicks off on Friday with the quarterfinals: Russia v. Uzbekistan, China v. United States, Azerbaijan v. Georgia and Kazakhstan v. India. A 45+30 time control ensures plenty of excitement in the team competition. | Follow the games live starting at 13.30 CET (8.30 ET, 18.00 IST)

2. FIDE World Cup, Semifinals - Live!

   The World Cup is coming to a close: four players remain, and three of them will qualify for the Candidates Tournament. In the semifinals, Wei Yi — the highest-rated player still in the field — faces Andrey Esipenko, the nominally weakest of the four semifinalists. The second pairing is an all-Uzbek encounter: Javokhir Sindarov takes on Nodirbek Yakubboev. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 10.30 CET (5.30 ET, 15.00 IST)

3. Who will win the World Cup – and who will make it to the Candidates?

   The World Cup began on 30 October in Goa, India. Two hundred and six players entered the tournament; three weeks later, only four remain and will now meet in the semifinals. China’s Wei Yi faces the Russian GM Andrey Esipenko, while Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan takes on his compatriot Nodirbek Yakubboev. The top three finishers qualify for the Candidates Tournament. The winner earns 120,000 USD, the fourth-placed player 50,000. But who has the best chances of winning the event — and securing a spot in the Candidates? | Photos: Michal Walusza

4. Linares: China v. USA among quarterfinal pairings

   The preliminary stage of the Women's World Team Championship concluded on Thursday in Linares, with Russia and Georgia topping their respective groups and eight teams advancing to the knockout phase. The final round brought clear outcomes in both pools, alongside a few notable surprises, including India's qualification with a reserve lineup and Ukraine's early exit after two costly defeats. Several intriguing matchups now await in the quarterfinals, most notably China v. United States. | Pictured: Russian IM Polina Shuvalova | Photo: Pavel Dvorkovich

5. US Chess Championships - Live!

   The 2025 US Chess Championships are taking place on 12-24 October at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Each tournament is a 12-player single round-robin with a classical time control. Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Hans Niemann are the highest-rated players in the open, while Carissa Yip, Alice Lee and Tatev Abrahamyan head the women's field. | Follow the action live starting at 19.00 CEST (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST)

6. Chess Endgame Challenge

   Take a look at this position. In order to have any winning chances, White must clearly move his rook. There are nine squares it can safely occupy, but only one retains the win. Can you find it? Today we have four problems that will challenge your endgame skills. Try to solve them by moving pieces on our interactive diagrams. The video solutions will be provided in a week.

7. European Team Championships - Live!

   The ninth and final round of the European Team Championships will determine the medal winners. In the Open Ukraine and Azerbaijan fight for victory, in the Women's Tournament Poland is in the lead, but Ukraine and Germany can still hope to win. | Watch the games live with video commentary. Start: Around 10:00 CEST.

8. Fermat in Chess

   Pierre de Fermat (1601–1665) was a French mathematician who made pioneering contributions to analytic geometry, calculus, optics, and probability. He is best known for Fermat's Last Theorem, which famously remained unproven for over three centuries. Then, thirty years ago (in 1995), the mathematician Andrew Wiles published the comprehensive proof. In his book "Chess Stories" mathematician Prof Christian Hesse, told us how he applied Fermat's final conjecture to chess.

9. Lasker-Chigorin: A legendary clash of two bishops vs two knights

   Already in the second round of the famous Hastings tournament of 1895, two of the favourites faced each other in a tough and complex battle. After just thirteen moves, the game had reached a semi-endgame with two rooks and two minor pieces each. Lasker held the pair of bishops, but it was Chigorin with the pair of knights who emerged victorious in the end. The game made history, and its course has been interpreted very differently over time. We invite our readers to join us in the search for new insights.

10. Werner Keym: Problem Chess Art

    You may have seen it before. In this very famous position, composed almost exactly a century ago, it is White to play and draw. Which do you think is the stupidest move White could make. Right, that is the solution – it is the only move that saves the game. Problem expert Werner Keym illustrates this in a book which he has made available, as an eBook, to everyone, free of charge. Here are some excerpts to give you a taste. You can play them out on the diagrams we provide.