ChessBase

• The American Cup - Live!

  The American Cup, one of the United States' premier chess tournaments, returns to Saint Louis. Now in its fifth year, the event runs on March 3-12 at the Saint Louis Chess Club, featuring sixteen of America's top chess talents. With $400,000 in prize money up for grabs, the competitors will prove their mettle under mounting pressure in the double-elimination knockout format. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 19.00 CET (14.00 ET, 23.30 IST) | Pictured: Tatev Abrahamyan | Photo: Lennart Ootes

• Prague Chess Festival - Live!

  From 25 February to 6 March 2026, the eighth Prague International Chess Festival is taking place at the Don Giovanni Hotel, bringing together elite competition and a wide programme of side events. The seventh round on Wednesday sees sole leader Jorden van Foreest facing Nodirbek Abdusattorov - who stands in second place a half point back - with the black pieces. | Follow the action live starting at 15.00 CET (9.00 ET, 19.30 IST) | Pictured: Daniil Yuffa | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival

• The Grandmaster Mindset: An interview with GM Alojzije Jankovic

  Together with Keti Tsataslashvili, Alojzije Jankovic works as a commentator at the Prague Chess Festival – a role that suits him well. The Croatian grandmaster (peak Elo 2593) had his own chess show on Croatian television for many years and runs a YouTube channel. He was editor-in-chief of the magazine ‘Sahovski Glasnik’, has written chess books, studied economics and is vice-president of the European Chess Union. In an interview with ChessBase, he talks about his passion for chess, his career, his favourite player, chess in film, and explains how systematic thinking can help you play better and be more successful in life.

• Women's day in Prague: GM Pia Cramling and Czech star Ana Geislerova celebrate young talents

  During the rest day of the Prague International Chess Festival, organisers held a special programme devoted to supporting women's chess and highlighting the Futures tournament for young female players. Swedish legend Pia Cramling gave a lecture and a simultaneous exhibition, while Czech actress Aňa Geislerová attended the event and received an introduction to the game from Indian star Divya Deshmukh. | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival

• Prague Masters: Aravindh beats Gukesh with black

  David Navara is playing an excellent tournament in his hometown. After round six of the Masters in Prague, he is only half a point behind the leader, Jorden van Foreest, together with Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The direct encounter between Van Foreest and Navara ended in a draw. At the other end of the table, a player stands alone: none other than Gukesh Dommaraju. The world champion, still without a win, has lost his third game of the tournament. Against his compatriot Aravindh Chithambaram, he squandered a good position while in time trouble. Hans Niemann and Vincent Keymer drew the longest game of the day. | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival

• Prague Challengers: Gledura scores, Finek leads

  Only one game was decisive in round six of the Challengers at the Prague International Chess Festival, where Benjamin Gledura (pictured) defeated Jachym Nemec. The remaining encounters were drawn, though several featured complex positions and missed chances. Leader Vaclav Finek let a promising opportunity slip against Zhu Jiner, but the result was still enough for the 16-year-old to retain a full-point lead. | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague Chess Festival

• Commentator or strong GM? Harshit Raja's inspiring run at Saint Louis Masters

  After a small break, GM Harshit Raja made a fine return to classical chess at the Saint Louis Masters, an elite invitational tournament featuring a powerhouse lineup of just 70 players. Facing a gauntlet of opponents with an average rating of nearly 2580, Harshit proved what a strong player he is, leading to a performance rating of 2600+ and a gain of 13 Elo points. From daring "coffeehouse complications" against Grigoriy Oparin to a strategic masterclass in the Najdorf, Harshit shares the insights behind his "chill" and inspired approach to the game. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

• FIDE ratings - March 2026

  The new FIDE world ranking for March includes the tournaments played in Wijk aan Zee. Among the biggest gainers are Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov, as well as Matthias Bluebaum. The top of the women's world ranking remains firmly in Chinese hands. World Champion Gukesh, in his final year as a junior, is still number one on the U20 list. The (temporary) return of Sergey Karjakin caused some irritation.

• 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.