Chess News

Elections in the Greek Chess Federation December 5, 2024
On December 15, elections will be held within the Greek Chess Federation to elect its new Presidential Board. From 1982 to 2021, the President of the Federation was Mr. Giorgos Makropoulos (IM), who, for many years, held the position of Deputy President of FIDE. Precisely for this reason, since the legislation in Greece prohibits presidential […]
London Chess Classic - Live! December 5, 2024
The London Chess Classic elite section is an 8-player all-play-all tournament taking place from 29 November to 7 December at the Emirates Stadium, home to Arsenal Football Club. Four English players and four international representatives make up the lineup, which includes Azerbaijani star Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, living legend Michael Adams and women's world champion Ju Wenjun. […]
World Championship Game 9: A "very precise" draw December 5, 2024
Game 9 of the World Chess Championship in Singapore brought a more measured yet strategic encounter, ending in a draw after 54 moves. Playing with the white pieces, Gukesh D applied early pressure in a Catalan Opening, but Ding Liren's precise defence kept the balance. Gukesh, who described the game as "very precise from both […]
ChessBase 18 error report - What is your Blunder Elo? December 4, 2024
The error report in ChessBase is a powerful analysis tool that evaluates a player's calculation accuracy based on their performance in games. By analyzing mistakes in various situations—such as complex positions, moments of attack, or defense—the tool not only identifies error patterns but also estimates the player's Elo rating. The analysis considers factors like position […]
World Championship Game 8: More missed chances in dramatic draw December 4, 2024
The World Chess Championship in Singapore continues to thrill fans as game 8 delivered yet another dramatic encounter. Both Ding Liren and Gukesh D missed opportunities to secure a crucial win, with the game ultimately ending in a hard-fought 51-move draw. Gukesh introduced a prepared novelty, gaining an early advantage, but Ding's resourcefulness turned the […]
Chess Stories – now in English! December 3, 2024
The book was originally published in German, has now been published in English by ChessBase India. The luxury hard cover version, printed in full colour, is available for less than $12, and the eBook version for just $9.50 – with all proceeds going to the HelpChess Foundation. Advanced copies of the book were given to […]
Remote Engine in ChessBase 18: Power Everywhere December 1, 2024
A remote engine does not run on your computer but in a data center. Here you’ll learn why the new remote engine is a smart addition to our proven cloud engines. How to run a remote engine without spending ducats? Why did our Helsinki machines give us quite a scare before the autumn discount day? […]
Females and Males Working Behind The Scene December 1, 2024
In the Spotlight article of the ECU magazine we were introduced to the women but also men working behind the scene, doing a fantastic work to support women in chess. They play a key role as players, arbiters, coaches, volunteers, says Antonina Gora from Ireland.
Underpromotion Milestones – part 3 November 28, 2024
Finally, in this three-part series, we come to the first full Babson task endgame study, composed by Gady Costeff. Many thought it was not possible to fulfil this extremely difficult task. Harold van der Heijden describes the full story. But one problem remains: the position is not legal. Costeff had already constructed it in 2011 […]
Learning the Shirov Killer November 22, 2024
There are tactical motifs which are continuously repeated and can be learned exactly like we learn opening theory. I feel that the correct approach is to collect thematic, nearly identical positions which are involved on similar patterns which you should look for. In this survey I will present an often met tactical motif I call […]
European Championship in Montenegro: Live November 19, 2024
Almost 400 players will take part in the European Individual Championship 2024 (8 to 19 November) in Petrovac (Montenegro). After ten of eleven rounds, the Serbian GM Aleksandar Indjic leads with an 8½/10 score, while Daniel Dardha stands in sole second place a half point back. The 20 best players qualify for the World Cup. […]
£33,500 FIDE Masters event at Arsenal November 18, 2024
New entries are being sought for an iconic edition of Britain’s most prestigious chess event, the 2024 XTX Markets London Chess Classic, starting on November 29 at Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium. The event’s FIDE Masters tournament, which will take place alongside the main tournament, is open to amateur and professional players alike and currently has […]
Tata Steel Chess India - Live! November 17, 2024
The Tata Steel Chess India tournaments are taking place on 13-17 at the Dhono Dhanyo Auditorium in Kolkata. An open tournament and a women's tournament run concurrently. Rapid and blitz take place one after another. The last two days see the players fighting in a double round-robin with a 3+2 time control. | Follow the […]
The ULTIMATE ChessBase tutorial: Learn the basics in less than 20 minutes November 14, 2024
Reading about the latest and greatest new features in ChessBase is exciting, but if you can barely use the basics, then it can also be frustrating. But worry not! You can learn them all in under 20 minutes, and even how to customize the work space, in this crystal clear video tutorial.
Ancient chess problems to solve November 13, 2024
Chess was invented in India, and brought to Europe in the 9th Century by the Arabs – who also introduced the first “mansuba” – middle or endgame puzzles with well-defined tasks, with stories and legends surrounding them. Today we give you three of the oldest mansuba to solve – in your head or against our […]
ChessBase 18: New dimensions in study and preparation November 11, 2024
The latest version of the standard chess study program has received a major update. It now allows you to evaluate your opponents, study their repertoire, their strengths and weaknesses, all at a click of the mouse. It draws its conclusions by replaying all their games – it has access to many billions of online games. […]
Underpromotion Milestones – part two November 6, 2024
Recently, the famous Babson task (Black promotes to one of the four possible pieces and White must promote to the same piece in all four cases to win) has been conquered by in an endgame study. Many thought it to be impossible to realize this extremely difficult task. In this second part of the three […]
Mate in Two Solutions November 5, 2024
FIDE, together with the World Solving Championships for Youth and Cadets, hosted a series of free online lessons to get participants ready for the inaugural FIDE World Solving Championships. They were run by Anirudh Daga and WFCC President Marjan Kovačević. Today we bring you the solutions to the two-movers we gave you to solve last […]
ARTE: Kasparov – Chess Rebel October 31, 2024
ARTE Culture, the French-German film production and TV channel, recently made a full six-part dramatic re-enactment of the epic 1997 match between Garry Kasparov and the super-computer Deep Blue. At the same time they broadcast a 50-minute portrait that traces the extraordinary life and career of the global icon. The film contains many historically interviews […]
Fischer vs. Greece – clock simul 1968 October 30, 2024
In 1968 the Greek Chess Federation, which had organised multiple Olympiads and Zonal tournaments, invited the 25-year-old American grandmaster to play a clock simultaneous exhibition match against five strong Greek players. The historical games played in Athens have been recorded and carefully annotated by Greek grandmaster and trainer Efstratios Grivas.

Lichess’s Blog

WCC 2024 Round 9: A Moral Victory for Ding December 6, 2024
GM Gukesh D went for a Catalan sideline, but GM Ding Liren successfully sidestepped the opening preparation
Lichess
WCC 2024 Round 8: A Double Advantage English December 4, 2024
GM Ding Liren played an enterprising English Opening against GM Gukesh D today, and after both sides had almost-winning advantages, the game ended in a draw.
Lichess
Lichess Game of the Month: October '24 December 2, 2024
Crushing the Sicilian Defence with the Smith-Morra Gambit
Lichess
WCC 2024 Round 6: Drawing the London... December 1, 2024
GM Ding Liren returns to 1.d4, with the two players navigating near-perfectly a less common London transposition and getting into the rest day with a draw.
Lichess
WCC 2024 Round 5: A Close Draw in the Exchange French November 30, 2024
GM Ding Liren was applying pressure after GM Gukesh D played the Exchange French, but the game abruptly ended in a draw when Ding did not find a move that could have kept the game going.
Lichess
WCC 2024 Round 4: Ding and Gukesh Play a Perfect Game November 29, 2024
GM Ding Liren surprised GM Gukesh D with a rare variation, but both he and Gukesh played with 100% accuracy and drew the game.
Lichess
2024 Lichess Meetup in Berlin November 28, 2024
A weekend of team working, chess, and meeting the public for more chess.
Lichess
WCC 2024 Round 3: Gukesh Bounces Back After Trapping a Bishop November 27, 2024
GM Gukesh D won a piece and converted his position against GM Ding Liren to tie up the match heading into the rest day.
Lichess
WCC 2024 Round 2: A Solid Draw With Many Positional Subtleties November 26, 2024
After yesterday's thrill, GM Ding Liren and GM Gukesh D called it a day early on today as they repeated moves in a solid, stable queenless middlegame position.
Lichess