Ivan Sokolov’s new course examines colour-reversed King’s Indian and Pirc structures, showing how extra tempi influence typical plans and why these positions feel uncomfortable for humans but not for engines. He analyses key model games from Kramnik, Botvinnik, and Fischer, demonstrating that White usually gets a pleasant setup without a guaranteed advantage, leading to sharp, […]
Monthly Archives: November 2025
ChessBase’s October releases cover everything from chess history to opening repertoire and calculation training. In episode 19 of the Master Class series, the expert team of Dorian Rogozenco, Karsten Müller, Mihail Marin and Oliver Reeh presents the first World Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz. Robert Ris’ new opening course also reaches back to that era, as the […]
Svitlana dedicates the episode to the memory of Daniel “Danya” Naroditsky, whose impact as a player, coach, and communicator reached far beyond the chessboard. She explores one of his favourite ideas in the Four Knights Opening – the powerful Nd5!, a move Danya loved to highlight for its elegance and instructional value. This episode blends […]
The concept behind Chessbase’s “60-minute” courses is simple: a one-hour video course for just under 10 Euros. There are also courses on middle game and endgame topics, but most courses focus on quite “specialised” opening variations. In the second instalment of a short series, Jochen Schwarz presents the most important 60-minute courses for 1.e4 players […]
Friday’s opening games of the FIDE World Cup semifinals offered balanced results but no shortage of depth. Both encounters were drawn, yet Wei Yi and Andrey Esipenko (pictured) produced an intricate tactical sequence, while Nodirbek Yakubboev and Javokhir Sindarov explored a queenless middlegame full of subtle decisions. With three Candidates spots at stake, every nuance […]
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 […]
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 […]
The Charlotte Chess Center and the Naroditsky family have launched the “Naroditsky Memorial and Fellowship Fund” to honour the life and work of GM Daniel Naroditsky, whose passing in October profoundly affected the chess community. The initiative aims to establish a permanent 4-million-dollar endowment supporting two projects dear to him: an annual elite blitz and […]
The second day of the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Team Championship in Linares saw high-quality chess and dramatic moments. While Team FIDE extended its lead in Pool A, Hou Yifan produced a standout performance in Pool B with a precise win in her tournament debut. The battle for the remaining knockout spots is heating up […]
Britain’s most prestigious chess tournament, the XTX Markets London Chess Classic, is back this month with a world-class field and even more at stake at Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium. he 2025 edition, the 15th, features a stacked line-up of super grandmasters battling for a total £50,000 prize fund between November 26 and December 5. What […]