Nakamura v. Liang - Live!

3/14/2026 – Hikaru Nakamura is playing a training match against Awonder Liang in Saint Louis as he fine-tunes his form ahead of the Candidates Tournament, which begins in two weeks' time. The three-day encounter, running from 13 to 15 March, combines classical, rapid and blitz games. Liang, ranked 25th in the world, provides strong opposition in a match broadcast live on Nakamura's Kick channel. | Follow the games live starting at 18.00 CET (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST)
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Andrew Martin: The Vienna Game - Dynamic, Flexible and Deeply Underestimated

3/14/2026 – IM Andrew Martin makes a compelling case for the Vienna Game as a versatile and dangerous weapon, offering rich attacking chances with far less theory than mainstream alternatives like the Ruy Lopez or Italian. His course covers three distinct approaches - aggressive f2–f4 systems, solid early Bc4 lines, and positional g3 setups - giving you a complete, hard-to-prepare-for repertoire with real practical punch.
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Lessons of the Endgames

3/14/2026 – The Kasparov Chess Foundation Academy is delighted to announce an upcoming live lecture by GM Alexander Onischuk on March 15, 2026. This special session will focus on Lessons of the Endgames, the topic of utmost importance for players looking to elevate their understanding and results. Participants will have the unique opportunity to learn from GM Onischuk’s extensive experience, gaining invaluable insights into endgame strategy, technique, and practical decision-making at the highest level.
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Candidates Tournament 2026: Eight contenders, one dream

3/14/2026 – The FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026 is set to begin on 29 March, when eight elite grandmasters will start their fourteen-round quest to earn the right to challenge reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju. The lineup combines seasoned contenders such as Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura with rising stars including Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Javokhir Sindarov. | Image: FIDE
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Review: 60 minutes against the French

3/14/2026 – 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 against the French Defence.
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Naroditsky Memorial Rapid & Blitz set for July, Nakamura heads the field

3/14/2026 – The inaugural Naroditsky Memorial Rapid & Blitz will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, from 3 to 5 July 2026, combining open tournaments with elite showcase events across a three-day festival. Featuring a guaranteed $50,000 prize fund and offering FIDE Circuit and US Chess Grand Prix points, the competition is open to players of all ratings, with participation limited to 300 entrants. Top seed Hikaru Nakamura is set to headline a programme that also includes a Creator Invitational and blitz finals.
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An interview with Ding Liren: Sports, engines, rest

3/13/2026 – In early March, Jonathan Zhi had the chance to do a written interview with Ding Liren. His answers are translated from Chinese - the original answers are available here. The questions draw heavily from previous interviews, articles, podcasts and TV shows that Ding has given. Jonathan started following professional chess during college. At some point, he realised that many interesting players don't get to fully express themselves in the media. He started doing interviews to highlight those players and help them share their thoughts, stories and personalities. | Photo: Amruta Mokal / ChessBase India
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Checkmate in sight!

3/13/2026 – In the diagram position, Black's queen and knight already have the white king in a fix, and now all that's left is to bring in the decisive reinforcements. Your move!

Alice Lee beats Carissa Yip, claims third consecutive American Cup title

3/13/2026 – The women's title at the American Cup was only decided after the Grand Final Reset on Thursday, as Alice Lee defeated Carissa Yip to claim the title. Lee won the first rapid game with the black pieces and then secured a 117-move draw to clinch her third consecutive triumph in the event. The victory capped another strong campaign for the 16-year-old, who also made significant rating gains across both classical and blitz formats. | Pictured: Alice Lee and Maurice Ashley | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes
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Bodhana Sivanandan gains 200+ rating points in a month to secure FIDE Master title at 11

3/12/2026 – A sustained run of strong tournament results has enabled Bodhana Sivanandan to secure the FIDE Master title after she crossed the 2300 rating threshold for the first time. The British prodigy, who recently turned 11, gained more than 200 rating points across appearances in the 4NCL, Graz Open and Cannes Chess Festival, consistently holding her own against titled opposition. | Photo: FIDE / Michal Walusza
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The Power of Initiative: Episode 11 - Najdorf English Attack

3/12/2026 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace, and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world’s best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

The American Cup - Live!

3/12/2026 – 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. The event concludes on Thursday with the Grand Final Reset of the women's competition, where Alice Lee and Carissa Yip battle for the title. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 18.00 CET (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST) | Pictured: Alice Lee | Photo: Lennart Ootes
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Record at grenke Chess Festival

3/12/2026 – Weeks before the first move is played, the grenke Chess Festival 2026 is surpassing all previous dimensions. More than 3,000 registrations mark a new record for the world’s largest open chess festival. With Magnus Carlsen and Vincent Keymer among the participants, and the chance to qualify for the next Freestyle World Championship, Karlsruhe will become the central meeting point of the international chess scene over Easter. | Photos: Darius Gorzinski
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Bled Chess Festival: Chess tradition in idyllic surroundings

3/12/2026 – For almost a century, the Slovenian spa town of Bled has held a special place in international chess history. With the chess festival currently running until the weekend, this traditional venue continues the legacy of great tournaments – combining its historical prestige with an event for ambitious title holders, amateurs and young players. | Photos: Chess Festival Bled / Luka Rifelj
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Wesley So wins fifth edition of American Cup

3/12/2026 – Day nine of the American Cup in Saint Louis brought the open section to a conclusion, with Wesley So winning the fifth edition of the tournament, while the women's event remained unresolved after Carissa Yip forced a Grand Final Reset against Alice Lee. In the open, the title was settled without the need for further tiebreaks, as So converted his lead from Tuesday into overall victory. In the women's section, by contrast, another long day of classical and blitz play still proved insufficient to crown a champion. | Pictured: Wesley So and Maurice Ashley | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes
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Women's Candidates Tournament 2026: A clash of generations

3/11/2026 – The FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 will take place from 28 March to 16 April in Cap St. Georges Hotel & Resort, Cyprus, where eight leading players will compete in a double round-robin to decide the challenger to the reigning champion, Ju Wenjun. The field combines experienced Candidates participants such as Humpy Koneru and Tan Zhongyi with younger contenders including Zhu Jiner and Divya Deshmukh. | Image: FIDE
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Prague International Chess Festival 2026 - Behind the scenes

3/11/2026 – Chess tournaments have a way of running so smoothly that spectators rarely stop to think about why. That seamless experience is no accident, it's the result of dedicated people working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure everything goes according to plan. At the Prague International Chess Festival, organizer Petr Boleslav leads a close-knit team of helpers, many of whom he has known for years and who themselves come from a chess background. ChessBase sat down with several of them to offer a glimpse into the world behind the tournament.
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Remembering Slavoljub Marjanovic (1955-2026)

3/11/2026 – Last Sunday, on 8 March, Serbian grandmaster Slavoljub Marjanovic passed away. In the 1980s he was one of Yugoslavia’s strongest players and won a team bronze medal at the 1980 Chess Olympiad. After the end of his professional career, he made a name for himself as a coach. | Photo: ECU
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Pictorials: That was the year that was

3/11/2026 – Ashwin Subramanian is a technology evangelist: a software engineering manager at Intel, but also a brilliant photographer, who fortunately for us is very enthusiastic about chess. Ashwin uses his free time visiting major tournaments and sends us marvellous pictures that capture the atmosphere at the events. We will share them with you...
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