Tata Steel Chess - Live!

1/20/2026 – The 88th edition of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament is taking place from 17 January to 1 February and once again features the traditional structure of parallel Masters and Challengers tournaments, each consisting of 14 players competing in a single round-robin. After three rounds, five players share the lead with 2/3 points in the Masters, while Aydin Suleymanli is the sole leader in the Challengers. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 14.00 CET (7.00 ET, 20.30 IST)
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27 Years Ago, in Wijk

1/20/2026 – On 20 January 1999, Garry Kasparov played what may have been the greatest chess game of all time in Wijk. With a series of sacrifices he drove the black king onto the back rank, where he finally delivered checkmate. In a free reader, Robert Ris presents Kasparov’s masterpiece and other brilliancies from Wijk aan Zee.
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The man behind Chess Hub

1/20/2026 – The year 2025 is a significant one for the chess community in Malaysia as the country finally achieved its long-drawn-out dream of having its first grandmaster. IM Yeoh Li Tian achieved his third and final GM norm to finally complete the dream outlined by the late Malaysian chess philanthropist, Dato’ Tan Chin Nam. The Malaysian Prime Minister called to congratulate the newly-minted GM right after his historic achievement.
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Pawn waves and walls

1/20/2026 – Pawn waves and walls: King activity is often crucially important in an endgame: Black to move and draw.
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Tata Steel Chess: Van Foreest and Bluebaum upset compatriots, join leading group

1/20/2026 – Round three of the Tata Steel Chess tournament brought notable shifts in the standings. In the Masters, Matthias Bluebaum defeated Vincent Keymer in an all-German battle, while Jorden van Foreest overcame Anish Giri in the all-Dutch derby. Both Bluebaum and Van Foreest joined the leading group on 2/3. In the Challengers, Aydin Suleymanli moved into sole first place after beating Eline Roebers with the black pieces. | Photo: Nils Rohde
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Aaryan Varshney: Grandmaster without a trainer

1/19/2026 – At first glance, the Andranik Margaryan Memorial, held from 9 to 16 January in Armenia, did not appear particularly historic. Three GMs, six IMs and one FM took part, and with a rating of 2514 the Russian IM Vladislav Nozdrachev was the top seed. In the end, however, it was the 21-year-old Indian Aaryan Varshney who emerged victorious, becoming India’s 92nd grandmaster with this success. His story shows how modern computers, software and databases can help to win titles and celebrate success in chess — even without a trainer or support from federations. | Photo: Chess Academy of Armenia
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Rozman defeats Song 14–8

1/19/2026 – The streamer match between IM Levy Rozman and IM Julien Song in Madrid opened with two draws in the classical games. In rapid and blitz, however, Rozman, known as Gotham Chess, clearly took control: he won two of the four rapid games, drew one and lost one, then scored six wins in the blitz while Song managed only two. Under the tournament’s scoring system, the final score was 14–8. | Photos: David Martinez/Chess.com
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Major pieces among themselves

1/19/2026 – When all the minor pieces have been exchanged but the major pieces are still on the board, the game often takes on a character all of its own. In his article for the current issue of ChessBase Magazine, strategy expert Mihail Marin discusses both elementary positional factors and complex structures. In addition to numerous training exercises, his article includes an introductory video and two interactive training videos. Take a look at this week's CBM sample and find out, for example, what the optimal king position is for this material distribution!
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Tata Steel Chess: Abdusattorov beats Pragg, Fedoseev takes down Keymer

1/19/2026 – Round two of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament produced two decisive games in the Masters, with Nodirbek Abdusattorov (pictured) and Vladimir Fedoseev both scoring with the white peices. Abdusattorov now shares the lead on 1½ points with Hans Niemann and Arjun Erigaisi. In the Challengers, Lu Miaoyi emerged as the sole leader on 2/2, while Faustino Oro added a notable win against a 2600-rated GM. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
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Pepe Cuenca takes Temuco title ahead of Diego Flores

1/18/2026 – The third edition of the Temuco International Chess Tournament brought together a strong international field in southern Chile for nine rounds of classical play. After six days of competition, José "Pepe" Cuenca of Spain and Argentina's Diego Flores finished level on 7½ points. Cuenca claimed the title on Sonneborn–Berger tiebreaks, having led the tournament early and maintained his advantage through consistent results. | Photo: Official website
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Inaugural Pia Cramling Cup successfully held in Stockholm

1/18/2026 – The FIDE Commission for Women's Chess co-organised the inaugural Pia Cramling Cup in Stockholm, combining a new women’s rapid tournament with a DGT Board Operator Certification Seminar during the Rilton Cup. Held in collaboration with Pia Cramling and the Stockholm Chess Federation, the event brought together players and professionals from several countries, highlighting both competitive opportunity and technical education as part of a broader effort to expand women’s participation across all levels of chess. | Pictured: Pia Cramling and Anastasia Sorokina
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Review: All new releases in December!

1/18/2026 – ChessBase 26 is certainly the highlight among the November releases, but the other databases also offer a wealth of study material. There are many new options to explore, as well as in Harald Schneider-Zinner’s checkmate course, which combines a book with an online course. Finally, there are also new installments of Karsten Müller’s Endgame Academy and Ivan Sokolov’s middlegame strategy series. | All photos: ChessBase
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Tata Steel Chess: Keymer, Erigaisi and Niemann score in eventful first round

1/18/2026 – Round one of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee began after an unusual delay provoked by protests outside the playing hall. In the Masters, decisive games followed uncharacteristic early blunders, with Hans Niemann, Vincent Keymer and Arjun Erigaisi all scoring with the white pieces. Later in the day, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju failed to make the most of a clear advantage, as Javokhir Sindarov narrowly escaped with a draw. | Photo: Tata Steel Chess / Lennart Ootes
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Svitlana's Smart Moves - The Fake Sveshnikov Sicilian

1/17/2026 – Svitlana introduces the “Fake Sveshnikov,” an unconventional Sicilian where Black mimics familiar Sveshnikov structures but deliberately deviates with early …e5 and …Ne7 to sidestep typical pins and seize dynamic counterplay. The episode walks through White’s main setups (Bg5, Be3, Bd3, c3, c4), showing recurring Black ideas like sacrificing a pawn, rapid development, dark-square pressure, and timely breaks with …f5 or …Nd4. The lesson emphasizes pattern recognition over memorization, illustrating how surprising plans and imbalances can lead to strong practical chances—even revealing that Sveshnikov himself once played this “fake” version.
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Maia Chiburdanidze celebrates her 65th birthday

1/17/2026 – Today, on 17 January 2026, Maia Chiburdanidze celebrates her 65th birthday. For a long time, she was the best female chess player in the world, a world champion and a multiple gold medallist at Chess Olympiads. Like no other, Maia Chiburdanidze represents the golden era of Georgian women's chess, though she initially competed under the Soviet flag.

Endgame Magic #321: Highlights from 2025 Part 1

1/17/2026 – Karsten shows 5 endgame highlights from the last year. | You can watch the Endgame Magic Show on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

World Champion loss against Underdog - The Underdog

1/17/2026 – Gukesh, the World Chess Champion, endured a difficult 2025. Still, he produced a convincing win against Magnus Carlsen and finished tied for first at Tata Steel Chess, ultimately losing the blitz tiebreak to Praggnanandhaa. At the World Blitz Championship in Doha, he suffered a stunning upset against underdog Sergey Sklokin (2407), where an extraordinary endgame collapse saw Gukesh lose multiple pawns in succession.
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Saint Louis Chess Club announces 2026 invitational tournament schedule

1/16/2026 – The Saint Louis Chess Club has unveiled its 2026 tournament calendar, outlining a full season of elite events in the United States and abroad. Anchored by an expanded 30,000-square-foot home campus, the schedule includes established fixtures such as the American Cup, Sinquefield Cup and U.S. Championships, alongside international stops on the Grand Chess Tour. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club
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Chess on the beach: An initiative by the Argentine Olympic Committee

1/16/2026 – The Argentine Olympic Committee has launched "Olympic Beach", a nationwide summer programme that brings organised sport and Olympic values to Argentina's coastal and riverside locations ahead of the Santa Fe 2026 South American Games. Running throughout January across eight venues, the initiative combines free sporting activities, youth engagement, environmental actions and federation-led events, including the integration of chess into the programme's public beach setting. | Photo: Argentine Chess Federation
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