12/23/2024 – The 11th Sunway Sitges Chess Festival wrapped up in style, delivering a lively atmosphere in the picturesque town near Barcelona. Savva Vetokhin, aged 15, stole the show, winning the title after beating Ido Gorshtein in a blitz playoff. The event saw fierce competition, with Chinese GM Li Di taking third place and Iranian WGM Mobina Alinasab finishing as the top-scoring woman. Living legend Vasyl Ivanchuk added flair, ending his campaign with a remarkable final-round win. | Photo: Official website

12/23/2024 – The greatest chess player of this era, Magnus Carlsen, has been announced as the Global Ambassador of chess at the Esports World Cup. The world's top online chess players will compete in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for a US$ 1.5 million prize pool. The event will take place from 31 July to 3 August 2025. The time control will be 10 minutes for the game, with no increments. Twelve players hoping to compete at the EWC will qualify through the Champions Chess Tour, which will host two online tour events in February and May. A final Last Chance Qualifier will take place in Riyadh to select the final four competitors. That competition will be open to amateur and professional players alike.

12/22/2024 – The chess tournament scene has exploded in recent years. And in addition to many exciting attacking games, there are also many amazing and instructive endgames. Karsten Müller is one of the world's greatest endgame experts. The sensitive radar of the grandmaster from Hamburg hardly misses an instructive endgame that has been played on this planet. At the end of the year, Müller shared with us the best, most interesting and most instructive endgames of the year.

12/22/2024 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books on chess training and strategy. In episode 209 of his "Understanding before Moving" show Herman looks back to the World Championship match between Ding Liren and Gukesh D in Singapore. | Photo: Pascal Simon

12/22/2024 – World Chess Championship 2024: All games with analyses by Giri, Howell, Shankland, So and others - ‘World Championship Special’: Dorian Rogozenco sheds light on the decisive moments of the match in his video analysis - ‘All in One’: A wing gambit against Sicilian and French! - ‘Show your inner Gukesh!’: Replay the victory of the new world champion against Fedoseev from the 2024 Chess Olympiad move by move with Robert Ris!- ‘Olympic Combinations’: Oliver Reeh's tactics column with 40 games and four interactive videos - ‘Black's Leverage on the Kingside’: In the French Steinitz Variation Christian Braun plays 7...h6!? and 8...g5 and much more.

12/22/2024 – Magnus Carlsen has once again proven his supremacy in the world of chess, claiming his fourth consecutive Champions Chess Tour title with a commanding 4-1 victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi in the final. Dominating the series since its inception, Carlsen's brilliance shone through in critical moments. With the World Rapid and Blitz Championships just around the corner, the Norwegian superstar shows no signs of slowing down as he continues to redefine excellence in the game. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

12/22/2024 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris looks at a game in which Nodirbek Abdusattorov lost against a much lower-rated player, who was bold enough to try the Benoni against his famous opponent. Initially, Abdusattorov was better, but then fell victim to a counterattack by Iranian FM Reza Mahdavi. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

12/21/2024 – CM Robert Mcligeyo and WFM Sasha Mongeli shone brightly at the 2024 Kenya National Chess Championship, held in Nairobi. Mcligeyo, aged 18, clinched the Open title with eight points, earning a brand-new Nissan Note, while dethroning defending champion Joseph Methu in a stellar performance. In the women's section, Mongeli defended her title, triumphing after a tiebreak with a score of 7/9. The event, organised by Chess Kenya, showcased remarkable talent and continues to inspire the nation's youth. | Photo: Chess Kenya

12/21/2024 – FIDE has announced plans to update the 2025 FIDE Circuit Regulations, aiming to enhance fairness and competitiveness based on feedback from the 2024 Circuit. Key proposals include adjusting the number of players eligible for points in round-robin tournaments, recognising double round-robin super tournaments with high Elo averages, and reducing points for events with multiple rounds in a single day. These changes seek to better reflect the value of high-quality tournaments and are set for final approval by December 31, 2024.

12/21/2024 – The 2024 Champions Chess Tour Finals are set to crown the year's champion at Screen Studios in Oslo, Norway, from December 17 to 21. Featuring eight elite players, including Magnus Carlsen, Alireza Firouzja and Ian Nepomniachtchi, the tournament promises high-stakes battles for a $500,000 prize fund. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 18.00 CET (12.00 ET, 22.30 IST)

12/21/2024 – Daniil Yuffa and Sabrina Vega triumphed in the 2024 Spanish Chess Championship, held in Marbella from December 11-19. Yuffa claimed his maiden national title with a stellar performance, securing decisive victories in critical rounds and holding off top-seeded GM David Antón in the final game. In the women's rankings, Vega clinched her ninth championship title with 6½/9, continuing her legacy. | Photo: Patricia Claros

12/21/2024 – In the diagram position Black threatens ...Qe2 and ...Nc4, but White wins. "Make your bets!" - you could say roulette-style - 'All on the 7!"