ChessBase

1. Czech grandmaster Petr Neuman has passed away

   The Czech Chess Federation announced yesterday on its website the death of Czech grandmaster Petr Neuman (11 March 1978 – 29 April 2025). The Czech Chess Federation describes Petr Neuman, who became a grandmaster in 2013, as one of the country's most active players. Last weekend, Neuman was still playing for his German club Bad Mergentheim in the Bundesliga. | Photo: Czech Chess Federation

2. Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland - Live!

   Kicking off the 2025 Grand Chess Tour is the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland, the first of three speed chess events, which is taking place on April 26-30 in Warsaw. The event starts with 9 rounds of rapid action, followed by 18 rounds of blitz. Included in the field are young elite GMs such as Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Alireza Firouzja alongside former world champion Veselin Topalov. | Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 14.00 CEST (8.00 ET, 17.30 IST)

3. Superbet Poland: Fedoseev scores 8/9 on the first day of blitz

   Vladimir Fedoseev has taken a commanding lead at the Superbet Rapid & Blitz Poland tournament after scoring 8 out of 9 points in the first day of blitz. The Slovenian grandmaster now stands 3½ points ahead of the field with nine rounds left to play on Wednesday. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu sits in sole second place despite a shaky start to the day, while Levon Aronian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Aravindh Chithambaram remain in close contention for a top finish. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4. The Monthly Dragon - Deep Diving with a new Dragadorf!

   GM Chris Ward introduces a fresh and evolving variation in the Sicilian Dragon, humorously dubbed the "Accelerated Dragadorf", which merges dragon setups with thematic ideas from the Najdorf. He analyzes a complex game featuring this system, highlighting tactical motifs, a strong bishop on e5, and a dominant performance by young Vietnamese IM Dau Khuong Duy. The second part covers a clean positional win in a more traditional Dragon, culminating in a delightful rook endgame puzzle, followed by Chris sharing personal insights on his early use of chess engines like Fritz. | Photo: John Upham

5. Master Class Band 18: Max Euwe

   Max Euwe became the fifth World Chess Champion after beating Alexander Alekhine in the 1935 World Championship match. A maths teacher by profession, Euwe remained an amateur throughout his life, but was still the best chess player in the Netherlands, and one of the world's best players.

6. Vasyl Ivanchuk wins Menorca Open

   Vasyl Ivanchuk may be approaching 60, but he still enjoys chess and is currently enjoying his (at least) third chess renaissance. He recently went on a run of almost 30 games without defeat and won the Menorca Open. | Photo: Federico Marin Bellon

7. Women's Grand Prix Pune - Live!

   The fifth leg of the 2024/25 Women's Grand Prix series is taking place in Pune, India, on 14–23 April. A 10-player single round-robin, the event has Humpy Koneru, Zhu Jiner and Polina Shuvalova as the top seeds. The top two finishers in the series will qualify for the next edition of the Women's Candidates Tournament. | Follow the action live with expert commentary starting at 11.00 CEST (5.00 ET, 14.30 IST)

8. And then there were four?

   I have told the story often: in an interview in 2020 I said that in five years I expected at least two of the top ten players in the world would be Indian. My prediction was met with deep scepticism. It was clearly the unrealistic optimism of a friend and admirer of young Indian talents. It is true I was wrong. In five years since the prediction three have risen into the top ten bracket, and a fourth is on his way into it.

9. Player types in chess: What the ChessBase style report reveals

   In this insightful discussion, Dr. Karsten Müller reflects on his evolution as a chess player, particularly his transformation from an aggressive "Hyperactivist" to a more universal and pragmatic style. Through a comparison of his early years and later career, Müller's playing style is analysed using the ChessBase Style Report. His experiences highlight how his strengths developed over time and how this shift mirrors broader patterns in chess players' evolution.

10. Kasparov-Karpov: the Secret of the 24th Game

    Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov played five matches for the world championship. The fourth match was played in Seville in 1987. After 23 games, the score was 12–11 in Karpov’s favor, putting Kasparov in a must-win situation to retain his title. The final game was adjourned after five hours of play, to be resumed the next day. The sealed position is the subject of this article.