7/14/2025 – 107 players started in the Women's World Cup, but only 32 of them made it to round three. With the exception of Aleksandra Goryachkina, the top favorites remain in the field. The top Chinese players Lei Tingjie, Zhu Jiner, and Tan Zhongyi all advanced comfortably to the fourth round without needing a tiebreak. However, players like Anna Muzychuk, Alexandra Kosteniuk, and Harika Dronavalli will have to win their tiebreaks to advance to round four. | Photos: Anna Shtourman
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
Winning starts with what you know The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
In this course, Grandmaster Felix Blohberger delivers a complete opening repertoire for White, centred around the flexible move 1.Nf3.
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Top favourite Lei Tingjie easily reached the fourth round of the Women's World Cup with two victories against former world champion Antoaneta Stefanova. Zhu Jiner and Mariya Muzychuk achieved the same result against Aleksandra Maltsevskaya and Bella Khotenashvili respectively.
In her game against Stefanova, Tingjie did not take any major risks, yet still built a solid, superior position against her opponent's Pirc Defence, winning the game with surprising ease.
Lei Tingjie
Tan Zhongyi, the third player in the Chinese trio of favourites, drew her first game against Irina Bulmaga. Following her victory in the second round, she will join her compatriots in the next round.
Humpy Koneru started the third round with a draw against Klaudia Kulon, then winning her second game on Sunday. The Indian player is therefore also through to the fourth round.
Meruert Kamalidenova was the standout player of the second round after eliminating one of the favourites, Aleksandra Goryachkina. The Kazakh's winning streak continues. Her first game against the strong young Russian player, Anna Shukhman, ended in a draw. However, on Sunday, Kamalidenova won her second game and also reached the fourth round.
Interview with Meruert Kamalidenova
Umida Omonova also drew against Elnaz Kaliahmet before winning the second game. With this result, Leila Javakishvili also reached round four against the slight favourite Polina Shuvalova.
Divya Deshmukh won the first game against Teodora Injac and secured her place in round four with a draw in the second game.
Interview with Divya Deshmukh
Yuliia Osmak knocked out 15-year-old Chinese prodigy Lu Miaoyi with the same result.
Five of the 16 matches will continue in the play-offs on Monday. In the match between Agrawal Vantikai and Kateryna Lagno, Agrawal took the lead and Lagno equalised on Sunday.
Agrawal and Lagno
The match between Nana Dzagnidze and Valentina Gunina followed a similar pattern. After losing the first game, the Gunina had to win and played very aggressively with White against Dzagnidze's Caro-Kann defence — with success.
Meri Arabidze drew twice against Alexandra Kosteniuk, Anna Muzychuk drew twice against Yuxin Song, Harika Dronavalli drew twice against Stavroula Tsolakidou, and Vaishali also drew twice against Carissa Yip.
7/12/2025 – The second-round tiebreaks of the Women's World Cup saw major developments, including the early exit of defending champion Aleksandra Goryachkina at the hands of Meruert Kamalidenova (pictured). Alina Kashlinskaya was also eliminated, while several top seeds - such as Mariya Muzychuk, Kateryna Lagno and Alexandra Kosteniuk - were pushed to extended matches. Other notable qualifiers included Umida Omonova, Song Yuxin and Lu Miaoyi, who all advanced after strong performances in rapid and blitz. | Photo: Anna Shtourman / FIDE
7/10/2025 – Twelve matches at the FIDE Women's World Cup will be decided in Friday's tiebreaks after a tense day of chess saw both solid draws and dramatic turnarounds. While many favourites, including Lei Tingjie, Humpy Koneru and Tan Zhongyi, secured qualification, others must battle again for a place in round three. Meanwhile, 15-year-old WFM Elnaz Kaliakhmet caused the day's biggest upset by eliminating Georgian GM Nino Batsiashvili. | Photos: Anna Shtourman, Polina Bovina and Andrei Anosov / FIDE
King’s Indian fans who choose the Mar del Plata attack (7...Nc6) against White’s classical system (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0) usually aim for a complex position with mutual attacks on open wings, requiring long-term strategic planning and tactical sharpness in critical moments. Computers often do not know how to handle the arising complex strategic positions, which suits players who like to think on their own instead of memorizing long variations. However, the fashionable Bayonet Attack (9.b4) interferes with Black’s ideas. After Black’s main move 9...Nh5 the positions opens, the lines get forced and computer analysis is important again. But this DVD offers an antidote against White’s Bayonet Attack, namely 9...a5! This move leads to sound positions with very few concrete lines, in which the focus is on strategy not on tactics. Objectively chances are equal but if Black knows what to do things might quickly become dangerous for White.
Whether you‘re a beginner looking for a clear roadmap or an advanced player ready to refine your strategic edge, this comprehensive course will transform the way you think about chess.
Biel Chess Festival 2025 with analyses by Aravindh, Navara, Wojtaszek et al. Opening videos by Blohberger, Engel and Sokolov. Training columns ‘The fortress’, ‘Opening traps , ‘Fundamental Endgame Knowledge’ and much more
If you are looking for a practical, easy-to-learn system to sidestep the main lines and catch your opponent off guard, the Two Knights Variation is your perfect weapon against the French!
In this 60-minute course, IM Andrew Martin introduces you to a flexible and refreshingly simple opening setup - that Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura has used to rack up numerous impressive wins.
ChessBase is re-releasing this timeless classic in the modern ChessBase Media format - complete with brand-new training features. Get ready to rediscover a masterpiece of chess instruction!
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