Chess Base

• Tata Steel Chess: Keymer, Erigaisi and Niemann score in eventful first round

  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

• Svitlana's Smart Moves - The Fake Sveshnikov Sicilian

  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...

• World Champion loss against Underdog - The Underdog

  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.