Chess Base

• World Senior Team Championship heats up, USA and Italy share the lead in 50+ section

  At the halfway stage of the World Senior Team Championship in Durrës, the standings have begun to take clearer shape. In the 50+ section, USA 1 and Italy moved into the lead after key round-five victories, while France 1 emerged as sole leaders in the 65+ category. With closely contested matches and limited separation across both sections, the tournament remains open ahead of the decisive final rounds following the rest day. | Photo: Georgia Grapsa

• Chess.com Open Playoffs - Live!

  The Chess.com Open Playoffs, running from 23 to 26 April, offer a direct route to the Esports World Cup, with up to three qualification places at stake. A 16-player field featuring Magnus Carlsen, Javokhir Sindarov and other leading grandmasters contest a double-elimination playoff bracket in a rapid format (10+0) with Armageddon tiebreaks deciding drawn matches. | Follow the games live starting at 17.15 CEST (11.15 ET, 20.45 IST)

• Problem Challenge April

  Were you able to handle the four rook endgame studies we showed you recently? They were a little bit harder to solve than they looked. We now bring you all the intricacies and subtleties in short videos by IM Gauri Shankar, who works as a chess trainer in Chicago. And of course we give you full analysis in a ChessBase replayer, where you can switch on an engine to help resolve any residual questions.