10/9/2026 – I have a look at one of the most spectacular games played at the Olympiad. In the final round game between Uzbekistan 2 and China, Black won a fantastic game in Abdisalimov-Wei Yi. White opted for the move 7.b3 in the Anti-Meran system, usually leading to calm type of play. However, Wei Yi had different ideas in mind by playing 8...e5 and 9...e4!?, investing a pawn for some control on the light-squares, and to keep the initiative going a second pawn sacrifice followed as well. In the ensuing middlegame, White struggled finding a safe place for his king. With the help of all the major pieces and presence of opposite-coloured bishops Black had been enabled to launch a powerful attack against the white king.

10/9/2026 – On Saturday the second round of the Dutch League was being played and the top match between Kennemer Combinatie and LSG was convincingly won by KC with 7-3. Ratingwise they were the slight favourite, but the main difference is that KC focuses on intergrating young players in their team, whereas LSG does not. Zsoka Gaal played her first game in the Dutch League and created a nice piece of art against experienced Dutch grandmaster and national coach Jan Smeets. Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

10/9/2026 – Fabiano Caruana has won the US Championship five times, including four consecutive titles from 2022 to 2025. His first victory came on his debut in 2016, shortly after returning to the US federation. At the 2026 edition in Saint Louis, Caruana can equal Samuel Reshevsky’s record of five consecutive titles and, with a sixth overall win, draw level with Walter Browne on the all-time list. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

10/9/2026 – Your chess instinct probably just tells you that 40...Qxa2?? can't be good in the diagram position. Could you also provide a concrete refutation?

10/8/2026 – Christian Gloeckler is the sole leader of the Fagernes International Autumn after seven rounds. The 14-year-old German IM defeated Lukas Dotzer on Thursday to reach 6/7, while Rinat Jumabayev beat top seed Elham Amar to move into clear second place on 5½ points. Gloeckler and Jumabayev have already met, as they drew their round-four encounter after 84 moves. | Photo: Nils Rohde / ChessBase

10/8/2026 – How can I improve at chess, increase my Elo rating or become an International Master or Grandmaster? Or, more generally, how can I become an expert in any field? The YouTube channel Veritasium provides some answers. | Photo: Screenshot from the Veritasium video. Here, Veritasium quotes from the video Magnus Carlsen's Mind-Blowing Memory, published by Chess24

10/8/2026 – This is not an advertisement! The 'amateur move' 3.Bc4 (without a subsequent d2-d4) against the Sicilian Defence, combined with a setup resembling the Italian Game, is becoming increasingly popular. Even top professionals are now using this system successfully, first in online blitz and now also in classical over-the-board games. At the Chess Olympiad, Michael Adams used it to defeat Etienne Bacrot. | Photo: Michal Walusza

10/8/2026 – The Chess Bundesliga, a.k.a. German League, kicks off its 2026/27 season this coming weekend. Last season's champions SC Viernheim and OSG Baden-Baden are the favourites to win the title. SV Erkenschwick 1923 will be making their debut in the league, while the other two promoted teams from the second division - SF Bad Mergentheim and SC Remagen Sinzig - have already competed in the top flight. Bundesliga fans can look forward to comprehensive live commentary throughout the coming season. | Pictured: OSG Baden-Baden's Viswanathan Anand and Vincent Keymer | Photo: Stefan Liebig

10/8/2026 – Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has met newly elected FIDE President Timur Turlov to discuss the development of chess in the country and future cooperation with FIDE. Their talks covered chess in education, coach and arbiter training, youth development and the organisation of major events. Tokayev also highlighted Kazakhstan's recent progress, including the women's team'’s silver medal at the Samarkand Olympiad and the growing number of active players nationwide. | Photo: FIDE

10/7/2026 – Two Olympiads, thirteen wins, seven draws, no defeats, two individual gold medals and a team bronze - Frederik Svane's Olympiad record is impressive. At the 2026 Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, he also set a low-key record: never before had a German player won two Olympiad gold medals for the best performance on his board. | Photo: Nils Rohde

10/7/2026 – Older readers will remember. In the old days, before the invention of the internet, you actually had to meet in person to play chess. In blitz chess, you sat opposite one another, saw each other and even talked. It was a sociable affair and, at times, rather boisterous. In Hamburg last weekend, a secret gathering of veterans took place. "From Dusk till Dawn" was the motto.

10/7/2026 – Coming from badminton and motorsport, Naganethra Reddy expected chess to feel quiet and hard to read. Watching the Global Chess League changed that: the drama was in the glances, pauses, and small gestures around the board, and in the stories shared through the commentary. Here's what she thinks. | Pictured: Bibisara Assaubayeva | Photo: Global Chess League 2026