10/3/2024 – It is the best known and least talked about aspect of the forthcoming title match for the World Championship: the current form of Ding Liren and what it may mean for the match itself. While everyone has an opinion, all of it has really been confined to speculation. Singaporean news source The Straits Times talked with Ding Liren, who opened up on the topic. | Credit: Maria Emelianova/chess.com

10/3/2024 – The Global Chess League returns for its second edition, bringing top players from around the world to London from 3-12 October. Organised by Tech Mahindra Global and FIDE, the team-based tournament features six teams, each made up of male and female stars, including Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand and Hou Yifan. With a US$ 1 million prize fund at stake, the competition will follow a double round-robin format, leading to a final showdown between the top two teams. An innovative scoring system and fast-paced time control promise an action-packed event.

10/2/2024 – Would you like to be Chess Champion 2025? An exciting new competitive format show for the BBC is looking for players to battle it out on TV. If you're interested in being on the show, please get in touch with us at chessmasters@curvemedia.com

10/2/2024 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris looks at a theoretically interesting game Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Ding Liren played at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. Abdusattorov tried a sharp approach in the Colle system, but got into trouble when the World Champion found a good counter. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

10/2/2024 – Freestyle Chess Operations GmbH announced three dates for the upcoming Freestyle Chess Grand Slam. The first tournament will start in February 2025 in Weissenhaus. This will be followed by the second tournament in New York in July and the final tournament in South Africa in December 2025. Magnus Carlsen will play in all three tournaments.

10/2/2024 – The Chess Olympiad 2024 in Budapest saw a lot of interesting games, many truely spectacular, and often quite instructive, especially for budding chess masters. Of the total of nearly 8,000 games, here are six treats, selected and annotated by international trainer Eftratios Grivas. Play through them and learn.

10/2/2024 – The Latin American chess community has lost one of its most important figures with the passing of Paraguayan Grandmaster Zenón Franco on Tuesday in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, at the age of 68. With an illustrious career as a player, author, and coach, Franco left an indelible mark on the chess world. He represented Paraguay and Spain in 11 Chess Olympiads and published 38 chess books. Additionally, he was known for his work as a columnist and trainer, leaving behind a legacy that will endure for years to come.

10/2/2024 – Magnus Carlsen secured victory in the Grand Final of the Julius Baer Generation Cup by defeating Alireza Firouzja with a 2½-1½ score. Carlsen, who had already triumphed in the winners' bracket, drew the first three games before clinching the win in the fourth. Firouzja and Carlsen finished at the top of the Champions Chess Tour standings, earning spots in the prestigious in-person final event, which will be held in December in Oslo. They will join six other qualified participants in the battle for the series' title.

10/1/2024 – The Grand Final of the Julius Baer Generation Cup will once again see a clash between Alireza Firouzja and Magnus Carlsen. If Carlsen, who beat Firouzja in the Division I final two days ago, wins the best-of-four match that starts the Grand Final, he will also win the tournament. If Firouzja wins this match, Carlsen will get a second chance as the two will play another match. And the winner of this second match will also be the winner of the tournament. Transmission starts at 17:00 CEST (11:00 ET). Follow the games live with commentary...

10/1/2024 – The Julius Baer Generation Cup ends with the Grand Finals. In Division I Magnus Carlsen faces Alireza Firouzja who eliminated Levon Aronian in the final of the Losers Bracket, in Division II Wesley So faces Denis Lazavik, and in Division III Vincent Keymer and Fabiano Caruana battle it out. | Pictures: Chess.com

10/1/2024 – The new FIDE World Ranking is out, reflecting the results of the Chess Olympiad in Budapest. Magnus Carlsen remains the world number one, ahead of Hikaru Nakamura in second place. But Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, who scored 10.0/11 in Budapest, is the new world number three, although only one point ahead of Fabiano Caruana in fourth. World Champion Challenger Gukesh, who also won big in Budapest, is fifth and Nodirbek Abdusattorov, another top scorer at the Olympiad, is sixth.

10/1/2024 – Pascal Lautenschläger is the man behind the Fritztrainer courses. As head of video production, he recently produced his 500th Fritztrainer title. He was also recently honoured for his 20th anniversary with ChessBase. At the Chess Olympiad in Budapest Amruta Mokal used the opportunity to interview Pascal and to ask him about his work with some of the greatest players of all time.