5/20/2018 – Sam Shankland is on a roll. He added to his recent U.S. Championship triumph by dominating the annual Capablanca Memorial in Havana, Cuba from start to finish. Needing only a draw in the final round, he instead racked up an additional win to finish an impressive point and a half clear of Alexei Dreev! ALEX YERMOLINSKY offers his take. | Photos: Lennart Ootes

5/20/2018 – "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions..." This week's contribution comes from an ambitious young lad from India, who likes Mark Twain, and...evidently...orangutans! Just a reminder — Jon can always use more material from readers. If your games are selected for the Agony column, not only will you get free detailed commentary of your games by one of chess’s great authors and instructors, and former world no. 4 player, but you also win a free three-month ChessBase Premium Account!

5/19/2018 – "Never play with drunkards and desperate men and quarrelsome people for it leads to a brawl”. Chess researcher SERGIO NEGRI continues his deep dive into the origins of our game, this time focusing on the most widely recognised theory, that of an Indian origin | Image (centre): Krishna and Radha playing chaturanga (early chess) on an 8x8 Ashtāpada (a board) (Wikipedia Commons)

5/18/2018 – Ju Wenjun has done it: In the tenth and final game of the World Championship match against Tan Zhongyi, she secured herself a world title with a draw. Tan had to win the game, and looked desperately for opportunities, but she could do nothing against the very careful play of Ju Wenjun. | Photo: Gu Xiaobang

5/18/2018 – A solid tactical understanding is sure to help any chess player in critical situations. Whether it is a simple exchange or a mating attack, tactics are ubiquitous. Take advantage of the opportunity to develop your tactical understanding in this series with IM Oliver Reeh and Pascal Simon! (Normally) Friday's at 15:30 CET (9:00 AM EDT) it's all about Kings in danger!

5/18/2018 – The chess tournament at sea will take place on board the new Norwegian Bliss from Miami through the Panama Canal to Los Angeles this year. The first part of the journey followed in the footsteps of pirates and the slave trade along the coast of Cuba through the Caribbean to Cartagena, Colombia. MICHAEL DOMBROWSKY reports. | Photo: Jörg Hickl

5/18/2018 – The Women's World Championship match between defending champion Tan Zhongyi and challenger Ju Wenjun is played over ten games, half in Shanghai (Ju Wenjun's hometown), half in Chongqing (Tan Zhongyi's hometown). After eight games Ju Wenjun leads 4½-3½ and Tan has two games left to catch up. Live games from 9:00 AM CEST (3:00 AM EDT) | Photo: Gu Xiaobing

5/18/2018 – Following 22.Nxb7 in the diagram position, Black can get a clear edge — if he finds the right way to tackle White's strayed knight. Any ideas?

5/17/2018 – For the first part of this review, our columnist has selected a featured game from our magazine — Magnus Carlsen's notable win over Gawain Jones in Wijk aan Zee — offering both the background and the outcome from the point of opening theory. Prof. Nagesh Havanur combines analysis from Mikhail Golubev, Peter Heine Nielsen, and the players themselves, plus his own research in an engaging look at one of the most dramatic days at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament.

5/17/2018 – Thursday at 8pm UK time Daniel King will go on air on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free. This episodes is about a classic game from Smyslov. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

5/17/2018 – Nigel Short once said, "Modern chess is too much concerned with things like pawn structure. Forget it, checkmate ends the game!" The art of checkmating our opponent is something that we learn when we are young. But once we know what checkmate is all about, we hardly go back to that subject. In order to ensure that you polish your art of pattern recognition related to mating attacks, Daniel King has come out with his latest Powerplay DVD — Powerplay 26. It's named as checkmate challenge — essential knowledge. In order to tell you what this DVD is all about, IM Sagar Shah takes you on a journey of three tales. Three tales of mating attacks by players of three different generations!

5/17/2018 – Just a short time after the end of the US Championship, Sam Shankland continues his winning ways in the Capablanca Memorial event in Havana. His score now after the seventh round is an impressive 5½/7 now a full point ahead of Alexy Dreev the nearest competition. This impressive result has pushed Shankland's live rating well above 2700 to 2715 with three rounds left to play. GM MIKHAIL GOLUBEV looks at the key games so far. | Photo: Lennart Ootes