9/8/2026 – The Alpine APL Pipers, with Magnus Carlsen on the icon board, took sole lead in the standings on day three of the Global Chess League in Bengaluru. In their first match of the day, Carlsen beat Viswanathan Anand on time (pictured), but the Pipers nevertheless lost to the PBG Alaskan Knights. Carlsen's team then bounced back with a 15-3 victory over the previously leading FYERS American Gambits. After four of ten matches, the Pipers lead the table with nine match points, followed by four teams on six. | Photos: Global Chess League

9/7/2026 – François-André Danican, better known as Philidor, was born 300 years ago today. A celebrated musician and the greatest chess player of his age, he made his living from chess in Paris and London, performed blindfold exhibitions in Berlin and, at the invitation of Frederick II, visited Sanssouci Palace. A look back at the remarkable life of one of the first great names in chess history. | Picture: François-André Philidor (1726–1795) by Augustin de Saint-Aubin and Charles-Nicolas Cochin

9/7/2026 – Under the heading ‘New Ideas for Your Repertoire’, ChessBase Magazine shows you in every issue how to make your opening play more varied and successful. The new CBM #233 features, firstly, 10 opening articles – including ones on the Alekhine-Chatard Attack and the Frankenstein Dracula Variation! It also provides three opening videos: Daniel King delivers an update on the English Defence (1.c4 b6 2.d4 e6 3.e4 Bb4+), Ivan Sokolov explores a new approach for White in the Nimzo-Indian, and Mihail Marin analyses Grischuk’s “exotic move 9...e5” in the Gruenfeld. You can now watch Daniel King’s video in full in this week’s CBM preview. Enjoy!

9/7/2026 – The Alpine APL Pipers remain unbeaten after day two of the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League in Bengaluru, while the FYERS American Gambits suffered their first defeat. The Ganges Grandmasters, PBG Alaskan Knights and CheQ Mumba Masters also picked up match wins, as the standings tightened after eight encounters. The Triveni Continental Kings, meanwhile, remain without a match point after suffering a third consecutive loss. | Photo: Global Chess League

9/6/2026 – In this episode of Underdog, Robert Ris presents two entertaining blitz upsets from a strong event in Sofia. First, Jolanta Zawadzka punishes former 2700 player Ivan Cheparinov with a sharp kingside attack in a Sicilian, finishing the game in just 20 moves. The second example features José García Molina against Sanan Sjugirov, where White sacrifices material for a dangerous initiative and builds a powerful attack against the black king. Both games show how quickly even very strong grandmasters can come under pressure in blitz when tactical threats and initiative take over.

9/6/2026 – England and Slovenia claimed the titles at the European Senior Team Championships in Crete. England finished unbeaten to win the 50+ section with 17/18 match points, one ahead of Italy. In the 65+ competition, Slovenia and England both scored 16/18, with the Slovenian team taking gold on tiebreaks after having defeated their English rivals in their direct encounter. | Photo: Zetta Grapsa / European Chess Union