7/16/2019 – Even apparently simple pawn endings can be surprisingly tricky. Black to play and draw!

7/16/2019 – Much like in round one of the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave kicked off the quarter-finals with a win in classical chess, this time over Veselin Topalov. In the meantime, Wesley So had the black pieces and signed a 17-move draw with Sergey Karjakin, Jan-Krzysztof Duda had a good position but could not make much of it against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and Alexander Grischuk did not make the most of his game with White against Yu Yangyi. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/15/2019 – He was a world-class grandmaster, twice World Champion candidate, friend of Bobby Fischer (who enabled Fischer's participation in the 1972 WCh match), inventor of the eponymous Benko Gambit and the 1.g3 Benko Opening (which he used to beat Fischer and Tal). But he is probably best known as an author and composer of endgame studies and chess problems. He is also a loyal friend who has provided us with countless articles over the last ten years. We offer our heartfelt wishes for his 91st birthday today. Like to join in?

7/15/2019 – PRESS RELEASE - From September 10-14, the World Rapid & Blitz Junior Championships U-14, U-16 and U-18 will be held in Salobreña (Granada), Spain, about 100 km from Malaga. The Championships will be held in two categories: open and girls. Visit the official page of the championship for more information and conditions of the participation. | Photos: www.wyrbcc2019.com

7/15/2019 – As Jacob Aagaard writes in his foreword to Understanding Minor Piece Endgames (Müller and Konoval, 2019), “every new book written by Karsten is an event for me”. Reviewer GUY HAWORTH brings you an in-depth look at this essential endgame extravaganza replete with illuminating examples.

7/15/2019 – On the first round of tiebreaks at the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga, Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Alexander Grischuk, Wesley So and Veselin Topalov needed merely two rapid games to move on to the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Sergey Karjakin and Yu Yangyi played seven games each, as they only managed to knock out Anish Giri and Levon Aronian in Armageddon. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/14/2019 – It's that time again: From July 13th to 21st, the traditional Sparkassen Chess Meeting takes place in Dortmund. Always one of the strongest tournaments in the chess calendar, this year eight top players (I. Nepomniachtchi, T. Radjabov, L. Dominguez, R. Rapport, R. Wojtaszek, L. ​​Nisipeanu, D. Fridman and K. Kulaots) compete in the Grandmaster Tournament. Three of the four games were decided in round one. Mayor Birgit Joerder made the first move for Rapport vs Nepomniachtchi. | Photos: Georgios Souleidis

7/14/2019 – The Kalashnikov is a favourite weapon of the main line of the Sicilian Defence. It is closely related to the Sveshnikov but with much less theory to learn. GM NICK PERT explores this increasingly popular opening that is easy to pick up and can usually gives Black quick and smooth development. Many of the ideas are thematic and Black can achieve attacking positions in several of the variations. The lines have all been thoroughly checked and will hopefully provide the viewer with the confidence to play this opening.

7/14/2019 – Two players have already been eliminated from the FIDE Grand Prix in Riga, as David Navara could not bounce back from an early loss against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Daniil Dubov was defeated by Shakhriyar Mamedyarov during the second day of action. The rest of the match-ups are tied after two draws, which means six spots will be decided on Sunday's tiebreaks. | Photos: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/13/2019 – The second leg of the FIDE Grand Prix kicked off with plenty of fighting chess. Only Maxime Vachier-Lagrave managed to score a full point, however, as he took down David Navara in 19 moves out of a sharp Caro-Kann. Wesley So, Alexander Grischuk and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov had big chances but failed to join Vachier-Lagrave as the winners of round one, while Peter Svidler and Jan-Krzysztof Duda played a sharp, entertaining game. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

7/12/2019 – Every once in a while we hear a story of a chess player who surpasses the established norms and achieves truly something special. At that point a thought does cross almost every chess fan's mind: Is he for real? This is the case of 58-year-old GM Igors Rausis who saw a phenomenal surge in his rating that brought him as high as 2686, gaining over 50 Elo points in the last year alone. For a player of his age, Rausis' performance was closely scrutinized. Was it just his beating many lower rated players honestly? On July 11th, suspicions of something more nefarious finally gained gravity in the Strasbourg Open in France where he stands accused of cheating with his mobile phone inside a toilet! | Photo: Dominique Primel, Sautron (2018)

7/12/2019 – On the show today: GM Daniel King will be examining Ding vs Nepomniachtchi Zagreb 2019 — a rich and imaginative attacking performance. Power Play is live most Fridays at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, Noon EDT) on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free! All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

7/12/2019 – No, not Carlsen-second Peter Heine Nielsen, but rather the global measurement and data analytics company which has been contracted by FIDE to evaluate the chess market. Chess players of all levels from casual fans to grandmasters are encouraged to participate in a survey, and the international chess federation is offering an incentive in the form of two hours of training with none other than the 14th World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik.

7/12/2019 – The 19th IPCA World Individual Chess Championship 2019 was held in Slovakia. Even though chess is primarily a mental game, it demands from its players great physical stamina. To keep finding good moves on the chessboard even after hours of strenuous battle is not for the faint-hearted. Every participant of this event showed great tenacity sitting at the board and fighting it out for three or four hours at stretch, despite their serious physical limitations.

7/12/2019 – From the diagram position it's still quite a way to go for White until he finally hunts down Black's king in the centre. Enjoy the motifs!

7/11/2019 – The 18-year-old grandmaster Lucas van Foreest was the unexpected winner of the Dutch Championship defeating none other than his big brother Jorden in a tiebreak. After seven rounds in Amsterdam, the brothers had each had 5.0 points. Lucas won one of the two blitz games and drew the other. Their little sister Machteld van Foreest did well in the Women's Championship making it a true family affair, but WGM Iozefina Paulet earned the Women's Champ title with 6.0/7. | Photo: Harry Gielen

7/11/2019 – For those who wish to learn the first 25 moves of an opening by heart, the Najdorf is the breakfast of champions! But for those who love to just get through the opening with as little memorization as possible and directly play the middlegame and endgame the Colle-Zukertort and the Torre Attack are a fine choice! Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO explores these openings allowing you to create a repertoire without fear of encountering computer generated novelties. As always, GM Simon Williams has created an attacking video series aimed at slowing raising the pressure on your opponent, making them quite uncomfortable until they crack.

7/11/2019 – Three young players plus Vassily Ivanchuk gathered in Leon for this year's "Masters" rapid and blitz fest over three days. Ivanchuk deftly dealt with the Indian prodigy Nihal Sarin to reach the Final, but there he met his match in World Junior Champion Parham Maghsoodloo. The Iranian dispatched Jaime Santos in his semifinal, and dominated the final, winning two of the four games. | Photo: José Luque / Luque Fotografía León