9/21/2022 – Right after dominating the preliminary stage of the Generation Cup, Magnus Carlsen gave his first interview since his sudden withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup. Carlsen did not confirm he had resigned his game against Hans Niemann due to suspicious of cheating, but added that “people can draw their own conclusions, and they certainly have”.

9/21/2022 – Top seed Aleksandra Goryachkina (pictured) and Chinese youngster Zhu Jiner are sharing the lead on 3/4 points at the first leg of the Women’s Grand Prix in Astana. Zhu, aged 19, has so far defeated Dinara Wagner and Polina Shuvalova after playing three out of her four first games with the black pieces. Bibisara Assaubayeva and Kateryna Lagno stand a half point behind the co-leaders. | Photos: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

9/21/2022 – In his “Game of the Week” show #534 Merijn van Delft looks at a nice win by rising Indian star Gukesh who defeated English Grandmaster Gawain Jones in a fine attacking game played in the Spanish League. | Merijn’s show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

9/21/2022 – Aron Nimzowitsch, theoretician, author of "My System", and one of the world's best players at the end of the 1920s, liked to answer 1.e4 with the provocative move 1...Nc6, the "Nimzowitsch Defence". The move is slightly offbeat but offers Black good chances as the French GM Christian Bauer shows on his ChessBase course "The Nasty Nimzowitsch Defence", published in 2019. Paul Kane, who runs the website "The Caissa Kid", had a look at Bauer's course and concludes: "'The Nasty Nimzowitsch Defence' is a quality piece of work which was a great pleasure to study."

9/21/2022 – On Monday, the Chinese Team Championship, a round-robin tournament with 12 teams, ended in Fuling, which is a district of Chongqing. The team of Hangzhou Bank, in which Hou Yifan played on the first women's board, won both the Championship and the subsequent Rapid Championship. | Photos: Chinese Chess Federation

9/21/2022 – With three rounds to go, a combative final day of preliminaries awaits us in the Generation Cup, as most participants still have chances to reach the knockout stage. Meanwhile, Magnus Carlsen already clinched a spot in the knockout after retaking the lead ahead of Arjun Erigaisi, who nonetheless continues to impress in the online event. | Photo: FIDE / Niki Riga

9/20/2022 – It is the story that refuses to die, and with the renewed silent protest by World Champion Magnus Carlsen it is little wonder too. Could he be justified in these dramatic gestures? The world's greatest expert on cheating detection in chess, Professor Kenneth Regan, has analyzed all of Hans Niemann's games over the last two years, online and offline, and renders his verdict.

9/20/2022 – The much anticipated direct encounter between Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann, following Carlsen’s sudden withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup, took place in round 6 of the Generation Cup. The game was indeed played, but it lasted only two moves, as Carlsen resigned with black after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4. It was yet another unfortunate incident, which leaves the chess world wondering when this whole passive-aggressive quarrel will come to an end. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi climbed to sole first place after grabbing two wins and two draws in rounds 5 to 8.

9/20/2022 – In the diagrammed position, which shows the end of a game Magnus Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave played at the Norway Chess Tournament 2022, it is Black to move and he has to find a way to make use of his far advanced pawns before White manages to coordinate his forces. But what exactly should Black do?

9/19/2022 – Four decisive games in the second round of the Astana Grand Prix left four players tied for first place on 1½/2 points. Bibisara Assaubayeva, Alina Kashlinskaya and Zhu Jiner won to join Aleksandra Goryachkina in the lead, while Polina Shuvalova bounced back from her loss on Sunday to return to a fifty-percent score. | Photos: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

9/19/2022 – On Monday World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen resigned after making the first move in his game against Hans Niemann. He has hinted that the young grandmaster may have cheated in his previous game between the two grandmasters. Now Carlsen action is really hitting the news pages of the World mainstream press. Full report to follow soon.

9/19/2022 – This week Robert Ris will have a look at the current state of the good old Dilworth Variation in the Open Ruy Lopez. The material imbalance of two minor pieces vs a rook and pawn (or two) leads to fascinating play with chances for both sides. | "Fast and Furious" is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.