6/18/2024 – This rule by Dr. Tarrasch is a good guideline in rook endings - when supporting your own pawns and when fighting against enemy pawns. In the diagram position, which is from a game Nurgyul Salimova and Vaishali Rameshbhabu played at the Women's Candidates 2024, it is Black to move and win. What should she do?

6/18/2024 – Arjun Erigaisi won the 5th Stepan Avagyan Memorial in Jermuk, Armenia, with one round to spare. After 8 of 9 rounds he leads the field with 6.0/8 and is 1.5 points ahead of Samuel Sevian and Amin Tabatabaei who both have 4.5/8. The ninth and final round starts at 11.00 local time (9.00 CEST, 3.00 ET).

6/18/2024 – The Madrid Chess Festival came to an end on Saturday. Two 10-player closed tournaments and a 48-player Swiss open took place concurrently. The main event was won by Spanish IM Julio Suárez, who beat former sole leader Levy Rozman in their round-8 encounter. The Closed B tournament was won by Venezuelan FM Pedro Martínez. Argentine rising star, 10-year-old Faustino Oro (pictured), needed to score 5½ points to become the youngest IM in the history of the game, but missed the goal by a mere half point after finishing the tournament undefeated in sole third place. | Photo: chess.com / Federico Marín

6/17/2024 – Our beloved WIM from Canada picked up streaming chess games online a couple of months ago, and became a Twitch partner in no time. Thousands of chess friends are watching her, playing blitz and bullet games, or solving puzzles. Svitlana gained nearly 6000 followers, who she even plays against on stream, at times.

6/17/2024 – In his new Fast & Furious episode, Robert Ris looks at a game by Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi, the "man of the moment" and the world's number 4 in live-rankings. At the moment, Erigaisi plays in the Stepan Avagyan Memorial in Yermuk, Armenia, where he defeated German Grandmaster Matthias Bluebaum in a fine game. | Fast & Furious is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

6/17/2024 – The final rounds of the FIDE World Corporate Chess Championship are currently taking place in New York. The qualifying rounds were played online. Sixteen teams made it to the finals and four teams are now competing in the final rounds, which are played in knock-out format. | Photo: Nona Gaprindashvili makes the symbolic first move. | Photos: Rafał Oleksiewicz/ FIDE

6/14/2024 – Every summer Greece organises chess tournaments that give participants the opportunity to combine chess games with holidays in scenic travel destinations. The international tournament with the longest tradition in Greece is the ‘Ikaros’ tournament, which for 47 consecutive years, every July, takes place on the island of Ikaria. In a truly relaxed atmosphere chess players from all over the world can enjoy an international tournament in a magnificent island landscape. This year, the 47th edition of the tournament, will be from 11 to 18 July 2024 and is part of the celebration of the 100 years of FIDE.

6/13/2024 – The FIDE Ethics Commission is threatening to expel the Russian Chess Federation from FIDE for, among other things, organising chess tournaments in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russia in violation of international law. It has also reprimanded FIDE President Arkadij Dvorkovich for his close ties to sanctioned members of the Russian government. Unsurprisingly, Russia criticised the Ethics Commission's decision.

6/13/2024 – The prison yard of the Penitentiary Institution Alphen, a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, has undergone a special enhancement: a self-made chess table, crafted by the inmates themselves. This black-and-white checkered table is not only a testament to their craftsmanship but also a contribution to a stimulating environment within the prison. The initiative was inaugurated with a ceremony led by eight-time Dutch chess champion Loek van Wely. | Photo: Shireen Habiballah

6/13/2024 – Rounds 4 and 5 of the three events that make up the Madrid Chess Festival took place on Wednesday. The Closed A tournament has Levy Rozman, also known as Gotham Chess, topping the standings with 4/5 points. The famous streamer defeated Cuban GM Lelys Martínez with the white pieces in round 5. Meanwhile, three players are sharing the lead in the Closed B event, which has 10-year-old Faustino Oro in fifth place with a fifty-percent score. | Photo: Federico Marín’s X account

6/12/2024 – In this very instructive, and informative game, Svitlana managed to draw against a strong, Canadian IM. But the truth is, she almost had to forfeit the game! The reason for Svitlana arriving far too late to the game, and what you can learn from the opening, middle game with hanging pawns, and endgame technique, you will see in the video.

6/12/2024 – It is startling to think that eight years have already passed by since the death, at the comparatively early age of 68, of the world’s greatest chess trainer. It is equally startling to think that there will be a whole generation of chess players who know nothing about Mark Dvoretsky, his work or his achievements. Fortunately there is a new book from New in Chess to remind the chess world about Mark Dvoretsky. CHESS Magazine review by Sean Marsh.