8/9/2018 – In Sweden there is currently "Extremadura" (it's been a hot dry summer) and so the T-shirt of Aleyey Shirov was very suitable for the Cellavision Cup in Lund. The recently re-Spaniard played all eight decisive games and won the tournament thanks to better tiebreak score over tied Jonny Hector. Both scored 7.0 / 8. | Photos: Lars OA Hedlund

8/9/2018 – There is a clear need to revisit one's own opening repertoire from time to time, reinterpreted under a different teacher — this is a must for every competitive chess player. Now here's a chance to add a very sharp opening to your toolkit, whether for blitz, quick time controls or a surprise weapon. Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO says we can gain an edge over the competition thanks to this video series by International Master Michael Rahal.

8/8/2018 – We recently learned that Daniel Freeman, who co-founded ChessGames.com in 2001, died on July 24th at the age of 51. Here are a few mementoes.

8/8/2018 – Are you looking for an active defence against 1.d4? Look no further! The Tarrasch Defence (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5) is one of Black’s most ambitious ways to meet 1.d4. No wonder that World Champions Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov played it! The opening is characterized by an immediate fight for the centre and active piece play. Grandmaster Erwin l’Ami knows the Tarrasch Defence well and has played it successfully with both colours. On this DVD l’Ami reveals many new ideas that have never been seen in tournament practice. In an extensive strategy section he also shows the typical ideas behind this opening. A must-have for ambitious tournament players!

8/8/2018 – We have been trying to keep track of incredible playing strength and title wins at a very early age. It started with Capablanca and Reshevsky, and today we are seeing full grandmasters aged thirteen — and in two cases twelve! Most recently it was Pragnanandhaa, who achieved the title at twelve years and ten months. It became time to update our prodigy page, with better graphics and a few telling graphs. We also invite our readers to contribute.

8/8/2018 – When it comes to unusual venues for chess tournaments, Cabela's in Fort Worth, Texas, might be among the top contenders. A top retail destination for hunters, Cabela’s includes a gun library and extensive taxidermy displays. But among the guns and stuffed wild animals on July 28th were 29 chess players. Perhaps surprisingly, gun enthusiasts and chess players overlapped. ALEXEY ROOT shares her thoughts on chess, education, hunting, and why one might participate in these varied activities. | Pictured: May (as Black) versus Devagharan | Photo: A. Root

8/7/2018 – Tuesdays at 18:00 CEST (5:00 pm UK time, Noon EDT) Lawrence Trent goes on air on Playchess.com. In his show, Lawrence will be dealing with the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments. This week features a wrap-up of the British Championships!

8/7/2018 – Here's the deal: you invest a small amount of time, reading a few paragraphs about an interesting opening line, selected for you by one of the world's top grandmasters. After that, you try it out, right there in your browser, against an engine that matches the playing strength of your potential opponents. You can play any number of games and test different ideas, as far as possible following the instructions of an experienced chess trainer. We have a brand-new application to support this kind of learning. Take a look — and admit: it is great fun!

8/7/2018 – Is it really lonely at the top? In chess, it's definitely not. In fact, the king usually has lots of friends that are willing to do everything to protect and to support him.

8/6/2018 – Thanks to the new chess club in Atlanta there are always lot of tournaments and activities in the city and on July 28th and 29th there was a five-round Open tournament won by U.S. National Master Shanmukha Meruga. DAVIDE NASTASIO took the opportunity to arrange an interview and annotate the winner's games for this tournament, providing a snapshot of the USA Open tournament circuit.

8/6/2018 – In this Simon Says, Simon offers a take on the British Championship. Simon is live most Mondays starting at 18:00 CEST (Noon EDT). But this week watch on-demand for free.

8/6/2018 – 105th British Championship took place in Hull, England from July 28th to August 5th, and was narrowly won by top seed Michael Adams after a rapid and blitz tiebreak. Adams and Luke McShane were tied with 7 points from 9 games after the classical Open competition. It was Adams' sixth title, while McShane remains the strongest British player never to have won the national championship. Jovanka Houska had the best score among women with 5.0/9 for her eighth British title. | Photos: Arnold Lutton / BritishChessChampionships.co.uk

8/6/2018 – No matter whether you have a PC, a Mac, a tablet, iPad, smartphone or iPhone — the Tactics App of the ChessBase Account runs on all devices because it runs in your browser and is easy to use. Challenge yourself! How far can you advance in the rankings? Show how good you are — without time pressure. Or get the adrenaline flowing and try a tactic duel against another player!

8/6/2018 – For the third time in his career, Sergei Movsesian won the main section of the Czech Open in Pardubice. Polish IM Lukasz Jarmula finished second and the young German IM Christopher Noe came third. Noe had a great performance but could not earn his third grandmaster norm, as he did not meet all the requirements. | Photos: czechopen.net

8/5/2018 – A young Indian junior sends one troublesome experience and one triumph from his recent tournament praxis, while Jon provides his usual sage advice. Want to join in the fun? 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!

8/5/2018 – Live commentary of the 105th British Championship being held in Hull, England from July 28th to August 5th. IM Michael Rahal, GM Karsten Mueller, and IM Oliver Reeh break down the live action from the ChessBase studio. | Photo: BritishChessChampionships.co.uk

8/5/2018 – The fourth edition of the Wine Open took place in Hourtin, near Bordeaux. The traditional prices in this unique event are bottle of wines delivered according to the winners' weight. 15-year-old Antoine Bournel took first place and took home 51 bottles after the weigh-in was made. | Photos: Eva Maria Zickelbein, Jean-Luc Feit, Paula Nenciu Lazar

8/4/2018 – The small peninsula Paleochora in Crete has two coasts with a beach. Sea breezes are urgently in the face of high temperatures, where the games of Paleochora Open began logically in the late afternoon. Hristos Banikas won the tournament and the handsome first prize, while our author GM JAN WERLE, finished in 11th price. | Photo: Jan Werle