9/28/2022 – When chess gets featured extensively in The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and even VICE, while Elon Musk also weighs in and when it’s the subject of sketches by Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert in the same week, you’d normally think this was good. This time round, in his editorial in the October issue of CHESS Magazine, Malcolm Pein is not totally sure.

9/28/2022 – Kateryna Lagno grabbed the sole lead at the Women’s Grand Prix in Astana after scoring a fourth win in a row on Tuesday. Lagno defeated Zhu Jiner with the black pieces, while former co-leader Aleksandra Goryachkina signed a quick draw in her game against Zhansaya Abdumalik. Alexandra Kosteniuk and Polina Shuvalova also scored full points in round 9. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

9/27/2022 – From building character to sharpening cognitive abilities to meliorating neurological disorders like Autism, the benefits of the ancient game of chess are many and wide-ranging. In fact, having evolved through one and a half millennia, it is more than just a game today. It is a cultural and intellectual phenomenon: an inspiration for visual artists, a playground for experimentation for scientists, and a pedagogical tool for educationists; but more than anything else, it is a common tongue connecting people across gender, ethnicity and generation. Judit Polgar's Global Chess Festival is an event that is held every year in Budapest, Hungary, to celebrate this very diversity of chess. It is a gala that invites not only players but professionals from various other disciplines with the sole aim of promoting chess in all its myriad facets. This year the singular event is taking place on the 8th of October. We walk you through its different planned activities and present four original studies for solving that are part of its special program, Chess Artistry Adventure, in memory of the late Pal Benko.

9/27/2022 – This book contains a revealing self-portrait of Abhimanyu Mishra. The youngest grandmaster in the history of chess tells the story of a highly ambitious family project. Supported by his father, mother and sister, Abhi sets out to beat a nineteen-year-old world record. In June 202, at the height of the Covid pandemic, he succeeded against all odds: ‘I should have been jumping with excitement, but my heart was so full that I ended up teary-eyed in my father's arms.’ Book review.

9/27/2022 – In the diagrammed position it is Black to move. Endgames with bishops of opposite colours have large drawish tendencies but here Black's passed b-pawn and the active black king are more important. How should Black proceed?

9/27/2022 – An exciting eighth round at the Women’s Grand Prix in Astana, with five out of six games ending decisively, left Aleksandra Goryachkina and Kateryna Lagno (pictured) sharing the lead on 6/8 points. Notably, Goryachkina defeated former co-leader Zhu Jiner with the white pieces. Zhu now stands in sole third place, a full point behind the leaders. | Photo: FIDE / Anna Shtourman

9/26/2022 – A day after getting a convincing victory at the Generation Cup, as he anticipated, Magnus Carlsen has shared a public statement regarding the polemic surrounding his withdrawal from the Sinquefield Cup and his quick resignation against Hans Niemann. The world champion wrote: “I believe that Niemann has cheated more — and more recently — than he has publicly admitted”. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

9/26/2022 – Today, Svitlana takes her "smart moves" very literal, and presents to us an opening, which you might not have heard of yet. The two knights tango is not a Gambit, but a quite solid offbeat opening, focusing on the power of very early knight development, and asking the opponent to push the pawns forward too hasty. If the opponent commits to pawn moves, the tango knights can dance around the board, and cause some havoc. A fine opening for Black. Other names for this opening are: Black Knights' Tango, Mexican Defence or Kevitz–Trajkovic Defence

9/26/2022 – The Cantabrians from C.A. Solvay were crowned champions of the Spanish League’s ‘División de Honor’ after securing a decisive victory over Magic Extremadura in the final round. The team led by Pentala Harikrishna and Gukesh Dommaraju was the only one of four co-leaders to get a win in Saturday’s seventh round. DuoBeniaján Costa Cálida from Murcia and Magic from Extremadura got second and third place, respectively. | Photos: Spanish Chess Federation

9/26/2022 – In the diagrammed position it is Black to move and he destroyed the white kingside in a most impressive way - I wish you happy sacrificing!

9/26/2022 – Once again we will be presenting you with some unusual and interesting positions. They are clever and somewhat difficult to solve. But all of them are fun. We will present the studies on replay diagrams, where you can move the pieces to analyse. In one case there will be an engine that will defend against your attempts to win. The solutions with full explanations will be provided in a few days.

9/26/2022 – Magnus Carlsen won the final match of the Julius Baer Generation Cup in the lowest possible number of games. The world champion beat Arjun Erigaisi 2½-½ in the first set, and then scored back-to-back wins in the second set to secure tournament victory as quickly as it is allowed by the rules. Despite losing the match, Arjun gained a spot in the final major of the Champions Chess Tour season, set to take place in November in San Francisco.