9/22/2021 – Chess is currently a popular subject for films. In Russia, production of a feature film about the dramatic and at times scandalous 1978 World Championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Kortschnoi began in 2019 and has now been completed after a forced break caused by the pandemic. The film will be released in Russian cinemas in December.

9/22/2021 – The FIDE Women’s World Team Championship kicks off on September 26 at the Catalonian coastal town of Sitges. A new format will be in place: instead of the usual round-robin, the 12 teams will be divided into two pools of approximately the same strength; 4 top teams from each pool will qualify for the knockout playoff. The time control will be shorter than usual, with 45 minutes for the whole game and a 10-second increment per move.

9/21/2021 – In his "Weekly Show" IM Lawrence Trent focuses on the end of Norway Chess and Carlsen’s fantastic resurgence in the second half to win the tournament. He will also briefly cover the Hou Yifan Challenge, Norway Open Masters and European Club Cup. But the game of the day will be the exciting encounter Firouzja-Rapport, which involved a very interesting opening debate but ultimately one that was successful for the young prodigy. | Lawrence's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here

9/21/2021 – The Hou Yifan Challenge, the final regular event on the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour, will take place on September 18-21 in the chess24 Playzone. The prize fund is $15,000, with $3,000 for the winner, who also gets to play alongside Magnus Carlsen and co. in the next edition’s first event of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour.

9/21/2021 – Vincent Keymer grabbed the lead on the third day of action at the Hou Yifan Challenge. Praggnanandhaa, who had a perfect 9/9 start, only scored a half point on Monday and is now sharing second place with Christopher Yoo. Pragg has played one more game than Keymer and Yoo in the 17-player single round-robin.

9/21/2021 – After winning nine Emmys in technical categories, "The Queen's Gambit", the chess series based on Walter Tevis' novel, on Sunday also won Emmys for "Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series" and "Outstanding Directing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie". However, former Women's World Champion Nona Gaprindashvili is unhappy about the production - she feels she was misrepresented in the series.

9/21/2021 – Gukesh D won the masters’ section of the Norway Chess Open in Stavanger. He scored 8½/10, remained undefeated, performed at 2743 and gained 17.5 Elo rating points. His compatriot Iniyan P scored 7½/10 to finish at second position. He performed at 2550 and increased his rating by 6.7 points. Gukesh is currently playing for Prilep (North Macedonia) at the European Club Cup. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

9/21/2021 – Even in endgames one should not forget that mate ends the game. In the diagram position it is White to move and win. What did he do?

9/20/2021 – One of the most fascinating recent endgames was Magnus Carlsen's win against Alireza Firouzja in round 6 of the Norway Chess Tournament: in a slightly better position that seemed to be impossible to win Carlsen worked his magic and created an endgame masterpiece. In the "Endgame Magic Show #161" Karsten Müller and Arne Kähler take a look at this astonishing endgame and show why it is good to know the classics. | Endgame Magic is on air most Mondays. Watch it on-demand with a ChessBase Premium account.

9/20/2021 – Etienne Bacrot went into this year’s World Cup without any expectations, including qualifying for the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix, a series of three tournaments that will serve as a qualifying route for the next Candidates. Understandably so, as the last time the French Grandmaster had played in a Fide Grand Prix was in 2013. "Based solely on my rating (2658), I could not have qualified for the Grand Prix. It’s crazy that I made it this time," Bacrot said on the sidelines of a rapid tournament that was held in Asniéres-sur-Seine near Paris on September 11 and 12. | Photo: Pascal Simon (Archive)

9/20/2021 – Last week, Grandmaster Lars Schandorff from Denmark faced nine brave CBM readers for the fourth "Play The Author" round-robin tournament this year. The chosen opening was 4.Bg5 Bg7!? in the Grünfeld. The Danish GM won the tournament and all games, except one draw. While a Canadian player reached the second place, the youngest participant (13 years old) from Germany, managed to get the third place. | Photo: Facebook - Lars Schandorff

9/20/2021 – Among the myriad apps and services offered with a subscription to ChessBase Account is the Tactics web app. This concept is hardly new, and readers undoubtedly are aware of a plethora of rival sites and apps offering this same service, so what makes this one so special? What makes it deserving of the headline "best by test"? Read on to find out!