9/4/2017 – It is an old puzzle, proposed in 1848: place eight queens on a chessboard so that none are attacking another one. The solution was published two years later, but the problem of n queens on an n x n chessboard (e.g. 100 queens on a 100 x 100 board) ramains illusive. Modern computers would take thousands of years to solve the puzzle for large numbers. If you can write a program that is much faster you can win a cool million dollars. Go for it!

9/4/2017 – In this show Simon Williams will take a look at how to attack from isolated pawn positions. Tune in for some lively fun later! An example and more information...

9/4/2017 – It was the first day of the FIDE Chess World Cup 2017 and from the point of view of spectators things couldn't have got better. 35 out of the 64 games ended decisively. The biggest upset of the day was surely GM Bator Sambuev beating Chinese prodigy Wei Yi. But from the chess point of view it was Alex Lenderman's victory from a completely lost position against Pavel Eljanov that caught many eyeballs. We bring you analysis and video interviews of almost all the top players. | Photos: Amruta Mokal

9/3/2017 – Rudy van Kemenade featured in Agony #1 sixteen months ago and this week becomes our first repeat. After a veritable tsunami of submissions when this column first appeared the water level has now fallen, so that our Grandmaster Agony columnist's lead time is quite short. Please send in your games if you'd like them to appear, and you are more than welcome to send games even if you've already done so before. | Photo: Dyfed Chess Association Publicity Gallery

9/3/2017 – We are just hours away from the start of the World Cup 2017. The players have settled down in the Hualing hotel. The opening ceremony was held in the evening of 2nd of September at the Funicular restaurant. The players were treated to a spectacular view, sumptuous food, and entertaining Georgian dance and music. Our reporters at the venue not only bring some exciting pictures, but also videos of the opening ceremony and an interview with Magnus Carlsen's opponent who thinks it is his once in a lifetime opportunity! | Photos: Amruta Mokal

9/2/2017 – The Ecclesiastes and the famous fictional rabbi Ben Akiba tell us, there is nothing new under the sun, everything has happened before. In a certain way this might hold true to chess — all the ideas might have been shown, but not in that particular setting or not in this particular combination. Looking at our first example, similarities to a previous selection are seen at the end, but the introduction is completely different.

9/1/2017 – The score was 11½-8½ for Challenger Bobby Fischer, who needed 12½ to win the title. In game 21 he had the black pieces and he played a Sicilian variation he had never before shown any liking for. He gained a distinct advantage, but then allowed Boris Spassky to sacrifice an exchange to get a drawn position. However, the still-reigning World Champion went on to blunder and finally lose his title.

9/1/2017 – You know that the World Cup is one of the most anticipated events of the year when 19 out of the top 20 Elo rated grandmasters have confirmed their participation in this 128-player knockout tournament. From 3rd of September we will see the battles taking place on the chequered board. But before that our reporters Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal reached the Capital of Georgia and take you on a tour of this beautiful city. Check out this pictorial report of the city nestled between the mountains. | Photos: Amruta Mokal

9/1/2017 – Twenty-four grandmasters turned out for the US Masters 2017, which took place from 23rd to 28th of August in Greensboro, North Carolina. This 6th edition was a very strong — one might say, “super Swiss” open — a gathering of titled players almost unheard of for a nine-round open tournament in the USA. Vladimir Belous took top honours winning a last round game that GM Elshan Moradiabadi calls, "just like Morphy!" | Photos: Davide Nastasio

9/1/2017 – A solid tactical understanding is sure to help any chess player in critical situations. Whether it is a simple exchange or a mating attack, tactics are ubiquitous. Take advantage of the opportunity to develop your tactical understanding in this series with IM Oliver Reeh and Pascal Simon! Friday at 3.30 pm CEST it's all about pinned f-pawns!

9/1/2017 – Playing 24.Nf3-g5 (diagram), White not only has parried the mate threat 24...Qxg2++ but also attacked the queen g3 (Rc3!). Not a bad one, right? Yet Black kept his nerves and found a cool winning continuation which actually was one of two alternatives. What would you have played?

9/1/2017 – What a month it has been! Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was one of the most prominent names of the month, winning the Sinquefield Cup, and taking the no. 2 spot, and of course there was the return of Garry Kasparov, who joined the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz, and with it, his first rapid and blitz rating. Then there was Indian prodigy IM Praggnanandhaa who became the youngest ever with 2500, but the one result that overshadowed them all was Hou Yifan's historic win at Biel. | Photo: Pascal Simon

8/31/2017 – This issue of ChessBase Magazine includes games from the Grenke Chess Classic, which marked the return of Levon Aronian. The Armenian finished 1½ points ahead of Carlsen and Caruana. In CBM 178 the tournament winner annotates his win over Arkadij Naiditsch. However, the pride of place belongs to the Carlsen-Aronian encounter from the second round, which has been annotated in depth by GM Aleksandr Lenderman. In his product review Prof. Nagesh Havanur advises readers to go through the game first without any analysis, and then match their wits with the players and the annotators.

8/31/2017 – GM Nicholas Pert is in Hamburg recording a Fritztrainer to be published later this year. He joins Karsten for a look some of Pert's own queen endgames, as well as a survey of minor piece endgames from recent tournament practice. Live at 16:00 CEST (8:00 AM EST)!

8/31/2017 – The nineteenth edition of the Sants Open in Barcelona finished with a clear winner in group A: Rinat Jumabayev. The young man from Kazakhstan has been a GM since 2009 and is the number one in his country. An afternoon playoff determined second and third places which went to Moldovan Dmitry Svetushkin and German Julian Martin. | Photo: Gerd Densing

8/30/2017 – The score was 10½-7½ for the Challenger, who needed 12½ to win the title. Was Bobby Fischer content merely to sneak in by split points? "I don't believe it — it's never been his style," wrote commentator GM Robert Byrne. "I think the explanation for the draws is to be found in Spassky's improvements in his openings." In games 11 and 12 Fischer kept coasting, but he also relaxed somewhat with social encounters.

8/30/2017 – At the RTU Open in Riga the drawing of lots gave me a very special opponent. I was to play against Alexei Shirov, one of my chess idols as a junior. The chance to play him was definitely my tournament highlight. I knew that I was the underdog but I did not want to submit meekly. But what to play against Shirov? Fortunately, Peter Heine Nielsen's new DVD "The Semi-Slav" offered help. | Photo: Pascal Simon

8/30/2017 – It is the most exciting event of the year, much like the royal rumble in WWE. The World Cup 2017 will begin with 128 players and after every three days we will see half the players going back home. It is the survival of the fittest! All the top players in the world including Magnus Carlsen are taking part at the event. We bring you the most interesting match-ups of round one and also ask your opinion through a poll as to who you think will win the World Cup?