2/16/2021 – On Sunday, February 14, Wesley So added another tournament victory to the long list of his successes: he won the Opera Euro Online Tournament by beating Magnus Carlsen in the final. Which So also managed to do in the Skilling Open and in the final of the World Championship in Fischerrandom. But why is Wesley So so successful and how does he manage to beat Carlsen again and again? In an interview with Wesley So Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal tried to find out!

2/16/2021 – Endgames with knight against bishop can be very deep. In the diagram position Black can win, if he uses the power and the influence of his bishop and the sharp endgame weapon zugzwang in the right way.

2/15/2021 – The Candidates Tournament, the biennial 8-player event that decides who will be the Challenger for the World Chess Championship title, will resume on the 19th of April in Yekaterinburg, Russia, as announced by the International Chess Federation. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

2/15/2021 – Adrian Michalchishin is one of the world's most renowned trainers. He has worked with players such as Alexander Beliavsky, Anatoly Karpov, Alisa Maric, Ilja Nyzhnyk, Richard Rapport, Mateusz Bartel, Susan and Sofia Polgar, to name just a few. In part II of an extensive interview he talks about the work of a trainer, psychology in chess, and reveals how Kasparov once forced him to play cards throughout the night, and why computers may be damaging for chess.

2/15/2021 – Wesley So defeated Magnus Carlsen in the final of the Opera Euro Rapid tournament to bag a second consecutive victory in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Carlsen lost game 1 after playing a speculative piece sacrifice and never managed to bounce back, missing opportunities in games 3 and 4. Meanwhile, Teimour Radjabov convincingly beat Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to claim third place.

2/15/2021 – In 1987 Frederic Friedel co-founded ChessBase – a company that leads the world in chess software. It created the first professional chess database in history and the iconic Fritz chess playing program. The "guru" of ChessBase believes that Artificial Intelligence can be the key to mankind's future. He is as optimistic and enthusiastic, as ever, expressing hopes, but also his fears and doubts. How will we coexist with computers of a new type when they have become as intelligent as we are, and even more so?

2/14/2021 – The Opera Euro Rapid tournament is the third event of the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. Sixteen strong grandmasters played a preliminary round lasting three days to find out who moves on to the quarterfinals. In the knockout stage, each encounter is decided over two days. Read the full report on Day 1 of the finals. The action kicks off at 17.00 CET.

2/14/2021 – Wesley So scored a win on demand to tie the score in the first mini-match of the Opera Euro Rapid’s finals against Magnus Carlsen. Meanwhile, Teimour Radjabov got ahead on the scoreboard against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the match for third place. Report with instructive analysis by Karsten Müller. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

2/14/2021 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 14th part of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving" Herman looks at a fine attack crowned by an unusual move. | Photo: Hans Hoornstra

2/14/2021 – Today is Valentine's Day, the day dedicated to romantic love. The French singer, actor and writer Serge Gainsbourg was a great romantic, and he was known for taking his mission in the name of love very seriously. His song "Je t'aime..." was quite explicit and censored in a number of countries. But Gainsbourg loved scandals - and chess, as well. | Photo: Serge Gainsbourg | Photo: Roger Kasparian

2/13/2021 – As so many other tournaments, the Africa Championship went online this year. The FIDE and the African Chess Confederation organized the tournament which was played in various groups. Ahmed Adly from Egypt won the Main Open, Amina Mezioud from Algeria became Women's Champion, Charles de Villiers from South Africa won the Senior Tournament, Lamine Brahami from Algeria was first in the U20 Open and Lina Nassir from Algeria clinched the title in the U20 Girls section. The biggest surprise of the event was perhaps the fourth place of the untitled and lower-rated Linda Dalitso Shaba (pictured) from Zimbabwe in the women's tournament. | Photo: Zimbabwe Chess Federation

2/13/2021 – Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So advanced to the final of the Opera Euro Rapid tournament, to be played on Saturday and Sunday starting at 17.00 CET. For a second time in a row, Carlsen knocked out his opponent in the Armageddon decider, while So had a much shorter day at the office, as it was impossible for Teimour Radjabov to win the match once the American collected two points in their second mini-match. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / frchess.com