2/9/2021 – One of the pre-tournament favourites, online blitz specialist Hikaru Nakamura, did not make it into the knockout stage of the Opera Rapid tournament after failing to convert a winning position in the last round against Sam Shankland. Nakamura was eliminated on tiebreak criteria, as he got the same score as Daniil Dubov but won fewer games than the Russian. Ian Nepomniachtchi also had a tough day at the office and was eliminated. Magnus Carlsen won the preliminary stage; Anish Giri scored as many points as the world champion but collected fewer wins. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

2/9/2021 – Opposite coloured bishop endings have drawish tendencies but in the diagram position it is difficult to see how Black can stop White's connected passed pawns. However, Wesley So showed why the king is a strong piece and saved the game for Black.

2/8/2021 – The Opera Euro Rapid tournament saw rounds 6 to 10 of the preliminaries being played on Sunday. At the top of the standings table, Magnus Carlsen defended his half-point lead over Wesley So and Anish Giri. The remaining five rounds will be played today (Monday) at 17.00 CET. Do not miss Karsten Müller’s analyses of five highly instructive endgames! | Photo: Play Magnus Group

2/8/2021 – It's a little late for New Year's celebrations, but never too late to have some fun. In the January issue of the UK CHESS magazine readers were challenged to solve eight unusual problems, which we shared with you last week – with live diagrams on which you could work things out. Today we have added full annotated solutions.

2/7/2021 – “The 8x8 board allied with the rules of chess is an amazing canvas. Much of the time the pictures it paints are fairly mundane, but occasionally it creates something extraordinary”, writes Jon Speelman to conclude this week’s article. In it, you will find helpmates, cooks and a surprising move out of a Catalan. | Photo: Anna Barnett website

2/7/2021 – Alexei Shirov won his last two games to remain ahead of David Anton and Eduardo Iturrizaga — who also won their last two encounters — and get clear first place at the Salamanca Masters. Shirov finished with an outstanding 6/7 score in the rapid tournament. Elisabeth Paehtz was the strongest among the women. | Photos: Official site

2/7/2021 – 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 13th part of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving" Herman shows why activity is sometimes more important than material. | Photo: Hans Hoornstra

2/7/2021 – Day 1 of the Opera Euro Rapid tournament finished with Magnus Carlsen alone atop the standings table on 4/5. Carlsen had lost his first game against Wesley So, but managed to win four in a row to go into day 2 half a point ahead of So and Ian Nepomniachtchi. The preliminary round robin serves as a qualifier to the knockout stage — 8 out of 16 players will advance to the quarterfinals. | Photo: Crystal Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

2/6/2021 – Every Monday and Wednesday, a chess workshop takes place at the “Centro Vida de Cáritas Diocesana”, a centre for homeless people in the Spanish city of Coria-Cáceres. For eight consecutive years the workshop has been organized thanks to an agreement between Cáritas and the Club “Magic Extremadura Deportivo-Social”. Juan Antonio Montero and Ainoa Jiménez share an encouraging, inspiring story.

2/6/2021 – The Salamanca Chess Festival is taking place on 2-6 February at the Colegio Mayor de Fonseca, a historical edifice founded over five centuries ago, in 1519. The main event is an 8-player rapid tournament including an equal number of male and female representatives — Veselin Topalov, David Antón, Alexei Shirov, Eduardo Iturrizaga, Elisabeth Paehtz, Almira Skripchenko, Nurgyul Salimova and Sabrina Vega. The action kicks off at 16.00 CET

2/6/2021 – An eventful fifth round in Salamanca left Alexei Shirov as the sole leader of the single round robin tournament. In typical style, Shirov went all in for a kingside attack — which the engines evaluated as unsound — to take down Almira Skripchenko. Former co-leader Veselin Topalov, in the meantime, was defeated by Eduardo Iturrizaga. Expert analysis by GM Karsten Müller. | Photos: Official site

2/5/2021 – On Saturday, February 6, the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour continues. 16 top players will start in the Opera Euro Rapid to fight for a prize pool of $100,000. Title sponsor is the Norwegian company "Opera Software", number one seed is Magnus Carlsen. All rounds begin at 11:00 AM ET, 5:00 PM CET, 9:30 IST.