1/18/2021 – Swedish grandmaster Nils Grandelius is the first sole leader of this year’s Tata Steel Chess tournament. Grandelius grabbed his second win in as many games by defeating Jan-Krzysztof Duda with the black pieces on Sunday. The only other winner of the day was defending champion Fabiano Caruana, who got the better of Alexander Donchenko, also with black. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

1/17/2021 – Noting that Australia is the continent with the greatest variety of venomous animals, star columnist Jon Speelman explores creepy-crawlies in chess — i.e. tiny moves that often have a huge effect, far beyond their visual impression. He then looks at games in which Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov make use of such creeping manoeuvres.

1/17/2021 – This weekend the final rounds of the French Team Blitz Championship will take place on Playchess. The semifinals will be played on Saturday, while the final and a match for third place will be played on Sunday. Live with commentary starting at 13.30 CET.

1/17/2021 – With 11 articles about various openings the new ChessBase Magazine #199 offers a lot of material for ambitious chess players who want to improve their openings. IM Patrick Zelbel, for example, examines a surprise weapon against the Modern Benoni, namely 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.Bg5!?. If Black reacts with the standard move 7...Bg7, Zelbel recommends an idea by Matthias Blübaum: 8.Nd2!?, which prepares e2-e4 and a later f2-f4. Let us show you how White can achieve a "huge advantage" against an unprepared opponent. And how Black should best meet White's bishop move.

1/17/2021 – Three players are sharing the lead after round 1 in Wijk aan Zee, as Magnus Carlsen, Anish Giri and Nils Grandelius all obtained victories with the white pieces. It was a topsy-turvy win for the world champion, who bravely gave up two pawns to get the better of 17-year-old Alireza Firouzja. Endgame specialist Karsten Müller analysed the rook ending that gave Grandelius the full point against Alexander Donchenko. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

1/15/2021 – It all starts on Saturday in Wijk aan Zee, as the first round of the much-anticipated Tata Steel tournament kicks off at 14:00 (CET). Given the circumstances, it will not be the massive festival — with three masters tournament and a number of side activities — that we were used to enjoy at the beginning of each year. But it will be a great (over-the-board) tournament nonetheless, with Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana included in the lineup!

1/15/2021 – In this Power Play Show, GM Daniel King takes a look at game by Frank Marshall (1877-1944), U.S. Champion from 1909 to 1936, and a legendary attacking player. | Power Play is on air most Fridays at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 13:00 ET). All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

1/15/2021 – Despite the corona pandemic, the Tata Steel Tournament 2021 in Wijk aan Zee is an over-the-board tournament, where the top players face each other live. But the safety measures are strict, and corona stopped Daniil Dubov from taking part. The Russian Grandmaster who is famous for his creative attacking chess, had to cancel after someone close to him was tested positive for Covid-19. But the organisers found a last-minute-replacement: the young German Grandmaster Alexander Donchenko (pictured). The tournament will begin tomorrow, Saturday, January 16, and last till January 31. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

1/15/2021 – In the diagram position White just played 21.Nf6+!, which gives him a winning attack. There are some most beautiful variations to discover, the highlight being a checkmate in ... 14! Enjoy!

1/14/2021 – The 83rd edition of the traditional Wijk aan Zee tournament is about to begin, with the first round scheduled to take place on Saturday. Seven-time winner Magnus Carlsen will be leading a 14-player field which includes world number 2 and latest World Championship challenger Fabiano Caruana. Carlsen won the “A tournament” for the first time thirteen years ago, when he shared first place with Levon Aronian. | Photos: Frits Agtenderbos / ChessVista

1/14/2021 – The lives of Walter Tevis and his literary character Beth Harmon have a number of similarities. Both of them experienced a childhood marked by drug addiction, and later, alcoholism, both "lived" in Lexington, Kentucky. And both of them found their salvation in chess. A hunt for clues in Lexington.

1/14/2021 – For more than twenty years Jeroen van den Berg has been running the tournament in Wijk aan Zee as director, and he has enormously contributed to the ongoing success and attraction of this event, which each year is an absolute highlight in the chess calendar. In his latest "Let's talk about chess..." podcast Eric van Reem talks to Jeroen van den Berg about the long and colourful history of the tournament, about fantastic games played in Wijk, and, of course, about this year's tournament, which will start on Saturday - under special conditions but still as an over-the-board tournament. | Photo: Grenke Schach