10/22/2020 – IM Annie Wang grabbed the early lead in the 2020 U.S. Women’s Championship, scoring 2.5/3 points on the first day of play. Defending champion WGM Jennifer Yu earned 2.0/3, tied for second with top seed GM Irina Krush, WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, and WIM Emily Nguyen, with eight more rounds to go in this 12-player round-robin event. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

10/22/2020 – To promote chess in schools and education, the Spanish Pavilion at the Universal Expo Dubai 2021 is organizing a large online chess tournament. Schools from all over the world can participate and the best teams qualify for the final in Dubai. But the registration for this attractive scholastic tournament ends November 12, 2020. Interested schools should register now!

10/22/2020 – On Thursday, October 22nd, at 4:00 p.m. European time (CEST) IM Elisabeth Pähtz will take on members of the Playchess community in a special blitz challenge. Elisabeth is a former World Junior Girls Champion, and is the current German no. 1 female player. The games will be commented by host IM Sagar Shah, who will also be analyzing them with Elli after they are over. You too can play against her, or simply watch how others fare.

10/21/2020 – Grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, often referred to by his initials MVL, is the top-ranked chess player in France. To show appreciation for MVL on his 30th birthday, National Master Mike Walder presents a recipe for a dish MVL likes and annotates one of MVL’s wins from the 2020 Candidates Tournament. WIM Alexey Root tells why MVL is a Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Pictured: MVL and fans at the 2019 GCT Finals in London | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

10/21/2020 – Though it might be hard to believe after a bitter loss science indicates that chess is good for you. The "Healthline" website took a look at the "The 10 Best Benefits of Playing Chess" and explains why chess is good for your health, your mind, and the development of your personality. | Photo: Magnus Carlsen | Photo: Lennart Ootes (Archive)

10/21/2020 – In his "Game of the Week" show, Merijn van Delft takes a look at a highlight from the Altibox Norway Chess Tournament: Alireza's convincing win Jan-Krzysztof Duda in the final round. | Merijn's show is freely available at 15.00 UTC (17:00 CEST, 11:00 EDT) for a limited time, and on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

10/21/2020 – Sixty years ago, the 14th Chess Olympiad began in Leipzig. It was a great international festival with the best players in the world. The tournament was presented in the German Democratic Republic in a very dignified manner. For many, it was an unforgettable experience. Dagobert Kohlmeyer spoke with some of the witnesses. | Photo: Bundesarchiv

10/21/2020 – In this day and age, it is not so important to get an opening advantage - it is more important to get a playable position that you understand better than your opponent. With the Sveshnikov all the rage at the top, and the Open Sicilian no longer guaranteeing White his birthright opening advantage, top players have moved on to exploring lesser known but sound systems, and one such opening is the Rossolimo. Almost all the top players play this opening with both colours, its chief advocate being the American No.1 Fabiano Caruana. Jan Werle recently authored a DVD on the subject, and Tanmay Srinath takes a closer look at the Dutch GM's debut offering for ChessBase, along with a brief interview with the author about these DVDs.

10/20/2020 – In his weekly show IM Lawrence Trent takes a look at the U.S. Senior Championship, which was won by Joel Benjamin. Lawrence will particularly focus on the game between Benjamin and Patrick Wolff, a "nice old school grind!". | Lawrence’s show is available at 17:00 UTC (19:00 CEST, 13:00 EDT) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

10/20/2020 – There are 40 living U.S.-born grandmasters listed by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) as playing for the USA. WIM Alexey Root and IM John Daniel Bryant researched their educational backgrounds and careers. They also asked the grandmasters to give advice to today’s high-rated high school players. | Pictured: John Harvard statue at Harvard University | Photo: Jessica Williams

10/20/2020 – Rook endgames have drawish tendencies. One reason for this is the fact that the rook of the defending side can often harass the enemy king with a series of checks. However, if the king is too close to the rook, this ressource usually fails.

10/20/2020 – Playchess.com offers Premium Members a number of attractive blitz tournaments. The tournaments are played with real names and you will know whether you play a real life GM or IM. The winners receive 90 minutes of online training with world-class coach GM Rustam Kazimdzhanov, GM Sebastian Siebrecht or GM Yannick Pelletier, or they can take part in a virtual chess party (an online blitz tournament with GM Nicholas Pert). Details...