5/1/2020 – The pandemic has posed the greatest threat to mankind in this century. Who can resist the dance of death? Surely, doctors, nurses and health workers who form the first line of defence. However, civil society also has to rally round and support them. It should appreciate their sense of duty and commitment to the cause. Recently Vladislav Tarasiuk paid them a unique tribute and our columnist learnt from him how it all happened.

5/1/2020 – A week after his 44th birthday, Nigel Short added yet another accolade to his illustrious career. And he did it in style, scoring 4½ out of 5 at the Sigeman & Co Tournament, a six-player single round-robin. A 15-year-old Nils Grandelius arrived in Malmö as the clear underdog and nevertheless finished in clear second place, already showing his tremendous chess strength. Ivan Sokolov and Tomi Nyback shared third place. | Photos: Official site

4/30/2020 – The seventh round of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational saw world numbers one and two, Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, losing to Ding Liren and Anish Giri respectively. Carlsen played some dicey openings against Ding and, despite equalizing in the middlegame, made critical mistakes in three of the four rapid games. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura also won. The first semi-final between Caruana and Nakamura will be played on Friday. Round-up show by IM Lawrence Trent. | Photo: Official site

4/30/2020 – The white king in the diagram position is weak and vulnerable, particularly on the dark squares. Black only needs to activate his queen to get a decisive attack. But how about scoring a point with an elegant flourish?

4/30/2020 – People are urging me to write a book (or books) with stories about my encounters with famous players. And with puzzles and chess pleasantries. Most of the material has appeared on our news page, but the articles have descended into the obscurities of the archives. So people want a collection in printed form, to read in the garden, in bed, on trains. But what about the chess games and moves? Who is going to set up a board to replay them? Ahh, but perhaps there is a solution, a way to make printed games easily replayable. Curious? Here's what that would (will) look like.

4/30/2020 – The ChessBase Magazine provides comprehensive and up-to-date information about everything that happens in chess. Experts and top players show how to play chess successfully and constantly provide new insights. Now the May issue (# 195) has been published, including reports and analyses of the first half of the Candidates Tournament.

4/27/2020 – Bobby Fischer won the 2. Tournament of Peace in Rovinj/Zagreb 1970 convincingly with a two point margin. Vlastimil Hort shared second place but felt that he and the other players "were more or less reduced to the role of spectators".

4/27/2020 – On Saturday, Germany's grandmasters won an online team match against Romania on playchess.com 36½:27½. Germany's top scorer was Elisabeth Pähtz who finished with 6½/8. However, Romania won the junior match 9½:6½.

4/27/2020 – Last month Edward Winter announced his decision, due to other commitments, to curtail his Chess Notes column, which began in 1982. Additions are now made only occasionally, but thousands of C.N. items and hundreds of feature articles remain online. It is a body of work unlike any other, covering a vast array of topics and spawning four anthologies. Edward Winter is also the author of one of the most acclaimed books in chess history: his monograph on Capablanca.

4/27/2020 – As the world goes through a global health crisis, chess stands out as a unique sport that has successfully resurfaced online to bring together professionals, amateurs, and fans around the world. Besides, chess can serve as an excellent platform for charity and collaboration. At the initiative of the tournament participants, the Chess Federation of Russia and the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation will co-support the first charity online tournament that will feature the country's strongest grandmasters. The event is scheduled to take place in mid-May. | Photo: Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/27/2020 – All games start with the opening but learning an opening can be difficult. After all, there's a reason why top grandmasters spend hours to develop and to refine their opening repertoire and why opening books are so popular. But on her new DVD the Canadian WGM Qiyu Zhou makes things easier and shows how you can master the basic principles of the opening without studying and memorizing endless variations.

4/27/2020 – Day one of the fifth round at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational saw the underdogs getting unlikely match victories. Anish Giri, who had won one game in seventeen attempts in the online event, took down sole leader Carlsen 2½:1½, while Alireza Firouzja scored his first three points by beating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. IM Lawrence Trent recapped the action of the day. | Photo: Official site