9/5/2018 – The Swedish Grandmaster HARRY SCHÜSSLER was a commentator on the Computer Chess World Championships in Sweden. Schüssler admittedly does not understand much about computer chess, per se, but does knows about chess itself. The grandmaster looks back on the Computer World Championship and describes his impressions of the engine games and what lessons can be learned from them. | Photos: ICGA / Günes

9/5/2018 – The Russian Chess Federation calls the final round of its national individual championship the "Superfinal" and that's not an exaggeration. Ian Nepomniachtchi, Dmitry Jakovenko and Nikita Vitiugov are among the Russian stars in this 12 round Tournament is experiencing celebrating its 71st edition this year in Satka, from August 25th to the September 5th, 2018. Live games and commentary with GM Alexander Morozevich!

9/5/2018 – Israeli psychologist AMATZIA AVNI, a FIDE Master in composition, describes the complex love-hate relationship between humans and their chess software. "They assist us in analysis and spare us effort in detecting our errors," he writes. "On the other hand, who likes smart alecs? Comparing ourselves with Fritz, we are bound to become demoralised." In just three examples he covers the whole range of human emotions toward chess software: anger, frustration, disgust, disappointment, joy, elation and gratitude.

9/5/2018 – (Continued from Part 1) One of the chief draws of any Grand Chess Tour event is the extensive and high-quality coverage on the Saint Louis Chess Club YouTube Channel. We've pulled out a number of the interviews and bonus material you may have missed from the Sinquefield Cup. So, break out the popcorn and kick back!

9/4/2018 – Tuesdays at 18:00 CEST (5:00 pm UK time, Noon EDT) Lawrence Trent goes on air on Playchess.com for a free live show dealing with the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments. This week Lawrence delves properly into the Spanish Championships! Afterwards the show will be available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders.

9/4/2018 – Presolana is a mountain located in northern Italy, about 35 kilometres north of Bergamo. Bratto, a small village in this region, has been hosting the "Conca della Presolana" Chess Festival the last 38 years. GM JAN WERLE reports on the latest edition of the tournament, where IM Vladimir Sveshnikov — son of the legendary Evgeny Sveshnikov — finished first on tiebreaks in the main section. In the A-group, 11-year-old Brando Pavesi surprised all-comers with his clear win. | Photo: Ms. Pakleza

9/4/2018 – Pawn races are difficult to calculate. Much more so if the kings are exposed — and checks can come in-between.

9/4/2018 – The placid outwardly appearance of the Petroff Defence could easily trick one into believing that he or she could use it to enjoy a quiet draw. It isn't unusual these days to see grandmaster games that drift into this line end in quick draws. But the Petroff has been around since the times of Greco and white players have found their fair share of traps, tactics and attacking opportunities in it. Even in some of the very recent games from master practice, black players have fallen prey to brilliant attacks. So, is the Petroff really as innocuous as advertised?

9/3/2018 – GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan (pictured left) outpaced the competition in the Masters Section of the Washington International, held in Rockville, Maryland, adjacent to the US capital city from August 11-15, 2018. A full point behind him in the nine-round Swiss open tournament was a trio of international grandmasters including NICLAS HUSCHENBETH (pictured right) who annotated two games for our report. The top American player was US number ten and the sixth best Junior player in the world, GM Sam Sevian, who finished with 6 points. | Photos: Maryland Chess Association

9/3/2018 – In this episode of Simon Says, Simon uncorks the great victories of "one of the greatest attacking players" ever: Rashid Nezhmetdinov. Enjoy!

9/3/2018 – The open and women's sections of the Russian Superfinal continue in Satka. After eight rounds, both tournaments have two leaders — the main section has Dmitry Andreikin and Dmitry Jakovenko in front, while Olga Girya and Alina Kashlinskaya are ahead amongst the women. A large group of chasers are at a half point distance in both events, so everything is still up for grabs with three rounds to go. | Photos: Eteri Kublashvili / Russian Chess Federation

9/2/2018 – From Bradford, England comes a pair of games by Kevin Winter (pictured with Nigel Short). Jon can always use more material from readers. If your games are selected for the Agony column, not only will you get free detailed commentary of your games by one of chess’s great authors and instructors, and former world no. 4 player, but you also win a free three-month ChessBase Premium Account! | Photos: Kevin Winter

9/2/2018 – One of the most respected grandmasters in Europe, 55-year-old Pia Cramling, hosted two parallel events during the first weekend of September at the Scandic Foresta Hotel in Lidingö, Sweden. A four-player double round robin and a 7-round Swiss Open are taking place concurrently. After two days of play, Elizabeth Paehtz emerged the clear victor in the Invitational, while Inna Agrest had a near perfect run in the Open. | Photo: Lars OA Hedlund

9/1/2018 – Master level games are not engine like, they are human, with their mistakes, slightly imperfect moves, and mind battles. The game we see on the board, tell us only part of the story. NM Shanmukha Meruga shows us five of his tournament games, with the drama, ideas, and errors typical of human play.

9/1/2018 – September is here, and as the month kicks off we check in with the FIDE rating lists to see how a busy (northern) summer season has shaken thinks up Elo-wise. Magnus Carlsen's top spot in both classical and blitz was briefly threatened, but he remains the king of all formats. | Photo: Grand Chess Tour / Lennart Ootes

9/1/2018 – The 2018 Asian Nations Cup took place from July 26th until August 4th in the Iranian historical city of Hamadan. Teams from twelve different countries participated in the Open and Women sections. They faced each other in 7-round Swiss Opens in Classical, Rapid and Blitz chess. Iran won all three Open tournaments, while China took first in the Classical and Rapid sections amongst the women — India won the blitz. | Photos: Iranian Chess Federation

9/1/2018 – In over-the-board games, some people like to note down how much time they spent on each move to be able to analyse their games better and to improve their thinking processes. If you play online the computer does this for you: it automatically records the time you spent on your moves. You can use this information — or you can delete it. | Graphics: ChessBase

8/31/2018 – Halftime and a rest day at the Russian Championships, after six of eleven rounds. In the open tournament, six players are in the lead each with 3½ out of 6 points, but the Elo favourites are not among them. Even in the women's tournament, the nominal favorites have had a hard time. Olga Girya and Alina Kashlinskaya lead with 4 out of 6, while Alexandra Kosteniuk (pictured) has scored just 3 out of 6 or fifty percent. JULIAN WNUK breaks down the action so far. | Photo: Russian Chess Federation