8/4/2026 – Defending champion Matthias Bluebaum remains among the leaders in the A Open after claiming his third win in as many games, with the leading group now reduced to seven players. The second German in the top seven is IM Luka Schwitkowski. Rasmus Svane, meanwhile, has dropped out of the leading group after conceding half a point against Ebrahim Ahmadinia. In the International Women's Tournament, both Song Yuxin and Dinara Wagner, as well as tournament leader Nataliya Buksa (pictured) and Klaudia Kulon, agreed draws. | Photos: Dariusz Gorzinski

8/4/2026 – Welcome to The Initiative – a show dedicated to the relentless battle for momentum in chess! In every game, players fight to seize control, dictate the pace and keep their opponent on the back foot. But what does it really mean to have the initiative? How do the world's best players maintain pressure and transform small advantages into crushing attacks?

8/4/2026 – The bishop blocks the road: Pure opposite colored bishop endings have a large drawish tendency. So Black's way to win is very narrow: Black to move and win.

8/4/2026 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu remained in sole first place after six rounds of the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz, extending his lead to 2 points over Javokhir Sindarov. The Indian GM defeated Awonder Liang and drew his other two games on day two, including a 117-move encounter with Wesley So. Despite several missed opportunities and fluctuating positions, only two of the day's games ended decisively. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

8/3/2026 – In his latest column, Jon Speelman moves from Hatfield House and Queen Elizabeth’s Oak to a series of chess puzzles, with rook endings, defensive choices and a spoof opening line among the themes. He also introduces the idea of a "Fluffy Duck" opening, inspired by an advocaat-based cocktail, and invites readers to suggest a suitable variation! | Photo: Puredrinkology

8/3/2026 – The British Championships in Coventry has opened as a wide-ranging chess festival, with 40 tournaments taking place over nine days across classical, rapid, blitz and variant formats. Alongside the main Championship, sections for juniors, veterans and rating groups have created a busy schedule. Early rounds have already produced testing games for the leading players, with Luke McShane held by Peter Wells and Michael Adams (pictured) overcoming Richard Bates after a difficult Catalan struggle. | Photo: Yury Krylov

7/31/2026 – Svitlana explores the Center Game with 1.e4 e5 2.d4 and explains why this historic opening remains a practical surprise weapon. She examines the main queen placements, Black’s most important defensive setups, and White’s typical plan of castling queenside and launching an attack. Particular attention is given to the choice between f3 and Nf3, the importance of preventing Black’s central break with d5, and the tactical possibilities that arise from opposite side castling. The episode shows that even if engines consider many positions equal, the Center Game can still lead to rich, aggressive, and highly playable positions

7/31/2026 – The 53rd Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting gets underway on Saturday (1–8 August). Alongside a strong open tournament featuring German national team players Matthias Blübaum, Rasmus Svane and Dmitrij Kollars, as well as Biel Open winner Christian Glöckler (pictured), the festival also includes an international women's GM tournament, where Dinara Wagner will defend her title. | Photos: Tournament organisers

7/31/2026 – FIDE and the International School Chess Federation (ISCF) have introduced a new format for the World Schools Team Championship. Continental championships will first be held in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe, with the continental winners advancing to a final tournament in December.

7/31/2026 – On Monday, the African Chess Confederation elected a new executive board. In an extremely close vote, the incumbent continental president was voted out of office, and Benard Wanjala (pictured) was elected as the new president. The defeated candidate, Tshepiso Lopang, has accused Benard Wanjala of vote-buying and lodged a complaint against the result. | Photos: FIDE / ACC

7/31/2026 – The chess summer continues with events all over the place. The DOLE open in Aix-en-Provence, France, features elite players like Nepomniachtchi, Tabatabaei and Maghsoodloo. Nepo already had to accept two draws in the first four rounds, when he was paired with young Norwegian GM Aksel Bu Kvaloy in the fifth round. Both players showed very inspired chess, each of them willing to sacrifice material at various stages of the game. Nepo kept playing very fast, until disaster struck. Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.

7/31/2026 – Dear chess friends! We’ve got another great offer for you: this week (until August 2nd, 2026), you can get over 25% off all Fritztrainer courses by RB Ramesh, Surya Ganguly and Michael Prusikin!