2/16/2020 – The 2nd Cairns Cup in Saint Louis is played from February 7-17. The field is led by World Champion Ju Wenjun, and features most of the world's best women chess players. The tournament winner will receive USD $45,000 from the total prize fund of $180,000. Rounds begin daily at 19:00 UTC (20:00 CET / 14:00 EST) and the games will be broadcast live with commentary by WGM Jennifer Shahade, GM Yasser Seirawan and GM Alejandro Ramirez. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

2/16/2020 – A sensational win by 16-year-old Carissa Yip over world champion Ju Wenjun was the story of the day in Saint Louis. Humpy Koneru also won and would have got to the final round a full point ahead had Alexandra Kosteniuk not defeated Nana Dzagnidze with the black pieces. So, going into the last day of action (unless a playoff is needed to decide the champion), Humpy is on 5½ out of 8 and Kosteniuk is the only contender a half point behind. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

2/16/2020 – When two sides play a perfect game of chess, the game more often than not ends up a draw. Today, while all the five games ended up as draws, three of them didn't follow the stated script. Alireza Firouzja exhibited passion and imagination, confusing Nikita Vitiugov with a speculative knight sacrifice to gain a decisive advantage, but made two inexplicable moves to gift the latter a draw. Duda was seriously worse after nine moves, but his opponent Anton failed to find the most incisive continuation, continuing his roller-coaster ride in the tournament. Harikrishna played the forgotten Sozin Attack, and had to soon defend for a while to see out the game to a draw. Markus Ragger was tortured by the exchange down by David Navara for a while before concluding the game in peace, and Nils Grandelius signed a rather tame draw with the tournament leader Vidit, who retains sole lead. | Photo: Official site

2/16/2020 – The English is an opening which can transpose into many others. It is definitely a must for those who want to improve middlegame play, thanks to the huge variety of middlegame themes which can arise from it. One can play very aggressively, or positionally; it's clearly an opening which can satisfy everyone interested in learning strategy and tactics. World Champion Magnus Carlsen is one of the players who has incorporated the English into his repertoire. In this FritzTrainer, IM Lorin D'Costa presents a complete repertoire for White explaining key pawn structures and ideas behind the moves. DAVIDE NASTASIO breaks it down.

2/15/2020 – Ju Wenjun and Humpy Koneru are still sharing the lead of the Cairns Cup after a seventh round in which things could have taken a different path. The only decisive result of the day saw Mariya Muzychuk beating Valentina Gunina — Muzychuk got a much better position, lost her advantage and ended up winning when Gunina overestimated her chances. Meanwhile, Ju Wenjun could not convert a clear advantage, and Humpy saved a half point in a difficult endgame. | Photo: Austin Fuller

2/15/2020 – After three hard-fought rounds of chess in Prague we finally have a sole leader! Vidit Gujrathi, after surviving a mega-scare against David Anton yesterday, found his rhythm and squeezed Markus Ragger in a Grunfeld endgame to go to world number 21 and 2½/3. Alireza Firouzja has found the going tough in the first two rounds, but he seems to have benefited from the close shave yesterday, as he outplayed Harikrishna in a Closed Ruy Lopez structure to score his first win of the event. David Anton was seriously worse, but David Navara's struggles continued as he missed numerous chances for an advantage with White to gift the Spaniard the point. Grandelius continued to falter in decisive moments, as Vitiugov escaped by a hair's breadth to maintain a plus score, and Shankland missed out on what could have been a brilliant win over Duda as Black. | Photo: Vladimir Jagr

2/11/2020 – A round-up of the recent action including the watch forfeit controversy. | Puzzle time: In the diagram, it's White to move! What would you think about playing Bd5 here? | Lawrence is live this week from 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, 12 Noon EST) and free for a limited time, or forever on-demand with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can always register a free 90-day account to watch.

2/11/2020 – Nana Dzagnidze is still leading the second edition of the Cairns Cup after none of the chasers scored wins in round four. Ju Wenjun and Alexandra Kosteniuk (pictured) did get to join the players trailing a half point behind the Georgian though, after beating Valentina Gunina and Carissa Yip respectively. The rest of the games finished drawn, with Irina Krush missing a good chance to take down Harika Dronavalli. | Photo: Austin Fuller

2/11/2020 – Knights are tricky but sometimes that is not enough. In the diagram position, Black is able to win with the exchange and best play. Are you up to the task?

2/11/2020 – GM Nick Pert, a former World U18 chess champion and a member of the National English team, came up with an ingenious idea about helping the improving players. He composed three FritzTrainer DVDs in which he targets the "typical mistakes" committed by players in the lower rating brackets of 1000-1600, 1600-1900 and 1800-2000. DIANA MIHAJLOVA takes a look.

2/10/2020 – The 4NCL provides insiration for a new tactics-focus Simon Says. GM Simon Williams curates a selection of puzzles for your enjoyment and improvement. | Puzzle time: In the position below it's White to play and win! | Watch for free live and on-demand (for a limited time, or forever with a ChessBase Premium account) starting at the usual hour: 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET / 12 Noon EST).

2/10/2020 – Nana Dzagnidze became the first sole leader of the Cairns Cup after inflicting Carissa Yip's third straight loss in Saint Louis. Kateryna Lagno and Mariya Muzychuk are still a half point back after drawing their direct encounter, while Harika Dronavalli joined them in shared second place after beating Alexandra Kosteniuk. Valentina Gunina, in the meantime, got on the scoreboard with a win over Irina Krush. | Photo: Austin Fuller