3/13/2019 – Russia defended its lead at the World Team Championship in Astana with a narrow 2.5: 1.5 win over the USA. In the women's tournament, the Chinese were able to extend their lead to three points as Russia scored a point against Ukraine. | Photos: David Llada

3/12/2019 – IM Lawrence Trent brings you the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments every Tuesday at 17:00 UTC (18:00 CET, Noon EST). This week he looks at a game from the last round of the Spring Classic in St. Louis. Free to watch on-demand for a limited time with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can register a free 90-day account to watch.

3/12/2019 – The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has organised chess tournaments for over four decades. LtCol Sławomir Kędzierski reports on the most recent championship from the perspective of the Polish Armed Forces (PAF) team to commerate the 20th anniversary of Poland’s presence in NATO. Pictured: IMCC Chairman Col Tomasz Malinowski who introduced Polish Armed Forces to NATO Chess, holding the trophy of King Canute | Photo: Wojciech Król

3/12/2019 – Usually, a rook and a pawn win easily against a bishop. But there are exceptions. Here's a practical endgame example that could help you save a half point some day!

3/11/2019 – Russia, the leading team at the World Team Championship, unexpectedly gave up a team match point to Azerbaijan round six. India and England are only one point behind. England scored an important win over Iran 3-1 despite the early loss of their reserve player Jon Speelman on board four. In the Women's section, China continues to lead the field. | Photos: David Llada

3/11/2019 – 18-year-old American GM Jeffery Xiong (pictured, left) scored a clutch last round win to avoid a play-off and take top honours in the St. Louis Spring Classic. He finished with six points from nine games, a half point more than Ukrainian GM Illya Nyzhnyk. In the parallel "B" tournament, Chinese GM Bai Jinshi (pictured, right) was clear first with the same score, despite losing his last round game! ALEX YERMOLINSKY reports on the highlights from the past ten days of chess action in the U.S. chess 'capital'. | Photos: Austin Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

3/11/2019 – Five rounds of the Prague Chess Festival have been played so far, both in the Masters and the Challengers. Jan-Krzyztof Duda leads the main event on 3½ out of 5, but has Nikita Vitiugov and Radoslaw Wojtaszek breathing down his neck a half point behind. The Challengers had women's world champion Ju Wenjun in the lead until round four but, after her loss against Praggnanandhaa, she now shares first place with three other players. | Photo: Vladimir Jagr / Official site

3/10/2019 – The Spring Chess Classic is a pair of 10-player round-robin tournaments at the Saint Louis Chess Club. After eight rounds, Jeffrey Xiong, Ray Robson and Illya Nyzhnyk are leading with 5 points. Vassily Ivanchuk and Rustam Kasimdzhanov are surprisingly in the last two places. Live games from 19:00 UTC (20:00 CET, 2 PM EDT) / Live commentary webcast from 21:30 UTC (22:30 CET 4:30 PM EDT). | Pictured: Commentary hosts Ben Simon and GM Aman Hambleton

3/10/2019 – The Swiss Grandmaster Noel Studer confidently won the Accentus Young Masters, which took place from February 27th to March 7th at the Hotel Schloss in Bad Ragaz in Switzerland. He started with 5 out of 5 and finished with 7½ out of 9. One point behind was Lev Yankelevich and Nikita Petrov who shared places two and three, while Yankelevich also achieved a GM norm. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

3/10/2019 – Two devastating attacks gave the Chinese women a crucial victory over the defending champions from Russia, who now need other teams to cooperate — by beating China — in order for them to take gold. Meanwhile, in the open section, Russia took down Kazakhstan despite Sergei Karjakin's loss on board one and are still the sole leaders. England and India tied their direct encounter and are the only chasers, two match points behind. | Pictured: Lei Tingjie | Photo: David Llada / Official site

3/9/2019 – The Spring Chess Classic is a pair of 10-player round-robin tournaments at the Saint Louis Chess Club. After four rounds, the A group field was surprisingly tight with five out of the ten players tied on 3 points. But after seven, Jeffrey Xiong (pictured) and Illya Nyzhnyk have taken the lead. Vassily Ivanchuk and Rustam Kasimdzhanov, meanwhile, are struggling. | Photo: Austin Fuller

3/9/2019 – After four rounds, the Russian players in Astana have yet to give up a full point. In the open section, they are alone at the top of the standings, while in the women's they share first place with China — the co-leaders are set to face each other on Saturday. India, United States and England trail by one match point among the men, with the Olympic champions from China far behind on the leader board. | Photo: David Llada / Official site