10/8/2018 – In this Simon Says, Simon takes a look at the most interesting games from the second half of the Olympiad. Simon is live this week, so tune in at 18:00 CEST (16:00 UT / Noon EDT) for free access to this popular ChessBase show, or try a Basic ChessBase account for on-demand replay. You can register a free 90-day account to watch.

10/8/2018 – Blitz is often bad-mouthed and thought as damaging a player's development. The historical evidence shows the contrary. Most legendary names like Fischer, Bronstein, Tal, were all avid blitz players. The benefit of blitz is easy to understand: within the short span of time of a blitz game, one can see the defects in thought-process, opening repertoire and of course, missing endgame knowledge. Especially at the amateur level, blitz can be a fundamental tool to improve one's own chess. A blitz tournament at the chess club is also a chance for that human interaction, which unfortunately was taken away being modern chess played mainly online. Chess is definitely more pleasant, and exciting when played face to face over the board, and of course more painful!

10/7/2018 – “Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly”. This phrase, extracted from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s ‘Little Prince’, has travelled all around the world, like its author had done while alive. The French writer and aviator was, incidentally, also very fond of chess. SERGIO NEGRI compiles quotes, anecdotes and interpretations that confirm this compelling, albeit unsurprising, connection.

10/7/2018 – The FIDE Presidential election was not the only heated contest at the FIDE Congress. The African Chess Confederation held an election for its President and deputies as well, which proved to be much closer than the FIDE election and included its own case of "withdraw and endorse" at the eleventh hour. But unlike Nigel Short, ACC candidate Tshepo Sitale's plea to support insurgent candidate Essoh Essis failed to tip the scales sufficiently to stave off Lewis Ncube — an Ilyumzhinov loyalist who supported Dvorkovich — who was narrowly re-elected to a new term. | All photos: Macauley Peterson

10/6/2018 – The excitement levels had gone off the charts for the final round of the Batumi Olympiad 2018. The strongest teams were fighting against each other to decide who would take gold. USA and China were pitted against each other in the open section and China and Russia faced off against each other in the women's. The matches ended in 2-2 draws with a lot of drama surrounding them. The tiebreaks favoured China in both the sections and they went home with a double gold! In the Open, the USA took the silver and Russia the bronze while in the Women's Ukraine had to be content with silver, and bronze went to Georgia's first team. Full report from Batumi by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal.

10/5/2018 – Vladimir Petrovs had a tragic life. He was born in 1907 and became one of the strongest players in Latvia. His biggest success was the international tournament in Kemeri 1937 where he finished joint first with Reshevsky and Flohr, ahead of Alekhine and Keres. When Germany occupied Latvia in WW II he fled to Moscow but after critical remarks about the commuist regime he was arrested and in August 1943 he died in a Soviet labour camp. | Photo: Vladimir Petrovs with his wife Galina (Russkije.lv)

10/5/2018 – From the diagram position White's rooks display amazing flexibility to outsmart Black's passers. Things start with 1.Ra3+ Kb4 2.Rab3+ before the ways (mate nets) divide. Enjoy!

10/5/2018 – We present the highlights and analysis of an extraordinary day in Batumi: The FIDE General Assembly convened Wednesday in Batumi, in a hotly contested presidential election that was closer than it has been in decades, but not as close as expected, with many delegates still undecided right up until the end. It will be a new chapter in the history of FIDE as the reign of Greek International Master Georgios Makropoulos draws to a close after 103 federation delegates voted in favour of the Russian Arkady Dvorkovich. Nigel Short, who made a dramatic last-minute endorsement of Dvorkovich, was later appointed to be one of several Vice-Presidents. | All photos: David Llada / batumi2018.fide.com

10/5/2018 – Closing ceremony, top Round 11 matches, final standings and commentary from the 43rd World Chess Olympiad taking place in Batumi, in the Republic of Georgia. China took gold in the Open followed by the USA (silver) and Russia (bronze), all tied on match points. In the Women's it was China and Ukraine with gold and silver, with Georgia taking the clear bronze. All Round 11 matches at live.chessbase.com

10/5/2018 – It's the finale of the 43rd World Chess Olympiad 2018 and we couldn't have asked for a better match-up. It's USA versus China in the open section to decide who takes home the gold and China against USA in the women's section on the top board! The strongest of teams have been paired against each other and it is extremely difficult to predict who will take home the three medals at stake. It's final rounds like these that make a tournament like Olympiad exciting! Round 10 report from Batumi, Georgia.

10/4/2018 – A Russian politician is the new FIDE President. Arkady Dvorkovich defeated incumbent Georgios Makropoulos by 103 votes to 78, after the third candidate Nigel Short withdrew his application. The election was held during the 89th FIDE general assembly in Batumi – where the Chess Olympiad is currently under way. Dvorkovich has announced an annual budget of three million Euros for developing countries. Read the international news reports. Full report and analysis on the FIDE election.

10/4/2018 – Being the sole leader at the Olympiad is not an easy task. USA was the sole leader with 15.0/16 going into the ninth round. They were the clear favourites facing the Polish team. But the inspired Poles played out of their skins and beat the US with three draws and the decisive result being Piorun beating Nakamura. In the women's section China has taken the sole lead by beating Kazakhstan 3-1. We have round 9 report from Batumi by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal with GM analysis by Surya Sekhar Ganguly.