8/8/2018 – We recently learned that Daniel Freeman, who co-founded ChessGames.com in 2001, died on July 24th at the age of 51. Here are a few mementoes.

8/8/2018 – Are you looking for an active defence against 1.d4? Look no further! The Tarrasch Defence (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5) is one of Black’s most ambitious ways to meet 1.d4. No wonder that World Champions Boris Spassky and Garry Kasparov played it! The opening is characterized by an immediate fight for the centre and active piece play. Grandmaster Erwin l’Ami knows the Tarrasch Defence well and has played it successfully with both colours. On this DVD l’Ami reveals many new ideas that have never been seen in tournament practice. In an extensive strategy section he also shows the typical ideas behind this opening. A must-have for ambitious tournament players!

8/8/2018 – We have been trying to keep track of incredible playing strength and title wins at a very early age. It started with Capablanca and Reshevsky, and today we are seeing full grandmasters aged thirteen — and in two cases twelve! Most recently it was Pragnanandhaa, who achieved the title at twelve years and ten months. It became time to update our prodigy page, with better graphics and a few telling graphs. We also invite our readers to contribute.

8/8/2018 – When it comes to unusual venues for chess tournaments, Cabela's in Fort Worth, Texas, might be among the top contenders. A top retail destination for hunters, Cabela’s includes a gun library and extensive taxidermy displays. But among the guns and stuffed wild animals on July 28th were 29 chess players. Perhaps surprisingly, gun enthusiasts and chess players overlapped. ALEXEY ROOT shares her thoughts on chess, education, hunting, and why one might participate in these varied activities. | Pictured: May (as Black) versus Devagharan | Photo: A. Root

8/7/2018 – Tuesdays at 18:00 CEST (5:00 pm UK time, Noon EDT) Lawrence Trent goes on air on Playchess.com. In his show, Lawrence will be dealing with the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments. This week features a wrap-up of the British Championships!

8/7/2018 – Here's the deal: you invest a small amount of time, reading a few paragraphs about an interesting opening line, selected for you by one of the world's top grandmasters. After that, you try it out, right there in your browser, against an engine that matches the playing strength of your potential opponents. You can play any number of games and test different ideas, as far as possible following the instructions of an experienced chess trainer. We have a brand-new application to support this kind of learning. Take a look — and admit: it is great fun!

8/3/2018 – Norway's Jon Ludwig Hammer (pictured middle) won the tournament victory at the Xtracon Open in Helsingör, followed by Russian GM Dmitry Andreikin (left) while the German "prince" Rasmus Svane (right) finished third and Vincent Keymer was the eleventh but also enjoys his second GM norm. | Photo: Jacob Carstensen

8/3/2018 – The ChessBase Magazine is the most comprehensive and most sophisticated chess magazine there is. World class players analyze their brilliancies and explain the ideas behind the moves to you, opening specialists present the latest trends in opening theory and offer exciting ideas for your repertoire. Master trainers in the fields of tactics, strategy, and the endgame show you the tricks and techniques a successful tournament player needs! DVD with several hours of video plus booklet.

8/3/2018 – Big changes occurred on the leaderboard at the conclusion of the penultimate round at the 9th Hainan Danzhou Masters. Tournament leader, Bu Xiangzhi lost his first game of the event to Jan-Krzysztof Duda. This allowed Yu Yangyi, Bu's closest rival to take over the lead after he won a fine attacking game against Vladimir Fedoseev. Le Quang Liem also scored his first win of the tournament in round six against Sam Shankland.

8/3/2018 – What's the most natural way for Black in the diagram to parry the threat 27.Rd8+? Other than that, this time you won't be requested to do complicated calculations for a change — the rest of the game will be a cakewalk!

8/2/2018 – 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 — have you ever used this defence, which acts as a very big nuisance in the white position? In his latest Fritztrainer Lawrence Trent calls this “one of the most underrated openings, gambits-wise” and considers it perfectly sound, since he has not been able to refute it with some of the strongest computers in the world. He promises dynamic play, with the “most in-depth analysis I’ve ever done.” Review by SEAN MARSH, with live Fritz-board for you to train on.

8/2/2018 – After two exciting rounds at the 9th Hainan Danzhou Masters, draws were agreed on all boards in the antepenultimate round Wednesday. Wei Yi was the only player with any chance of pushing for a win while players battled in fairly balanced positions on all other boards. This is a welcome development for the tournament leader, Bu Xiangzhi, who now has to stay ahead of his rivals for only two more rounds in order to clinch the title.