7/1/2019 – In this Simon Says we take a look at the seemingly new fashion of top players pushing 'Harry' the h-pawn. We use a number of examples from the recent Grand Chess Tour action but also look at some other famous examples of this warrior of a pawn being used. Watch live for free starting at the usual time: 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST / 12 Noon EDT).

7/1/2019 – Our monthly look at the FIDE ratings for July2019 with a focus on the outcome of the Women's Candidates tournament won by 20-year old Russian phenom Aleksandra Goryachkina (pictured). In blitz, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has taken the #1 spot away from World Champion Magnus Carlsen thanks to his Norway Chess blitz win. And 58-year old GM Igors Rausis continues his improbable climb up the raking list by bashing much weaker players. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

7/1/2019 – A wild round was followed by a quieter one in Zagreb, as five games ended in draws, with most of them not living up to the level of excitement seen on Saturday. Only Ding Liren defeated Anish Giri to bounce back to 50% in the standings table. The other highlight of the day was Levon Aronian not managing to convert a big advantage — which emerged from brilliant play in the early stage of the game — against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov. Ian Nepomniachtchi defended well against Hikaru Nakamura and still leads. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

6/30/2019 – Chess is more affordable than racing. Chess ratings are more highly-regarded than Driver Database ratings. The highest-rated women chess players have proportionally more opportunities than the top-ranked women drivers. In this second of two articles, WIM ALEXEY ROOT explores what racing can learn from chess. She also interviews and plays two in-person blitz games with a race car driver, Kory Enders, who aspires to be a grandmaster. | Photo: Louis A. Reed Jr.

6/30/2019 – There were no decisive results in round four of the Croatian Grand Chess Tour, but not for a lack of trying. Most notably, Magnus Carlsen vs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave vs Anish GIri were wild struggles which could have gone either way. Levon Aronian and Fabiano Caruana also fought hard, while fortune continues to smile on Ian Nepomniachtchi, who was in a difficult position against Sergey Karjakin but ended up taking home the half point and still commands the standings table. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

6/29/2019 – When on May 26th 2017, in Netanya, a man died during the preparations to celebrate his 80th birthday, the jubilee turned into a memorial for one of the greatest study composers from Israel. Many chess composers have an endless love and passion for chess, but he also had it for raising other young talents. | Photos: Arves.org

6/26/2019 – These days there's no shortage of information on opening theory. Everyone, even an amateur, with a bit of study can play main line theory like a pro GM. In such circumstances, perhaps it's all the more salient to question to our opponents using openings which are sound, but less mainstream. That's what Simon Williams sets out to do in his latest DVD on the Torre Attack, and DAVIDE NASTASIO has the review.

6/25/2019 – The focus this week is on the St. Louis Summer Chess Classic tournaments where I take a look at a game — and a novelty — by another young hope from the USA: Brandon Jacobson. Free for a limited time, or forever on-demand with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can register a free 90-day account to watch.

6/25/2019 – The Netanya Chess Festival (June 23 to July 2) features a GM round-robin and an open. In the GM tournament, possibly the strongest tournament in Israel ever, five world-class grandmasters take on five Israeli GMs. The prize fund is $100,000, while in the open it is just under $50,000: Luke McShane started with two wins. Watch Round 3 LIVE! | Photos: Yoav Nisenbaum / imt.chess.org.il

6/25/2019 – Marco Bode is a German football legend, famous for his fair play and his loyalty to his club, Werder Bremen. Bode is also a passionate chess player who is keen to teach young kids the game and to make chess a subject in schools. Last week, Bode's efforts led 1,000 primary school students to play a huge tournament in the center of Bremen. | Photos: Pascal Simon/ Rainer Woisin

6/25/2019 – Rules of thumb are just that — rules of thumb. They are often a good guideline but sometimes they are made to be broken and only concrete calculation helps.

6/24/2019 – Grandmaster RUIFENG LI reports and annotates games from Las Vegas as Ukrainian GM Illya Nyzhnyk won the newly lengthened 9-round National Open. Nyzhnyk's five wins and four draws were good enough for clear 1st place and the USD $8,000 prize. Alejandro Ramirez was the best scoring US player. Pictured: Organizers Janelle and Alan Losoff, with the new National Open Champion. | Photo: Tim Hanks