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.

10/4/2018 – How do you choose an opening for Black against 1.e4? One idea is to watch the games of the most influential players and discover how you feel about their main choices. But in general, having a number of games at our fingertips to use as a foundation for knowing the opening is a must for every serious player. The Petroff has been considered a safe and solid way to play for equality, but as we will see in this review, it can become quite a sharp weapon to add to one's own repertoire. This can be ideal for the weekend tournament warrior, as well as for club players. The collection of games given with this review will help the reader make an informed choice, discovering the manoeuvres, ideas and risky lines available in the Petroff.

10/3/2018 – Ideas and strategies in Grandmaster games can be quite instructive. IM Merijn van Delft presents games like these every Wednesday at 20:00 CEST (19:00 UT, 2 pm EDT). On this week's show: More excitement at the Olympiad! Featuring Peter Leko vs Maxme Vachier-Lagrave in a Najdorf Sicilian.

10/3/2018 – The Dutch (1.d4 f5) is known as a very aggressive and unbalanced opening, resulting in the lowest percentage of draws among the most common replies to 1.d4 . The opening became popular during the 1951 World Championship match, where both players tried it successfully. Today, players known for spectacular attacking chess are using the opening as a dangerous, surprise weapon.

10/3/2018 – It was perhaps the most hard-fought round of the tournament. Nine out of the first ten matches ended decisively in the open section. We now have a sole leader — USA in the open section. The US team managed to beat Azerbaijan in a thrilling match. In the women's section, Ukraine managed to beat overnight leaders Armenia to take the top spot. They are joined by the Chinese girls. With three rounds to go this Olympiad is excitingly placed with the biggest match today being USA taking on Poland in the open section. Report from Batumi by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal.

10/3/2018 – Last month the Association of Chess Professionals endorsed him with high praise, saying "it's time for a change" and in Batumi, Arkady Dvorkovich has been making a strong final push to woo delegates and players alike. The latter group don't get to vote, but here's why they ACP says they support him. | Pictured: The Kazakhstan Women's team of Assel Serikbay, Guliskhan Nakhbayeva, Dinara Saduakassova, Gulmira Dauletova, Zhansaya Abdumalik | Photo: David Llada

10/2/2018 – "Georgios Makropoulos, the person who has ruled chess for almost three decades, has barely given any interviews," starts a new interview profile of the FIDE presidential candidate on the new American Chess Magazine blog. Indeed, while ChessBase has previously published long conversations with Makropoulos' running-mate Malcolm Pein, as well as Makropoulos' rivals, self-proclaimed "insurgent candidate" GM Nigel Short and Russian economic policy expert Arkady Dvorkovich, the incumbent has declined other interview requests. We run down the topics and key quotes with kind permission of ACM. | Photo: David Llada

10/2/2018 – Tuesdays at 18:00 CEST (5:00 pm UK time, Noon EDT) Lawrence Trent brings you the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments. The is streamed live, free for all, and will be available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders. This week Lawrence's focus is the Chess Olympiad!

10/2/2018 – Endgames with opposite-colored bishops are often drawn. But one should keep in mind that connected passed pawns are always dangerous.

10/2/2018 – With just four rounds to go, we are now closing in on the last lap of the 43rd Batumi Chess Olympiad 2018. The seventh round of the women's event saw the lead change hands. Armenia beat the USA and are now the sole leaders. In the men's section, Poland and Azerbaijan drew their games to stay at the top but are now joined by the USA. Armenia is standing solely on the second position with 12.0/14 in the open section. Read on for some instructive positions, exciting pictures and videos that tell you more details about the matches. | Pictured: It was the first time that all the three Polgar sisters (L-R: Judit, Sofia and Susan) were commentating together | Photo: Amruta Mokal

10/2/2018 – Later this week, delegates to the African Chess Confederation will vote on a new presidential administration following the FIDE General Assembly in Batumi. Three candidates, each a veteran of African chess politics, will face off in a race which in some ways mirrors the larger FIDE election campaigns. Ogunsiku Babatunde, CEO of Africa Chess Media, endeavoured to arrange an in-person debate to allow delegates to hear from each of the three candidates. As of late Monday, two of the three candidates have confirmed participation in the debate to be held Tuesday between 7 and 9 pm local time. Mr. Lewis Ncube is expected to give a response Tuesday morning. There has already been a preliminary debate-like discussion, however, held via the group chat application WhatsApp, and we share that with you here.

10/1/2018 – In this Simon Says, Simon takes a look at the most interesting games from the Olympiad so far. 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.