9/21/2018 – It was none other than Vladimir Putin, who dropped in at the training camp in Sochi. There he spoke to the men and women team members, about the importance of Russia regaining their dominating role in chess, about young talents and talent schools — like the one initiated by former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. "Sirius" has already produced a number of children's champions. Watch this 1TV report — it is in Russian, but we provide a rough transcript for you to read.

9/21/2018 – One of the most important tasks at the board, during a game, is to evaluate candidate moves and calculate the correct sequence. GM Christian Bauer, a famous expert on the Scandinavian Defence, has a new book out from Thinkers Publishing, which uses his own games as examples. Many different middlegame topics and ideas are explained in this innovative book, notes reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO who looks at two fully annotated games.

9/21/2018 – The diagram shows a typical position from the Loewenthal variation (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 a6 6.Nd6+ Bxd6 7.Qxd6 Qe7 8.Qd3 Nf6 9.Nc3) in which Black springs into action... and is drawing almost by force! Interested to follow his footsteps?

9/20/2018 – Having had the time of his life at the Faroes Open 2017, GM SRINATH NARAYANAN couldn’t resist an opportunity to go back to Europe’s best keep secret of Summer once more. He had no reasons to regret, as apart from the wild winds, warm people, fresh locations, he also won the Faroes Open for the second time. This year’s starting list was headed by GM Gawain Jones and was a strong tournament that had 17 titled players out of 36 players. The tournament included 7 GMs, and 5 IMs, making it a field made up of almost 50% titled players and 33% of them above the International Master title. | Photo: Jógvan Martin Joensen

9/20/2018 – As we count down the last days of (Northern) summer, we take a look at another highlight from the open season that was. Think of the Strasbourg Open as a real insider tip for all chess fans: Take the road to picturesque Alsace. MANFRED MENACHER did and was enthusiastic about the organization of the Roos brothers as well as the beautiful scenery. | Photos: M. Menacher

9/19/2018 – Feel like trying out a new opening? How about learning a few basic tips on the London System from a GM? 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 great chess trainers. After that, you try it out, right there in your browser, against an engine that matches the playing strength of you 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!

9/19/2018 – 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: Learning from a painful loss in the Dutch League.

9/19/2018 – World Champion Magnus Carlsen brings his now-annual Play Live Challenge back to Hamburg on October 8th, this time a the Hamburg headquarters of DER SPIEGEL. Like the 2017 event which ChessBase webcast live, Carlsen will play 12 opponents in a clock simul. The venue accommodates 150 live spectators, but the games will also be carried online with live commentary (in German!) by English GM Daniel King. | Photo: Nadja Wittmann

9/19/2018 – The Republic of Georgia will soon be the focus of the chess world's attention with the start of the 43rd Chess Olympiad in Batumi this weekend. But on the other side of the country, NINO MAISURADZE reports on a prestigious women's rapid tournament, traditionally held in Telavi, Georgia, the hometown of many top Georgian women today. | Pictured: Players outside the Telavi Museum | Photo: Lela and Bela Cup organisers

9/19/2018 – The match for the highest title in chess is always very exciting. But it is somewhat spoiled if the result is a tie. In previous times it meant that the reigning champion kept his title; later a tiebreak was installed, with rapid chess games, blitz and then Armageddon. Not a satisfactory solution, with the championship not decided by classical games. Werner Keym, a chess problem composer, has an alternate solution, one that like most of his problems is out of the box. Tell us what you think.

9/18/2018 – Training is particularly effective when you come out of your comfort zone. So, why not spice up your training by letting the clock run or awarding points for the right solution? And of course, you do not always need a computer to train — maybe you want to print out the tasks? | Image: ChessBase

9/18/2018 – 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 wraps up the highlights from the World Junior Championship!