8/25/2018 – A new mini-series is kicked off this month by our study expert SIEGFRIED HORNECKER, who tackles the legacy of Czech master František Josef Prokop (pictured). Story and studies from the first half of the 20th century for you to enjoy at your leisure.

8/25/2018 – For the first time in this year's Sinquefield Cup, a sole leader tops the standings — Fabiano Caruana took advantage of Sergey Karjakin's bad form to get his second win of the tournament. Alexander Grischuk could have easily joined him in the lead, as he missed a big chance to defeat Magnus Carlsen, while Levon Aronian and Hikaru Nakamura exchanged errors to draw the longest game of the day. DANIEL FERNANDEZ analysed all the games from the round and V. SARAVANAN sent his impressions from Saint Louis. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes

8/24/2018 – Born at the very end of the 19th century, 119 years ago today, Jorge Luis Borges is a key figure in twentieth-century literature. The Argentine, known for his preciseness and rigour, thought very highly of chess. One of the most respected authors never to have received the Nobel Prize even wrote a poem dedicated to the royal game. SERGIO ERNESTO NEGRI recaps the links between chess and literature found in the renowned author's oeuvre.

8/24/2018 – One of the most famous chess scenes in a film is the game between the knight Antonius Block and Death from Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" (1957). Bergman's film inspired the German director Margarethe von Trotta to become a director herself, and as a homage to Bergman she now made a documentary about her idol: "Searching for Ingmar Bergman", a film in which the chess scene from "The Seventh Seal" also plays a role.

8/24/2018 – The diagram position is completely hopeless for White - if Black hits the bullseye with his next move! Which of the pawns would you advance?

8/24/2018 – What to do against the Sicilian? Lawrence Trent has an idea: 2.b3! White avoids theoretical discussions in the heavily analysed Najdorf, Sveshnikov or Dragon variations and instead forces Black to think on his own immediately. Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik and other top players have tried 2.b3 with success and on his new DVD Lawrence Trent shows why 2.b3 is good for White and dangerous for Black.

8/23/2018 – In this year's Sinquefield Cup it is completely banned to sign agreed draws. After three rounds with one decisive result per day, the fifth day of play finished with all the games drawn. That does not mean we did not see fighting chess — Magnus Carlsen could not promote a far-advanced passed pawn against Wesley So, while Hikaru Nakamura and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov ended up frustrated after drawing a rollercoaster game where both had chances. V. SARAVANAN reports from Saint Louis. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Spectrum Studios

8/23/2018 – A twelve-game match between Wei Yi and Ernesto Inarkiev was played in Magas, the capital town of the Republic of Ingushetia. The Chinese defeated the 2016 European Champion 4:2 in the classical section and achieved a 3½:2½ victory in the rapid. Wei Yi demonstrated his tactical talent more than once. | Photo: Amruta Mokal (archive)

8/23/2018 – On August 24th the Superfinals of the Russian Championship will begin in Satka. The Superfinals feature an open tournament and a tournament for women. Both are 12-player round-robin tournaments and both have a strong line-up. In the open tournament Ian Nepomniachtchi is the number one seed, and in the women's tournament it's Alexandra Kosteniuk. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

8/23/2018 – For more than three decades Wolfgang Uhlmann was East Germany's number one player and in the 60s and 70s he was one of the world's best players. Uhlmann is particularly famous for his handling of the French Defense. After 1.e4 he invariably played 1...e6, no matter how well-prepared the opponent might be. Of course, he contributed a lot of ideas to the French. Conrad Schormann takes a look at one particularly useful and important defensive concept Uhlmann introduced into practice. | Photo: Eteri Kublashvili

8/23/2018 – People are predicting a very bright future for Indian chess and one of the main reasons why is Nihal Sarin (the other one is Praggnanandhaa). Nihal became a GM at the age of 14 years, 1 month and 1 day when he achieved his final GM norm at the Abu Dhabi Masters 2018 with one round to spare. This makes the young boy the 12th youngest GM in the history of the game. In this article, we tell you all about the people who have helped Nihal to become the chess player that he is. At the same time, we analyze two of his most recent games (from 2018) and show you why he is a technical and positional monster. Nihal's restlessness earned him the title of "the boy who never sits"! Well, we have now officially changed it to "the boy who never stops"! | Photo: Amruta Mokal

8/22/2018 – Fabiano Caruana joined the leading pack at the fourth round of the Sinquefield Cup after using a daring novelty against Hikaru Nakamura. With this result, no less than five players are co-leading at the fourth leg of the Grand Chess Tour. Closing on half-time, those still in the run will start taking into account the results they need in order to qualify to the GCT finale in London, adding interest to the event. V. SARAVANAN reports. | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes