8/10/2018 – The Egyptian GM Bassem Amin won the Invitational Rapid & Blitz event held in Abidjan, July 24th to 30th. We previously reported on the results but now give it the ALINA l'AMI treatment. | Pictured: From left to right: (top row) GM Bassem Amin (EGY), GM Kenny Solomon (RSA), IM Mokliss El Adnani (MAR), IM Andrew Kayonde (ZAM), IM Fy Rakotomaharo (MAD), (bottom row) IM Arthur Ssegwanyi (UGA), GM Slim Belkhodja (TUN), IM David Silva (ANG), GM Mohamed Haddouche (ALG), IM Oladapo Adu (NGR) | All Photos: Alina l'Ami

8/10/2018 – Being a piece up, the second player is clearly winning. But from the diagram position he made two mistakes in a row, causing an abrupt end to the game. 28...Bf8? was the first. Can you imagine what followed?

8/9/2018 – At the Panamerican Youth Championships at the end of July in Santiago de Chile, everything was fine besides the temperatures. The spacious playing all hall of the National Sports Stadium had too few heaters. Heaters you say? But we have record high global temperatures. Yes, indeed, but July will forever be wintertime in Chile! DEJAN BOJKOV reports. | Pictured: (left) Chilean player Antu Amigo Quintana | Photos: Dejan Bojkov

8/9/2018 – Lubomir Kavalek was born in Prague, but left his country in 1968 and found a new home in the USA. In the 1970s, he was one of the world's best players and also successful as a second and coach, including Bobby Fischer, and a prolific writer with dozens of columns shared on ChessBase over the years. Today he celebrates his 75th birthday. | Photo: (left) Kavalek and (right) World Chess Hall of Fame

8/9/2018 – In Sweden there is currently "Extremadura" (it's been a hot dry summer) and so the T-shirt of Aleyey Shirov was very suitable for the Cellavision Cup in Lund. The recently re-Spaniard played all eight decisive games and won the tournament thanks to better tiebreak score over tied Jonny Hector. Both scored 7.0 / 8. | Photos: Lars OA Hedlund

8/9/2018 – There is a clear need to revisit one's own opening repertoire from time to time, reinterpreted under a different teacher — this is a must for every competitive chess player. Now here's a chance to add a very sharp opening to your toolkit, whether for blitz, quick time controls or a surprise weapon. Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO says we can gain an edge over the competition thanks to this video series by International Master Michael Rahal.

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!