8/28/2019 – Another intense day of fighting chess and drama in the tenth round of the Sinquefield Cup. Ding Liren shot into sole lead with six points out of ten games. It was a day when joint leader Ian Nepomniachtchi once again produced a horrendous blunder akin to the first round to lose dramatically against Maxim Vachier-Lagrave. Magnus Carlsen's winless drought finally ending with a smooth victory over Wesley So. IM VENKATACHALAM SARAVANAN reports all action from the venue. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

8/28/2019 – In Macau (China) the "Chess Events" of the International Computer Games Association (ICGA) came to an end last week. In fact, behind this prosaic name are world championships in three disciplines: the World Computer Chess Championship (WCCC), the World Chess Software Championship (WCSC) and the Speed ​​Championship. At the start were six teams with their programs, including Komodo 13, which won in each of the two main disciplines WCCC and WCSC. | Photos: Erdogan Günes

8/28/2019 – Soon after summer comes to an end, the traditional "Ciutat de Barcelona" tournament will take place in the beautiful Mediterranean metropolis. For the first time, however, it will be open to all, after having organized a Schveningen match in 2018 and a round-robin from 2004 until 2017. The nine-round Swiss begins on September 27th, and Gata Kamsky is the highest-rated player registered so far. | Pictured: Barcelona seen from the Tibidabo mountain. | Photo: Jorge Franganillo, via Wikimedia Commons

8/27/2019 – Lawrence is LIVE this week covering the Spanish Team Championship, plus a brief ode to Pal Benko. Live and free for a limited time, or forever on-demand with a ChessBase Basic Account. You can register a free 90-day account to watch.

8/27/2019 – Ding Liren and Ian Nepomniachtchi showed their guts to rise to the occasion and score crucial wins in the ninth round of the Sinquefield Cup, to jointly jump into the lead with 5½ points. Vishy Anand once again enjoyed a clear advantage against Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, who fought back admirably to draw the game. World Champion Magnus Carlsen failed to capitalise on chances offered to him by Aronian and drew yet again. IM VENKATACHALAM SARAVANAN reports all action from the venue. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

8/27/2019 – Even in the endgame direct mating attacks do occur. White to move and win.

8/27/2019 – He was a world-class grandmaster, twice World Champion candidate, friend of Bobby Fischer (whose participation in the 1972 World Championship match he directly enabled), inventor of the eponymous Benko Gambit and the 1.g3 Benko Opening (which he used to beat Fischer and Tal). He is also known as the composer of some of the finest endgame studies and chess problems we have ever seen. Pál was also a loyal friend who provided us with countless articles over the last decade. He will be deeply missed. | Photo Diana Mihajlova.

8/27/2019 – The 2019 French Championships concluded on Sunday in Chartres, capital of the Eure-et-Loir department. Both the open and women's categories were decided on tiebreaks. In the end, Pauline Guichard got her second consecutive national title after taking down six-time champion Sophie Milliet, while Maxime Lagarde became French champion for the first time after beating Laurent Fressinet in the blitz phase of the play-offs. DHANANJAY KHADILKAR reports. | Photo: Fédération Française des Échecs

8/27/2019 – The former Georgia no.1 Baadur Jobava won the 26th edition of Abu Dhabi Chess Festival by scoring 8.0/9. Jobava finished sole first, a full point ahead of the runner-up young Uzbek GM Nodirbek Yakubboev at 7.0/9. Eight player tied for the third place at 6½/9, current World Junior Champion Parham Maghsoodloo secured the second runner-up position due to a better tie-break score. | Photo: Rupali Mullick

8/26/2019 – It's tactics time! GM Simon Williams will run you through a (fun) gauntlet of puzzles sure to exercise your mind. Watch for free (for a limited time) starting at the usual hour: 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST / 12 Noon EDT).

8/26/2019 – The spell of draws was finally broken but the leading pack became a jumbo five-men crowd as Karjakin and Nepomniachtchi joined them at 4½ points from 8 rounds. While erstwhile joint leaders Fabiano Caruana and Viswanathan Anand drew their mutual encounter after a long fight, world champion Magnus Carlsen waged a spirited battle against Ding Liren but was forced to settle for a draw too. IM VENKATACHALAM SARAVANAN reports all action from the venue. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

8/26/2019 – While the title may sound like the name of the latest spaghetti western, it is actually a look at how Fat Fritz may change the way players view the King's Indian Defense, notably the Classical Main Line, long maligned by generations of engines. See how it compares to the latest Stockfish on it, and why its unique development gives it such a broad outlook on openings in general.

8/26/2019 – In his last review of ChessBase Magazine 190, Nagesh Havanur dealt with the report on the recent European Women’s Championship in our magazine. In this review he deals with the rest of the magazine: Nepomniachtchi's gains in the Grand Prix, Magnus versus Maxime, and more...

8/25/2019 – The seventh round of the Sinquefield Cup followed the same pattern of the previous day – all draws and status quo continued in tournament standings, with another heartbreak for Vishy Anand who once again missed converting a clearly better position. Thus, Anand along with Caruana and Ding continue to lead the tournament jointly with 4 points. But other games almost didn't show the fighting content worthy of a top tournament, though most of them were decently fought out. IM VENKATACHALAM SARAVANAN reports all action from the venue. Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

8/25/2019 – The 2019 edition of the massive US Open took place from August 3rd to 11th in Orlando, Florida. GM ELSHAN MORIADABADI was there and chose the gruelling six-day schedule, much like eventual champion Illya Nyzhnyk. Elshan sent us a behind-the-scenes report, which naturally includes the lead-up to the Armageddon match-up that decided which American player will participate in next year's US Championship. Can you guess who qualified? | Photos: John Hartmann

8/24/2019 – Vishy Anand missed a great opportunity to finish off Anish Giri while holding the upper hand — many times during the game — to settle for a heart-breaking draw in the sixth round. He continues to share the lead with 3½ points along with Fabiano Caruana and Ding Liren after another all-draw round at the Sinquefield Cup. Caruana versus Vachier-Lagrave was a fantastic fight from a razor sharp Sicilian Najdorf, showing the depth of the players' opening preparation and boldness. Other games contained relatively less fighting content. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

8/24/2019 – The second edition of the CTCA International Open took place in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, where modern technology and ancient traditions meet. Not only did ALINA L'AMI manage to take some remarkable photographs for this report, but she also finished the tournament in second place. Let us get to know this unique culture through the eyes of a chess explorer.

8/23/2019 – On the show today: GM Daniel King will be looking through Yu Yangyi vs Magnus Carlsen from the St Louis blitz tournament. Power Play is live most Fridays at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, Noon EDT) on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free! All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...