World Rapid - Day 1: Fedoseev, Jobava, and Ju Wenjun

12/27/2017 – The incredibly rich King Salman World Rapid Championship has started with a record prize fund only rivaled by that of the actual world championship. The tournament started with a bang as Magnus Carlsen lost his first round game to Bu Xiangzhi! The early leaders are Fedoseev and Jobava in the Open section with 4½ / 5 and Ju Wenjun in the Women's with 5/5. We bring a huge report with 11 games chosen and analysed by Alex Yermolinsky | Photo: riyadh2017.fide.com

FIDE's Riyadh Gambit

12/26/2017 – The World Rapid Championship attracted significant international media attention as it began on Tuesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but the focus was mostly centred around the absence of Women's World Rapid and Blitz Champion Anna Muzychuk, and all players from Israel, who were denied visas to travel to the country. | Photo: riyadh2017.fide.com

John Nunn puzzles – the solutions

12/26/2017 – A little over a week ago we told you about the activities of our English friend, mathematician, grandmaster, author and publisher. He is also a world champion chess problem solver, and a composer – which is why we gave you a selection of his problems and studies. Today, as a Christmas puzzle week present, you get the solutions, annotated by John, as well as the answers to his logical and mathematical problems. And the lovely knight tour questions. Only one reader solved a majority of the tasks, and he gets the personally dedicated book from John.

Pal Benko's Christmas problems

12/25/2017 – Every year Pal Benko, grandmaster, former World Championship candidate, and one of the best problem composers in the world, sends our readers very special seasonal greetings. They come in the form of chess problems in which the pieces represent figures – this time a Christmas tree and candles. It is the start of our Christmas puzzle week, which we bring you for the eighteenth year in succession. Prepare for puzzles that cannot be easily solved with a computer, tasks which require you to think all by yourself. And a nostalgic look to the past.

Garry Kasparov on how it all started

12/24/2017 – He has written many books, but this may be his most important. In Deep Thinking Garry Kasparov describes a journey he embarked on, in 1985, that led him to a monumental confrontation with machine intelligence. At the same time computers enhanced his and all chess players' abilities to study the game. He also narrates the beginnings, which included a humiliating defeat at the hands of a German toddler in a computer game — quite an enchanting Christmas tale.

Aravindh takes Sitges Sunway 2017

12/24/2017 – The "Sunway Chess Festival" ended today in the Catalan city of Sitges. In the last round, the game between the 18-year-old Indian Chithambaram VR Aravindh and Zdenko Kozul from Croatia was the top duel: Both players had previously led the field together with 6½ / 8 each. In a balanced, but extremely sharp position, Kozul finally went wrong, which left the Indian with 7½ / 9 and the sole tournament winner. "Chessbrah" Aman Hambleton earned his third and final GM norm. | Photo: twitter.com/sunwaychessopen

Study of the Month: December, 2017

12/23/2017 – In the final episode of this year, we will have a look at a some great enthusiasts among the chess composition community who by their work directly or indirectly made this monthly column possible. The first two of them are the former and the current chief editor of the magazine "eg" (or: EG), short for "end-game".

A Short trip to Kyrgyzstan

12/23/2017 – Nigel Short got to cross another country off his already impressive list (now at 123 countries at last check) as he made his first foray to Kyrgyzstan in November at the invitation of MiniChess Central Asia. Alexandra Samanagova's photo report shows a jam-packed five day tour. | Pictured: Press conference at the Sputnik international news agency (left to right: Talant Mamytov, Nigel Short, Bakyt Omurzakov, Robin Ord-Smith) | Photo: MiniChess Team

Lookback: The British K.O. and LCC Open

12/22/2017 – In addition to the London Chess Classic, let's not forget the British Knockout Championships. Luke McShane beat David Howell in the final, but it took a tiebreak to do it. Video interview with both players. Plus, in the extremely strong London Classic Open, Gabriel Sargissian lead a trio on 7½ / 9. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

The Stonewall Dutch, a fighting repertoire against 1.d4

12/22/2017 – Davide Nastasio's latest review turned out to be more like a theoretical article. The reason is simple: If one is serious about playing the Stonewall Dutch, he or she must consider the homework duty which comes with learning this quite interesting opening. The fact that the Dutch is employed routinely by the top players in the world shows how such opening is still alive and dangerous for those who are unprepared! l'Ami is quite honest in his positional evaluations and recommendations. However, be ready for a bumpy ride!

Knights' escapades

12/22/2017 – Black has attacked the white knight e5 with 18...f6 (diagram position). Two questions: What's the best square for it? And how can it get there?

The Secret of Chess

12/22/2017 – Other chess reviewers have been at best dismissal and at worst harshly critical of The Secret of Chess, by Lyudmil Tsvetkov. However, according to GM David Smerdon, this book is a one of a kind work that legitimately has the potential to revolutionise how we think about chess. | Photo: Smerdon at the Tromsø Chess Olympiad, by Andreas Kontokanis CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Mind Games: Artemiev, Grischuk, Stefanova und Zhao Xue

12/21/2017 – Huaian, China hosted the International Mind Games Association's competition of five mind sports, including chess, which was represented by rapid, blitz and Basque (two simultaneous games) formats. Vladislav Artemiev won the blitz and Dmitry Andreikin took the rapid tournaments for the men, Alexander Grischuk the Basque tournament. For women, the winners are Antoaneta Stafanova and Zhao Xue. | Photo: Gu Xiaobing

Tune your tactics - Move of the year

12/21/2017 – A solid tactical understanding is sure to help any chess player in critical situations. Whether it is a simple exchange or a mating attack, tactics are ubiquitous. Take advantage of the opportunity to develop your tactical understanding in this series with IM Oliver Reeh and Pascal Simon! Thursday at 15:30 CET (9:30 AM EDT) it's all about the move of the year!

Yermo's Travels: 2nd Sevan Muradian Memorial

12/21/2017 – In his final event of the year, GM Alex Yermolinsky drove up to Illinois to play in the 2nd Sevan Muradian Memorial, an event that is in honor of one of the most active organizers, whose events provided norms to dozens of players. Many players owe him a debt in gratitude, and Hikaru Nakamura himself offered to match up to $3000 in tournament profit to benefit the Muradian family. Enjoy this report with many fine analyses.

One vote per rated game — a proposal

12/21/2017 – Weiwen Leung shares an op-ed on reimagining votes in FIDE elections, based on the chess activity of each country or federation — as, for instance, measured by the number of rated games played — rather than the present "one federation, one vote" policy. A brilliant suggestion or "pie in the sky"? | Photo: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov with Vladimir Putin en.kremlin.ru

Holiday gift ideas

12/20/2017 – Searching for something to give to a loved one (or perhaps a treat for yourself!) this holiday season? Here are a few ideas from us, ranging from edifying to edible! Whether you're looking for stocking stuffers, or something digital (for the procrastinators among you), we've got you covered.

Review: Let's rocket your opening!

12/20/2017 – Jump at the chance to add some variety to your opening repertoire, with an opening which can be learned in five hours, and will last a lifetime! Davide Nastasio has the review of GM Simon Williams, as he introduces us to the Four Knights, an opening from classical times, which can still bring many wins!

What's the matter with draws?

12/20/2017 – At the beginning of the London Chess Classic, in December 2017, the first 19 out of 20 games were drawn. Only Fabiano Caruana was able to win a game. Folks writing about the high percentage of draws called it disappointing and absurd. But why? Why is having a draw in chess such a bad thing? Only three things can happen in a chess game: White wins, black wins, or draw. Why such a hatred towards one of the out comes? | Photos: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

The Weekly Show with Lawrence Trent

12/19/2017 – Tuesdays at 5pm UK time Lawrence Trent goes on air on Playchess.com. In his show Lawrence Trent will be dealing with the latest trends, games and combinations from the elite chess tournaments. This week features games from the London Chess Classic, European Rapid and Blitz and Russian Superfinals!

Vlastimil Hort remembers Vasja Pirc

12/19/2017 – Vasja Pirc was born 110 years ago today. His name is immortalised in the opening theory, but the man himself is almost forgotten, although the Slovenian history professor was at times one of the best players in the world. Vlastimil Hort has met the wine-lover and remembers.

Close finish in Penang goes to Rathnakaran

12/19/2017 – Indian IM Rathnakaran (pictured) won the Penang Chess Festival 2017 which tool place from December 4th to the 10th, in Malaysia, ahead of GM Karen Grigoryan and 132 other players in the 9th Penang International Open, the biggest chess event at a World Heritage site. The festival also featured a Challenger's category as well as blitz and team events. Edwin Lam reports from the scene. | Photo: Penang Chess Association

Not all detours lead to Rome

12/19/2017 – "Do not rush!" is a well-known rule of thumb in the endgame. Indeed, in many endgames the direct way often is often a dead end. To know which way to go usually requires precise calculation.

Surprise winners of the European Rapid and Blitz

12/18/2017 – The European Rapid Chess Championship in Katowice ended with a surprise. The 68th seed IM Maxim Vavulin from Russia won with ten points from eleven games for the gold. Silver goes to Jan-Krzysztof Duda (Poland) and bronze to Pavel Ponkratov (Russia). In the blitz championship, Grandmaster Sergei Zhigalko was the 24th by rating, but the 28-year-old from Belarus finished first with 18 / 22. Right on his heels were Luke McShane (England) and Peter Michalik (Czech Republic) both with 17½ / 22. | Photo: Official site / Walusza Fotografia