10/18/2017 – In February, 2018, there may be an unusual exhibition match held between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, playing Chess960 (also known as Fischer Random). The competition is planned for the Hening Onstad Art Center in Bærum, Norway. It's funding is not yet fully secured, but Carlsen's manager is confident. | Photos: Alina L'Ami

10/18/2017 – Occupying the center, developing pieces, opening lines, mating the enemy king: Paul Morphy knew how to win quickly. His most famous game also followed this pattern. Morphy played it November 2, 1858, against the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard in the Duke's loge in the Paris Opera. Morphy's brilliancy is more than 150 years old but the strategic pattern is still relevant. As Magnus Carlsen knows. | Photo: (left) Engraving by Daniel John Pound, based off a photograph by a Parisian photographer named Thompson) was first published in "The Drawing-Room Portrait Gallery of Eminent Personages," vol. II, London. 1859 | (right) Morphy in New York City, 1857 by Mathew Brady

10/18/2017 – Houdini 6 continues where its predecessor left off, and adds solid 60 Elo points to this formidable engine, once again making Houdini the strongest chess program currently available on the market. Read the details. @StockfishLegalNotice

10/17/2017 – Our Study of the Month author Siegfried Hornecker has a mystery to solve, and he needs your help! Larissa Volpert, the professor for philology and chess master, died in New York City on October 1st, 2017, at the age of 91. A game fragment from a 1961 Soviet chess magazine provides a glimpse into one of her greatest triumphs — a pawn ending so elegant that it resembles a composed study. But was the rest of the game as equally awe inspiring?

10/17/2017 – 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 is continuing a look at the European Club Cup in Antalya, Turkey which ended last Saturday.

10/17/2017 – "Knight endings are like pawn endings." That is easily said and often true. However, there is one important difference one should not forget: the knight can sacrifice itself! An endgame lesson from Karsten Müller.

10/12/2017 – Top team Globus continues to lead, but had to jump a high hurdle in Novy Bor during Round 3. In a very competitive match, the Russians finished with a tight 3½ : 2½, lead by a win from Sergey Karjakin. In the fourth round, they crushed Gambit Asseco from Macedonia 5½ : ½, but will have a tough test once again in Round 5 facing the strong Azerbaijani team of Odlar Yurdu. | Pictured: Arkadij Naiditsch and Rauf Mamedov | Photo: David Llada

10/12/2017 – Thursday at 5pm UK time Daniel King will go on air on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free. Daniel King will have a special guest for this show: GM Karsten Müller. For this episode some endgames will be discussed as well as some puzzles. Puzzle and the live video...

10/12/2017 – Vlastimil Hort continues to share memories of great chessplayers and personalities he has met during his long chess career. One of them was German Grandmaster Wolfgang Unzicker. At first, Unzicker suspected that Hort was a communist spy, but when this suspicion was dispelled, they became friends and liked to tell each other jokes in Russian. | Photo: André Schulz

10/11/2017 – A new exhibit at the World Chess Hall of Fame in Saint Louis puts a new twist on the question of professional chess player dress codes. In cooperation with the Saint Louis Fashion Fund, the museum launched a "Designer Chess Challenge" which paired up professional fashion designers with chess pros to craft a chic but practical tournament outfit. The results are on display in "PINNED!", which opened October 6th and runs until Spring, 2018. | Designer Photos: Geoff Story, TOKY | Chess photos: Austin Fuller, Matt Kile, and Spectrum Studios

10/11/2017 – When it comes to chess engines, Komodo 11 is bang up to date and is often referred to as the engine that can think like humans! Amazed by this, Davide Nastasio got his hands on this silicon giant to test it out for himself. After spending several hours exploring the various features of Komodo, he was not only convinced that the engine does analyse positions in a human-like manner but also felt it is an extremely useful tool for the modern chess player. Below is his insightful review.

10/11/2017 – The Elo favourite at the Chess Festival Oslo was Polish grandmaster Grzegorz Gajewski who helps Vishy Anand as a second. However, Gajewski played too many draws and also stumbled against young Chinese IM Di Li. Things went smoother for Andriy Vovk, who won the tournament with 8½/10. | Photo: Anniken Vestby / Schachfestival Oslo