6/20/2017 – Today (June 20) is World Refugee Day, and we have a heart-warming story to support it. For over a year the city of Mosul, a major city in northern Iraq, has been under siege by the Iraqi army, which is trying to dislodge the militant forces of ISIS. The civil population is suffering unimaginable horrors, with 100,000 currently trapped in the final assault of the Old City. To help refugees overcome trauma and grief the British NGO AMAR arranged a three-day chess encounter with two Azerbaijani grandmasters in Dohuk, less than 75 kilometres from Mosul. AMAR now has plans to promote chess across the country.

6/20/2017 – If you are in trouble it often helps to look for hidden tactical possibilities. E.g. for a perpetual. Particularly so in the endgame.

6/20/2017 – The third round saw the end to China’s invincibility in the Open section, after the top seeds were held to a draw by a battling team USA. The only team to still be unblemished is Poland, which beat Egypt 3-1. In the women’s section the Russian team was also held to a draw by Azerbaijan, while Ukraine beat India to share the lead. Illustrated report with analysis by GM Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

6/20/2017 – While a strong start is always desirable, it is how you finish that matters in a tournament. Ask Georgian GM Baadur Jobava who started with 2 losses, but finished second after seven straight wins, or Russian talent Vladimir Fedoseev who stumbled midway but came in third. Still, it was the class act by Maxim Matlakov, who was steady as she goes all the way, and ended a deserved 2017 European Individual Champion. Final report with GM analyses.

6/20/2017 – The Alekhine Memorial 2017 is one of the most colourful tournaments in Russia. The most attractive facet of this tournament is the variety: there is a Chess 960 tournament, Rapids, Blitz, and also a Sail of Hope tournament. And all this is apart from the main event, a classical tournament for Masters and FIDE Rated players (below 2200). Read this illustrated report after seven rounds.

6/19/2017 – You do play 1.e4 but you do not really know what to play against 1...e5? Because you do not want to enter Spanish territory which your opponent might know inside out, or you fear a trip to the Berlin Wall? Why not try the Four Knights? An old opening that is deceptively quiet but can be very dangerous. Simon Williams shows you why.

6/19/2017 – Day two of the FIDE World Team Championships saw a lot of hard-fought games with the favorites not always getting their way. After a surprise draw against Ukraine, Turkey was able to hold Russia to a draw as well, and it was not for lack of effort on the Russians' part. China overcame India in a match that could have gone either way. In the Women's section, Russia beat Vietnam easily, while China stumbled over Ukraine. Large illustrated report with many games analyzed by GM Alex Yermolinsky.

6/18/2017 – Chess as a sport needs become a commercially viable if it has to continue to become richer. ChessMine's vision is to make chess financially powerful. We are all about honouring great chess and great chess players. We do this by relying on a unique revenue model that we have developed after years of studying the sport. ChessMine's first tournament is a Rapid+Blitz tournament in August in India's IT hub Bangalore with some of the best Indian players in history. Combine tourism with chess!

6/18/2017 – The first round of the FIDE World Team Championship saw a few surprises from the get-go. The biggest one was Ukraine's inability to beat the much lower-rated Turkey, held to a draw, though top-seed China was in crushing form as they defeated Belarus 3.5-0.5. In the women's event, Russia and China were paired straightaway and the Russians scored an important win. Still, the most exciting match of the day was the epic bout between India and Poland, fully annotated by GM Alex Yermolinsky.

6/17/2017 – For the first time the Open and the Women's Championships are being held at the same time, from June 16–27, 2017, in Khanty-Mansiysk, the oil boom town in western Siberia. The opening ceremony took place on Friday, with some spectacular cultural stage presentations, all meticulously documented in an hour-long video you should not miss. We will be covering the event on Playchess – check our "Live Broadcast" list on the right.

6/17/2017 – When the second leg of the FIDE Grand Prix 2017 was in progress in Moscow, a group of children with disabilities visited the playing venue at the Central Telegraph building on 19th of May. They saw all the top players in action and then got a chance to play the FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov and GM Alexander Motylev in a simultaneous exhibition."I believe that the meeting with the world top chess players will leave an indelible impression in their hearts", says Polina Torochkova, the person behind this program.

6/16/2017 – An exciting event until the end, Levon Aronian secured his gold with a draw against Wesley So, while Vladimir Kramnik bounced back for a second time in four rounds, defeating Anish Giri. Hikaru Nakamura, clear second, was not only unable to challenge Aronian for gold, but lost to Fabiano Caruana in the last round, leaving him with 5.0/9, the same score as Kramnik. Fortunately for him, he had the better tiebreak and took silver. Large illustrated report with analysis of all games by GM Alex Yermolinsky