The Weekly Show with Lawrence Trent Live

6/20/2017 – Tonight 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 all about Norway Chess. And one example from the American Continental Championship...

Chess moves help Iraqi refugees

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.

The perpetual - one way to draw

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.

FIDE World Team Championship: Poland takes the lead

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.

Maxim Matlakov is 2017 European Individual Champion

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.

Voronezh Chess: Volkov leads the Alekhine Memorial Festival

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.

New: Simon Williams: Rocket Repertoire: The Four Knights

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.

FIDE World Team Championship: Turkey holds Russia to draw

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.

Play the Strongest Rapid+Blitz Tournament in Indian history

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!

FIDE World Team Championship: China crushes Belarus

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.

FIDE World Team Chess Championships Opened

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.

Ilyumzhinov and Motylev bring a smile on the faces of children with disabilities

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.

Levon Aronian wins Norway Chess 2017!

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

Matter of honour

6/16/2017 – Missing a forced mate? For the sophisticated chess player definitely a no-go! In the diagram position White is a full rook up and could parry the enemy threats 38.Bb5. But of course he can do much better. How?

Speelman's Agony #54

6/16/2017 – This week's games come from Jim Guill who is 61 and retired in 2015. A USCF A grade player (i.e. between 1800 and 1999) he lives in Virginia and plays for the team Morphy's Mojo, which is entered in both the D.C. Chess League and the Northern Virginia (NVA) Chess League. He hangs out in local, Northern Va coffee shops, "where I sip tea, study chess and observe alien culture (i.e., the non-chess playing world) as it comes and goes and passes by."

Norway Chess Round 8: Carlsen defeats Karjakin

6/15/2017 – It was a very tense round with so much at stake. Not only the top spot, which is still open to be challenged, but the world no.1 spot was under assault. Magnus Carlsen played a topsy-turvy game against Sergey Karjakin in which anything could have happened, but fortunately for him and his legion of fans, he won, and staved off disaster. Vladimir Kramnik was also visibly pressured by the possibility and lost to MVL. Full report and analysis by GM Alex Yermolinsky.

Norway Chess Round 7: Carlsen tied for last

6/14/2017 – My, oh my, what a round. If these words sound like an echo of several of the previous ones, it is for good reason. Once again chess fans were treated to exciting chess, and tremendous drama. Who would have thought to see Magnus Carlsen not only lose his second game, to Kramnik, but also be tied for dead last. On the other hand, Aronian continues his streak, beating Karjakin and taking sole lead. Report with GM analysis by Alex Lenderman and Daniel King.

Vidit Gujrathi: The Fashionable Caro-Kann - An in-depth review

6/13/2017 – Wei Ming Kevin Goh is an International Master from Singapore who works full-time but still has the ambition to become a Grandmaster. He definitely has the enthusiasm it takes. On his chess.com blog he recently reviewed Vidit Gujrathi's DVDs on the Caro-Kann - with passion, an independent analytical mind, and a good eye for details. After some criticism he concludes that "this DVD is a must for anyone rated above 1800 who wishes to study the Caro-Kann from both sides" and "you will not regret buying" it.

A pawn too many

6/13/2017 – The pawnless endgame rook and knight vs rook is usually a draw. Things change, however, when pawns are on the board. But an extra-pawn is not necessarily good for the defending side.

David vs Goliath: My first win against a 2600 GM

6/13/2017 – It happened eight years ago: in the third round of the Mayor's Cup 2009, 19-year-old Sagar Shah was pitted against the strong Russian grandmaster Vladimir Belov. A product of the Russian chess school, Belov was stronger than the Mumbai boy by nearly 400 Elo points. Sagar's confidence had reached rock bottom. He left for the round from his home with a mentality of already having lost the game. On the way to the playing hall, a miracle occurred! Check out the article to see what transpired.

Altibox Norway Rd6: Aronian beats Kramnik and ties for lead

6/13/2017 – Though it was not the only result of the day, it was certainly the most significant one. The opening went well for Aronian, and very quickly things soured for Kramnik who was lost after just 22 moves. A huge win for the Armenian who also rejoins the 2800 club. Anand broke out of his rut as he soundly defeated Caruana with black, while Giri will be kicking himself as he squandered a won game against So. Illustrated report with GM analysis by Daniel King and Tiger Hillarp-Persson.

"The immense depth of the game continues to fascinate me" - An interview with Erwin l'Ami

6/12/2017 – Erwin l'Ami is a strong grandmaster and a popular author. In an interview with ChessBase he talks about his fascination for chess, how he caught the chess virus, gambit play in modern chess, his favorite games, the Dutch Stonewall, how and why to study the opening and why playing blitz can improve your game.

Kasparov at TED: Don't fear intelligent machines. Work with them

6/12/2017 – Garry Kasparov recently released his latest book called Deep Thinking, and was invited to make a presentation at the wonderful online resource TED. The theme was appropriately on the rise of machines, not just in areas such as chess, but how they are quickly encroaching on areas such as medicine and legal work. Instead of a doomsday speech, he reminds us that we should work with them, our creations, and use them to fulfill our dreams. Enjoy the video!

ChessBase Account: Daniel King on Norway Chess

6/12/2017 – While many know and enjoy the videos made by GM Daniel King to comment on games from a wide variety of sources, including as is the case here: Norway Chess. While readers can certainly watch his videos in his YouTube channel, we present you the videos here as they appear in the video library in ChessBase Account, where you can find literally hundreds of videos to watch, including many that are normally for sale, that can be viewed at no extra cost to Premium subscribers.