1/25/2017 – It is the first time that drugs have been found under rigorous scientific conditions to improve chess performance. The results of the ground-breaking study have been published in a leading scientific journal. The drugs are methylphenidate, which is most commonly marketed as Ritalin, and modafinil, which is sold as Alertec, Modavigil and Provigil. They improved the players’ performances by an average of 13 and 15 percent, while caffeine, which also has an ameliorative impact, improved it by around nine percent. Report in WorldChess.com.

1/25/2017 – After visiting Africa on a tour, GM Maurice Ashley was deeply moved by the extreme poverty, underlying beauty, and promise of hope. Instead of just writing about all this, he decided to take action, and together with Graham Jurgensen, they enlisted the help and patronage of the Paul Allen Foundation, as well as the Kasparov Chess Foundation in the USA and Africa, to take three grandmasters on a training tour for 18 weeks in Africa. Join Maurice Ashley, the KCF, and ChessBase, and get involved!

1/25/2017 – The Gibraltar Chess Festival started with the top seeds playing against opponents with a rating difference of 450 Elo points. Being the start of the event, tiredness due to travelling, jet lag and other things it is quite possible that we would see many upsets. However, the top seeds were up to the task and the biggest casualty was tenth seed Boris Gelfand's draw against Robert Bellin. There were also a few other 2600+ players losing their games. We have an illustrated report rich with pictures, videos and chess analysis.

1/24/2017 – There is something about Wijk aan Zee, it just never fails to provide exciting and thrilling encounters! Despite today's abundance of draws, the way the players reached these "peaceful" results were incredibly wild. Andreikin-Eljanov takes the cake, a game that saw passed pawns, kings in the center, two exchange sacrifices, but it was Carlsen took the chance to gain some ground.

1/24/2017 – It is ironic that this was by far the most exciting round yet in the Masters, and yet there was only one decisive game, the efficient win by Carlsen over Van Wely. Yet, there could have been so many others. Nepo was dead won against Harikrishna but drew, while Eljanov missed his chance in an absolutely fantastic wild game against Andreikin. Finally, Wei Yi missed one of his own to join the lead in a botched endgame against Adhiban. In the Challengers, Xiong overpowered co-leader Jones. Express report.

1/24/2017 – One of the most exciting open events in the world of chess is back: The Gibraltar Masters 2017. With 248 players from 53 countries in the Masters section, 71 of them being grandmasters, this is an extremely strong tournament. Eight players are the favourites to win the tournament. They include Caruana, MVL, Nakamura, Ivanchuk, Adams, Topalov, Svidler and Gelfand. Here, you can find all the action from the opening ceremony, as well as the live commentary and games embed to follow when the round begins at 15.00h Gibraltar time.

1/24/2017 – Every week ChessBase magazine author and renowned endgame expert Karsten Müller presents a remarkable or particularly instructive endgame in his blog. A click on the diagram opens a larger board. Test your endgame skills, improve and have fun!

1/24/2017 – The famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, a tireless promoter of science, and considered by many as the spiritual successor of Carl Sagan, opened Game Eight of the World Championship Match. He accepted to sit down with a few journalists for a casual conversation where he talked about his connection with chess and what he finds interesting about chess and chessplayers, as well as how he sees it relative to education. A revealing piece.

1/23/2017 – "Don’t you think I could also be a GM if put in one or two year on chess?" Donald Trump wanted to know, when he met Pal Benko back in 1994. "You need to be born again," Benko replied. "I have never known anyone who started with chess after the age of 20 and became a grandmaster." It happened at the World Championship Candidates match, held in the Trump Plaza. In his article Pal Benko tells us some interesting things about the Botvinnik Variation.

1/23/2017 – It was the turn for the Master's section to provide an incredible amount of entertainment, and they did so in every kind of fashion! We saw some brilliant attacks (Adhiban 1-0 Andreikin), cunning topsy-turvy fights (Eljanov 1/2 Wojtaszek), Carlsen's seppuku, a missed brilliancy by Van Wely, and much more! We bring you four games fully annotated for your deep enjoyment!

1/22/2017 – It is hard to explain what happened in round eight, and to speculate seems an exercise in futility. The game between Richard Rapport and Magnus Carlsen had been quite balanced, with no real edge going to either, yet in the space of five moves, the world no.1 made one error after another, losing a piece at the end. And that was all she wrote. Aronian defeated Giri in record time, while Adhiban beat Andreikin. The Challengers saw a surprising six draws. What a day. Express report.

1/22/2017 – The Financial Times has called the Tradewise Gibraltar Open is the strongest and best-organised event of its kind in the world, said. Anyone who knows the moves (and pays the entry fee) can take part, and perhaps face top participants like Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave or Nakamura. The event lasts from January 23 (opening) to February 4, the location is very balmy: ten hours of daylight, average day temperature 16° C, warm sea temperatures, beautiful scenery. Paradise!