9/1/2016 – American chess fans had a lot to cheer about this last month with significant results all over the board. At the very top was Wesley So's sole win at the elite Sinquefield Cup in front of an all-star field, but his was not the only one. Sam Shankland followed up a strong result in Edmonton with a superb victory at the Biel Open, facing every top player in the field. Finally, one cannot forget young Jeffery Xiong who took the World Junior title by storm. These, and many more results are in the September ratings list report.

9/1/2016 – 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.

9/1/2016 – Consider this scenario. You are all geared up to play a chess game against a strong opponent and you are well prepared in the various opening variations he or she uses. As you await the seemingly inevitable 1 e4 or 1 d4, he flicks in ever so slightly, 1 a3 or 1 h3. Chances are, you will be miffed at the disrespect shown to you, to say the least. In CHESS Magazine Junior Tay shows us games (one by Carlsen!) where this strategy worked.

8/31/2016 – The Olympiad in Baku is about to start, and naturally all eyes in the chess world will turn towards this huge event. However, the team competition is not the only noteworthy event taking place, there is also the very significant FIDE Congress held near the end. Here is a preview of what will be covered, from the proposed change to allow challenges for the title, to the Chief Arbiter report of the Candidates, and even changes in the Laws of Chess.

8/31/2016 – Chessbase annonce ses premiers articles en Français. Vous pourrez nous suivre sur Facebook, Twitter et YouTube. Vous y trouverez des informations sur le monde échiquéen Francophone avec des traductions des informations et articles les plus importantes du site Anglais. Dans l’avenir, nous lancerons aussi des Fritztrainer, ou CDs d’entraînement, en Français.

8/31/2016 – The 2016 World Championship will take place from November 11th to 30th in the Fulton Market Building in New York. Now AGON, is the official partner of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and owner the World Chess brand as well as commercial rights holder to the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle, has announced that a green Russian fertiliser manufacturer has signed a strategic partnership with AGON to finance the match. Press release.

8/31/2016 – Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, on Friday the captains' and arbiters' meetings, and at 3 p.m. local time Round 1 of the Olympiad. A team of 400 artists, choreographers, composers and support staff is conducting the final dry runs for the Opening. The chess competitions will see a record-breaking 181 teams from 176 countries in the Open section, and 142 women’s teams. ChessBase will cover the event extensively, here is part two of our preview.

8/31/2016 – Mating your opponent with a scintillating queen sacrifice at the end of a fine attack is deeply satisfying. Being a queen up after strong play is also nice. And being a queen down while attacking your opponent ferociously is a fine though rather rare experience that helps to forget many agonising losses. Which Jon Speelman shows in his Agony Column #17.

8/30/2016 – On Thursday, 1st September, the 42nd Chess Olympiad will begin in Baku. About 180 teams start in the Open and about 140 teams in the Women's Tournament. As a warm-up to the Olympiad we offer our readers a little quiz and invite you to predict the winners of Baku 2016. Please send in your answers before the start of the second round (3rd September, 1 pm CEST). Readers who answer all three questions correctly will take part in a lottery in which they can win a copy of the new Fritztrainer Master Class Vol. 07: Garry Kasparov.

8/30/2016 – With more than a 100 titled players and more than 40 grandmasters the open tournament in Abu Dhabi that was played from 21st to 29th August had a strong field. Top seed was Dmitry Andreikin with a rating of 2733. With 3.0/4 he started the tournament well but not overwhelmingly. After six rounds he had 4.5/6, half-a-point less than the leader, but then won three fine games in a row. This was enough to finish clear first with 7.5/9.

8/30/2016 – How does one win a super tournament where the average rating of the participants is 2778? How does a self-made super grandmaster function? What sort of discipline and sacrifices are required to become one of the best in the world? In this interview with Wesley So we try to not only get answers to the above questions, but also dissect So's games, novelties and psychology from the Sinquefield Cup 2016. Wesley's mantra is straightforward: "I live a simple and happy life and that’s how I want it to stay!

8/29/2016 – Recently the Russian Chess Federation submitted a proposal for consideration at the 87th FIDE Congress, to be held during the Baku Olympiad next week, allowing the World Chess Champion to accept the challenge of any player who can contribute to the prize fund and the costs of holding of the match. This motion was vigorously opposed by the Association of Chess Professionals, ACP, that has collected 850 signatures (including 200 grandmasters). There are three days left to join the opposition.