4/23/2018 – On the surface, the round was a quiet one, with eleven draws out of the twelve games in both events, but things were not so simple. More than a few games seemed likely to leave a body behind, but this was not counting the defenders desire to not lose. Sam Shankland had a promising position against Fabiano Caruana with an extra pawn, but never quite built it up enough to win. Both Women’s leaders Nazi Paikidze and Annie Wang were dead lost in their games, but lived to fight another day. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/22/2018 – Historically, ducats are trade coins which were used in Europe from the middle ages to the early 20th century. Modern ducats are used to pay on the playchess.com chess server: to bet on games, to pay for ChessBase products, to hire strong players for lessons, to play simuls, etc. But one thing did not change over the centuries: the more ducats, the better! | Drawing: ChessBase

4/22/2018 – At the Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir, Azerbaijani, the curious "remis-sery" (to use a cross-language pun) could not be broken in the third round either. The ten top grandmasters have played fifteen games; because none of them was decided, there are naturally also ten "leaders" with 1½ points. GM Alex Yermolinsky reports that things could have changed today round three, which saw the Bulgarian ex-FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov miss a winning chance against Ding Liren. Unfortunately, of the two ways in which Topalov could sacrifice his knight, Topalov chose the wrong one, and Ding could save the game in a draw. | Photo: Shamkirchess.az

4/22/2018 – It was a rather astonishing day, with the headline involving Fabiano Caruana once more. This time it was because he ended up losing to the caboose of the tournament after overpressing. This in turn opened it up to others, and Sam Shankland joined the lead with a win over Ray Robson. In the women’s event, it was a gripping day with some great wins such as the marathon 106-mover by 15-year-old Annie Wang, and the power attack display by Nazi Paikidze, both who lead with 3½/4. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/21/2018 – Round three of the US Championship saw the leaderboards begin to take shape, with a hint of what is to come. Wesley So had a scare as he escaped a dangerous position against young Awonder Liang, while Fabiano Caruana continues to steamroll as he defeated Jeffery Xiong. In the Women’s event, Nazi Paikidze and Annie Wang lead. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/20/2018 – The first round of the Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir ended with five draws, and the second round also brought five draws. The most excitement offered the game between Anish Giri and Veselin Topalov but in the end the two players shared the point. | Photos: Shamkir Chess

4/20/2018 – Wesley So and Varuzhan Akobian are setting the pace in St. Louis with two more victories in round two of the U.S. Championship. Fabiano Caruana and Ray Robson made it four wins with white in all. Zatonskih and Krush posted their first full points in the Women's Championship: | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/20/2018 – Valentina Gunina won the European Championship 2018 with a full point lead. Nana Dzagnidze and Anna Ushenina top the list of second on eight points. The top fourteen players qualify for the next World Championship tournament. | Pictured: Gunina with tournament director Eva Repkova and chief arbiter Ivan Syrovy (right) | Photo: europchess.org

4/20/2018 – The Vugar Gashimov Memorial in Shamkir, Azerbaijan began with five draws. The top game between Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Magnus Carlsen was rather unspectacular. The best chances for a victory were held by Chinese Grandmaster Ding Liren, but at the crucial moment against Radoslaw Wojtaszek, Ding lacked a killer instinct. | Photo: shamkirchess.az

4/20/2018 – Pushing the backward pawn with 26...c5! in the diagram is strong: White's queen cannot take since it is tied to the defence of the bishop d3, while 27.dxc5?? (played in the game) allows an immediate elegant finish by Black. Emulate and enjoy!

4/20/2018 – The 2018 edition of Final Four of Collegiate Chess was held from March 30th to April 1st at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City. This edition was also touted as the strongest Final Four in history, as out of a total of 22 players, there were 18 grandmasters! The University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) team (pictured) was the surprising winner, taking their first collegiate chess title. | Pictured: Vladimir Belous, Andrey Stukopin, Kamil Dragun, Bartlomiej Macieja (coach) Dr. Douglas Stoves (manager), Hovhannes Gabuzyan, Carlos Antonio Alejano Hevia | Photo: Paul Truong

4/19/2018 – Kicking off the US Championships at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, defending US Champion Wesley So and Varuzhan Akobian started with victories — both coming with the black pieces. Awonder Liang took half a point off Fabiano Caruana. In the Women's championship, there were two decisions in round one. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

4/19/2018 – The 19th European Single Women's Championship is being played in Vysoke Tatry, Slovakia from April 8th to 19th. More than 140 players take part, including top seed, former Women's World Champion Mariya Muzychuk. Live games from 15:00 CEST (9:00 AM EDT) | Photo: europechess.org

4/19/2018 – Elisabeth Paehtz was able to win her game against Laura Unuk in the ninth round of the European Women's Championship and thus took on the leader, Valentina Gunina in round ten. But the Russian star drew without much difficulty to maintain her full point edge going into the last round. Photos: Oleksandr Martynkov / Official site

4/19/2018 – Do you know how to use the "Find Player" function in ChessBase 14 to prepare for your next opponent? it takes only a few clicks and the opening repertoire of your opponent is revealed, strengths and weaknesses included. But maybe you also want to take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of other players? | Drawing: ChessBase

4/18/2018 – Wednesday at 8pm UK time Daniel King will go on air on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free. This episodes about Caruana's attacking games. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

4/18/2018 – Today the U.S. Championships start in Saint Louis, Missouri. The open and the women's championships will once again be held in parallel. The first prize in the Open Tournament is $50,000, with $25,000 for the winner of the U.S. Women's Championship. Wesley So is the defending champ, but both U.S. number one Fabiano Caruana and former U.S. Champion Hikaru Nakamura are also playing. All the key details... | Photos: CCSCSL

4/18/2018 – The Albin Counter-Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5!?) has been a favourite of Grandmasters and amateur players alike since it was popularised by Adolf Albin in the 1890s. This hyper-aggressive system, which immediately sets out to destabilise White’s position, had a renaissance in the mid-2000s when none other than GM Alexander Morozevich revitalised the opening with a number of fresh ideas and excellent results. Lawrence Trent is an International Master who has represented England as a player and as a coach and has been a 3-time winner of the Porto San Giorgio International tournament, finishing ahead of many Grandmasters.