10/29/2016 – Bobby Fischer came up with the idea of Chess960 or Fischer Random Chess, where the pieces are placed in a random order on the last rank. Top grandmasters have dipped their feet in the ocean of Chess960, but the format hasn't really caught on. In this article Ganesh Dorairaj asks a very pertinent question (and seeks your feedback): is the study of Fischer Random games played by top grandmasters useful to improve our chess?

10/28/2016 – World Champion Magnus Carlsen and elite player, as well as renowned blitz specialist Hikaru Nakamura, played a three-hour blitz match online as the final of an online invitational tournament hosted by Chess.com. It was broadcast live at the online service Twitch where the two players could be seen via Skype connections as they played. Magnus Carlsen won the encounter 14.5 – 10.5. Report and games.

10/28/2016 – The Hoogeveen match between Nigel Short and Hou Yifan ended in a victory for the former World Championship challenger, who decided it after five of six games when he led 3.5-1.5. The sixth game was a contractual obligation, which Short played and lost. The organizers submitted all six games for rating, although the FIDE rules say that the last game should not count. That has led to a furious controversy, very aptly described in MalayMail by Peter Long.

10/28/2016 – Tactics can seem deceptively simple, particularly when seeing an engine analysing grandmaster games. Strange, however, how difficult it is to find the right move and to calculate variations properly when playing yourself. It is easier if you solve tactical puzzles regularly. In the ChessBase Magazine and his tactics column Oliver Reeh helps you to do so.

10/27/2016 – To say that 2016 has been an unusual year, would be an understatement, and that would be true even without making any mention of US politics. The most recent and startling announcement was without a doubt when just two weeks ago, the famous Folk Rock singer, Bob Dylan, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Dylan’s work has spanned decades and was the voice of a generation, and he was also a well-known chess fan. Here is a look at the icon with some tales you may not know.

10/26/2016 – This week's pair of games are by Davide Nastasio, who is 50 and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. A nurse who has worked in various roles including medical-surgical oncology and emergency nursing, Davide got interested in chess in 2011 when he was looking after his then one-year-old son, who used to fall asleep on him. Immobilised lest he wake him, he one day saw an advertisement for a chess site. Thus began his chess career. Oh yes, and he grows orchids.

10/26/2016 – While the Chigorin Memorial may no longer have the luster of other top international events, its long tradition and list of world class players who participated and won mean it can never lose its shine. For the second consecutive year, Kirill Alekseenko came ahead of the field of 372 strong, taking clear first with 8.0/9 and beating out 26 players higher rated. Nevertheless, this superb result was almost overshadowed by the GM norm with 2673 performance by 11-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov.

10/25/2016 – Observing the top players, our intrepid photographer/report/player Alina L'Ami began to ponder how it was they managed to deal with the stress of performing at the highest level and manage the great stress this can put on the players. After all, it is a constant fight to play as well as possible and bring home the bacon. How do they do it? These were some of the questions asked and speculated upon in this photographic essay with games and positions.

10/25/2016 – The Amir Timur Rapid Round Robin Tournament was held from 18th to 21st October at Hotel Miran International in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The event was a tribute to Amir Timur, a famous conqueror who would be celebrating his 680 birthday. The 12-round quadruple tournament had an average rating of 2726 with elite players Mamedyarov, Gelfand, Ponomariov and local hero Kasimdzhanov making up the field. We have pictures, history lessons, and tactics for you to solve.

10/25/2016 – He has been writing his weekly chess column in The Guardian uninterrupted for sixty-one years now, breaking all records for this area of publication. Leonard's observations on the contemporary chess scene are well written and meticulously researched, and each column contains a game and, very enticingly, an entertaining and instructive chess puzzle. Visit the Guardian chess page on Friday – you will never regret it.

10/25/2016 – It was a huge shock for the entire chess world when, on September 26th 2016 Mark Dvoretsky passed away at the age of 68 years. At the Candidates tournament, which were held in Moscow in March 2016, ChessBase editor Sagar Shah and his wife Amruta Mokal met Mark at his home in Tallinskaya. In an interview that lasted well over two hours you get to know a lot about the legend's personality. This is Dvoretsky's last in-depth interview which deals with his life as a player, trainer and an author. Mark is no more but his teachings live on.

10/25/2016 – 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!