8/20/2026 – Tan Zhongyi lost a game for the first time in the final round of the Cairns Cup. Thanks to her exceptionally strong performance over the first eight rounds and a draw by her only remaining challenger, Alice Lee, the Chinese player secured her second Cairns Cup title in Saint Louis, following her 2024 triumph. There is no reason for the 16-year-old Lee to be disappointed, however, as finishing second allowed her to earn her first grandmaster norm. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

8/19/2026 – As you have noticed, this form of chess is becoming increasingly popular. Everyone seems to like it, sponsors are lining up to stage high-prize tournaments, even World Championships. In this series we look back at the origin of Fischer-Random, Chess960 or Freestyle, as it is now called, and discuss the reasons for its popularity. In the end we will propose some modifications to the rules and how the game should be played. Stay tuned.

8/19/2026 – Dear chess friends! We’ve got another great offer for you: this week (until August 23rd, 2026), you can get up to 30% off all Fritz Trainer courses by Robert Ris and Felix Blohberger!

8/19/2026 – The Cairns Cup, one of the strongest women's tournaments in the circuit, is being held at the renowned Saint Louis Chess Club from 10 to 20 August. It is a 10-player single round-robin with a classical time control. The contenders battle for a share of the $250,000 prize fund. Bibisara Assaubayeva, Anna Muzychuk and Humpy Koneru head the strong field. Follow the games live starting at 19.00 CEST (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST) | Photo: Lennart Ootes

8/19/2026 – The Sinquefield Cup is taking place on 10-20 August at the Saint Louis Chess Club. It is a 10-player single round-robin with a classical time control. Besides battling for a share of the $475,000 prize fund, players battle to get one of the four spots in the upcoming Grand Chess Tour Finals. Follow the games live starting at 19.00 CEST (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST) | Photo: Lennart Ootes

8/19/2026 – Étienne Bacrot and Sophie Milliet were crowned French chess champions, winning their ninth and seventh national titles, respectively. The 2026 edition of the French Championship took place from August 7 to 16 in Vichy and featured 16-player knockout competitions in the Open and Women’s sections, as well as several side Swiss tournaments. In the main events, if a match was tied after two classical games, a 2-game rapid tiebreak (15+10) was played, followed by a 2-game blitz tiebreak (5+3) and an Armageddon game if necessary. | All photos: Ambrose Ducable

8/19/2026 – In this episode of Svitlana’s Smart Moves, Svitlana Demchenko explains how to work with candidate moves and build a more reliable thinking process at the board. Using several practical examples, she shows how comparison, calculation, prophylaxis and piece improvement help narrow down the right choices in critical positions. Special attention is given to knowing when a forcing line deserves deeper calculation and when positional understanding should guide the decision instead. The lesson ultimately shows how strong candidate moves combine concrete calculation with a clear sense of what the position actually demands.

8/19/2026 – Tan Zhongyi (pictured) is on course for her second Cairns Cup title in Saint Louis after her 2024 triumph. Following her win against Bibisara Assaubayeva in the eighth round, she needs just a draw to secure overall victory. The only player who can still catch her is Alice Lee. She defeated Vaishali Rameshbabu, and a draw against Carissa Yip in the final round would be enough for the 16-year-old to earn her first grandmaster norm. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

8/19/2026 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu caught Wesley So in the lead of the Sinquefield Cup with one round remaining after defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in 27 moves. So drew Sam Sevian, leaving both players on 5/8. Vincent Keymer and Javokhir Sindarov are half a point behind after scoring wins on Tuesday, with Sindarov's victory keeping his hopes of reaching the Grand Chess Tour Finals alive. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

8/19/2026 – IM Andrew Martin presents a complete White repertoire after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3, with the Evans Gambit as its aggressive centerpiece for tactically minded players up to around 1800 Elo. Volume 1 covers the key lines, attacking ideas and traps of the Evans Gambit, while Volume 2 provides practical answers to the Petroff, Philidor, Two Knights Defense, Hungarian Defense and several sharp gambits and traps. The aim is a ready to play repertoire that seizes the initiative early, sharpens tactical vision and puts Black under pressure from the very first moves.

8/18/2026 – With his FritzTrainer “Calculation Training”, Robert Ris tackled one of the most important topics in chess back in 2018: how to calculate correctly – and clearly struck a chord. Several more courses on the subject followed. Jochen Schwarz has taken a closer look at these courses and presents an overview.

8/18/2026 – The power of the bishops: In an endgame the bishop pair is often as strong as rook and knight: White to move and win.