3/5/2021 – There is a long list of great German chess players, and one of the greatest was Siegbert Tarrasch. He was the world’s best player at times, but he was unable to win the World Championship title. Today is the 159th anniversary of Tarrasch’s birth. | In the painting by Antti Faven, which shows a scene from the Café der la Regence, Tarrasch is standing at the very back on the left.

3/3/2021 – Recently, Peter Heine Nielsen, Danish Grandmaster, coach and second of Magnus Carlsen, and father of four children, enthusiastically retweeted a tweet by Cindy Zhan, which shows a scene from game six of the World Championship match Fischer vs Spassky in Reykjavik 1972. However, the photo does not show the real match but a Lego model of it. It is one of many creations by Cindy Zhan, self-declared "Chess Mom and Lego Fan". | Photos: Cindy Zhan

3/2/2021 – So far, the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee was the only over-the-board top tournament this year. It was played in the second half of January, but its results did not affect the rating list of February 2021. But Wijk changed the rating list from March 2021: Magnus Carlsen and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave lost points, other players gained rating.

3/1/2021 – Victorija Cmilyte is a top chess player and a successful politicain. She is a Grandmaster, Lithuania's number one women player and number seven on the World's Women Ranking List, and since 2015 she has been a Member of the Lithuanian Parliament. She was leader of the Opposition and in 2020 the elected Speaker of Parliament. Cmilyte is married to GM Peter Heine Nielsen and has four children. A portrait. | Photo: Clément Bucco-Lechat

3/1/2021 – With a last-round win with Black against Tigran Petrosian Hovhannes Gabuzyan finished the Armenian Championships 2021 in style. With this win Gabuzyan finished the tournament with a score of 8.5/11, a performance-rating of 2790, and 1.5 points ahead of his closest rivals Arman Pashikian and Samvel Ter-Sahakyan. | Photos: Armenian Chess Federation

2/17/2021 – On the second weekend in February, the Russian Chess Federation hosted a strong rapid tournament at the Moscow Central Chess Club to honour the legendary chess coach Mark Dvoretsky. Ten of Dvoretsky's former students took part, and after nine rounds Boris Grachev and Ernesto Inarkiev shared first place with 6½/9 each. Grachev won on tiebreak.

2/14/2021 – Today is Valentine's Day, the day dedicated to romantic love. The French singer, actor and writer Serge Gainsbourg was a great romantic, and he was known for taking his mission in the name of love very seriously. His song "Je t'aime..." was quite explicit and censored in a number of countries. But Gainsbourg loved scandals - and chess, as well. | Photo: Serge Gainsbourg | Photo: Roger Kasparian

2/12/2021 – Eternal favourite Magnus Carlsen needed luck to survive in the quarterfinals against Danniil Dubov, but on the first day of the semifinals he obtained a clear victory against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Wesley So also took the lead in his match against Teimour Radjabov. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

2/11/2021 – 25 years ago, on February 10, 1996, Deep Blue became the first chess computer to beat a reigning World Champion in a game under tournament conditions. This happened in the first Kasparov vs Deep Blue match, the first big "Man vs Machine" match. Despite his loss in the first game Kasparov still won the match 4-2, but one year later, 1997, he lost the rematch against Deep Blue.

2/10/2021 – The imaginative Daniil Dubov is an uncomfortable opponent for all players, including Magnus Carlsen. On the first day of the Opera Euro Rapid quarterfinals, however, the world champion defeated the Russian convincingly. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Wesley So also won their mini-matches. | Photo: Niki Riga / World Chess

2/4/2021 – Four men and four women are playing at the Masters Tournament in Salamanca. Bulgarians Veselin Topalov and Nurgyul Salimova had a perfect start on day 1, as they scored back-to-back victories to take the lead in the standings table. | Photos: Official site

2/4/2021 – Chess has always been a popular theme in films. French director Luc Besson uses it in his latest film "Anna", an action movie released in 2019. Anna Poliatova, the main character of the film, is an excellent chess player, but unlike Beth Harmon in "The Queen's Gambit", she fails to have a successful tournament career but instead works as an assassin. | Photos: Studiocanal

1/25/2021 – About two years ago, Austrian Woman Grand Master Eva Moser passed away. Michael Ehn, Kurt Jungwirth and Markus Ragger have now published a beautiful and impressively detailed book to honour the memory, life and chess career of this outstanding player.

1/20/2021 – On the fourth day of play in Wijk aan Zee, all games finished drawn. In a number of games, especially the players with the black pieces had better positions but could not convert their advantage into full points. In Aryan Tari vs Alireza Firouzja, both players missed chances to win. Wednesday is a rest day. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

1/15/2021 – It all starts on Saturday in Wijk aan Zee, as the first round of the much-anticipated Tata Steel tournament kicks off at 14:00 (CET). Given the circumstances, it will not be the massive festival — with three masters tournament and a number of side activities — that we were used to enjoy at the beginning of each year. But it will be a great (over-the-board) tournament nonetheless, with Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana included in the lineup!

1/14/2021 – The lives of Walter Tevis and his literary character Beth Harmon have a number of similarities. Both of them experienced a childhood marked by drug addiction, and later, alcoholism, both "lived" in Lexington, Kentucky. And both of them found their salvation in chess. A hunt for clues in Lexington.

1/8/2021 – At the beginning of the year the Vergani Cup was played in the picturesque town of Bassano del Grappa, close to the Italian Alps. Max Warmerdam from the Netherlands won the over-the-board tournament and secured his third grandmaster norm and the title! | Photo: Google

1/6/2021 – Over the turn of the year, the British Chess Federations organised their annual championship as an online tournament. Michael Adams, with a rating of 2716 currently Britain's number 1, was clear favourite. Adams indeed won the title, but only after a close play-off against IM Ameet Ghasi. | Photo: ECF