2/19/2021 – In the diagram position, White's line-up of major pieces on the kingside makes one eager to strike. 23.hxg6 or 23.g5 - how would you continue the attack?

2/18/2021 – 15 years ago, on 18 February 2006, the Russian-Soviet grandmaster Ratmir Kholmov died in Moscow. Kholmov was a sailor and during World War II he was taken prisoner by the Japanese. After the war he became one of the best players in the Soviet Union though the Soviet again and again hindered his career. But in the course of his career Kholmov still won against players such as Mikhail Botvinnik, Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky, Robert Fischer and many more strong players. Dagobert Kohlmeyer remembers. | Photo: Kholmov-Vaganian, Moscow 1975 (chespro.ru)

2/18/2021 – Now that FIDE has announced that the second half of the Candidates Tournament will be played in April, it’s a good time to remember how Magnus Carlsen qualified to play for the World Championship title for the first time, in 2013. The Norwegian was the favourite and started strong, but Vladimir Kramnik made an impressive comeback in the second half. The Russian, however, fell barely short at the very end, and Carlsen won the tournament on tiebreaks. | Photos: Ray Morris-Hill

2/18/2021 – The history of the U.S. Women's Chess Championship contains a wealth of information about chess in America and countless fascinating stories about champions from all walks of life. Alexey Root, who is currently writing a book about the history of the U.S. Women's Championship, takes a look at some recent research about women's chess in the U.S. | Photo: Reigning and eight-time U.S. Women's Champion Irina Krush winning the title 2015 | Photo: Lennart Ootes

2/18/2021 – 100 years ago, on 19 March 1921, the French Chess Federation (Fédération Française des Échecs) was founded in Paris. To mark the jubilee, an international Zoom conference will be held on 20 March 2021, with a series of presentations examining the influence chess in France had on the development of chess in other countries. Participation in the conference is free and open to the public.

2/18/2021 – The traditional Spanish tournament in Leon is preparing a new star-studded lineup for its 34th edition, to be played on 8-12 July. The organizers intend to make it an over-the-board event if the sanitary situation allows it. If necessary, however, the tournament will take place online. The 6th edition of the International Open and the 2nd edition of the Invitational for Young Grandmasters will also take place.

2/14/2021 – Wesley So scored a win on demand to tie the score in the first mini-match of the Opera Euro Rapid’s finals against Magnus Carlsen. Meanwhile, Teimour Radjabov got ahead on the scoreboard against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the match for third place. Report with instructive analysis by Karsten Müller. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

2/14/2021 – Herman Grooten is an International Master, a renowned trainer and the author of several highly acclaimed books about chess training and chess strategy. In the 14th part of his ChessBase show "Understanding before Moving" Herman looks at a fine attack crowned by an unusual move. | Photo: Hans Hoornstra

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

2/13/2021 – As so many other tournaments, the Africa Championship went online this year. The FIDE and the African Chess Confederation organized the tournament which was played in various groups. Ahmed Adly from Egypt won the Main Open, Amina Mezioud from Algeria became Women's Champion, Charles de Villiers from South Africa won the Senior Tournament, Lamine Brahami from Algeria was first in the U20 Open and Lina Nassir from Algeria clinched the title in the U20 Girls section. The biggest surprise of the event was perhaps the fourth place of the untitled and lower-rated Linda Dalitso Shaba (pictured) from Zimbabwe in the women's tournament. | Photo: Zimbabwe Chess Federation

2/13/2021 – Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So advanced to the final of the Opera Euro Rapid tournament, to be played on Saturday and Sunday starting at 17.00 CET. For a second time in a row, Carlsen knocked out his opponent in the Armageddon decider, while So had a much shorter day at the office, as it was impossible for Teimour Radjabov to win the match once the American collected two points in their second mini-match. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / frchess.com

2/13/2021 – In a new episode of his "Let's talk about Chess..." podcast Eric van Reem has a long and relaxed chat with Pentala Harikrishna, India's number two. In part one of the interview the Indian Grandmaster, who is living in Europe, looks back to the Tata Steel Tournament 2021 that finished two weeks ago, and shares memories of his first start in Wijk, which was twenty years ago. | Photo: Pentala Harikrishna at the Chess Olympiad 2016 | Photo: Andreas Kontokanis