6/14/2020 – In this second instalment of Clutch Chess, the tournament will expand internationally. Eight of the world's top chess players will battle online from Saturday, June 6 - Sunday, June 14, 2020 for an extraordinary $265K in prize money. Replay the games live with engine comments and evaluations starting at 20:00 CEST.

6/14/2020 – After his brilliant win over Capablanca, Mikhail Botvinnik certainly hoped to win the AVRO tournament in the Netherlands, but just one round later the 27-year-old turned in an inexplicably weak performance against Max Euwe (the other ex-world champion in the tournament, left in the picture) and lost a short game. With all the other games of round twelve drawn, Paul Keres remains at the top of the standings table a half point ahead of Reuben Fine, while Botvinnik, with two rounds left to play, is a full point behind the leader.

6/14/2020 – The first half of the final hardly could have been more exciting, as Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana each collected four points after trading blows in the last four games of the day. The match started with two draws, and from that point each of the finalists scored two wins with white. Game 6 was the biggest thriller — Carlsen got a winning position out of the opening, erred in time trouble, and ended up conceding defeat. | Photo: Justin Kellar

6/13/2020 – The victory of Mikhail Botvinnik (photo) over José Raúl Capablanca in the eleventh round of the AVRO tournament will be enjoyed by many generations of chess players to come. At the outset of the game, the 27-year-old single-mindedly implemented a crystal-clear strategy against the former world champion, based on a central advance; then, he launched the final attack on the king with two brilliant piece sacrifices. In the shadow of this brilliant game, the most important development was almost ignored: Paul Keres secured the sole lead after Reuben Fine conceded yet another defeat.

6/13/2020 – Anish Giri is the best chess player in the Netherlands and is currently ranked number 10 in the world. To show appreciation for Giri, this article has a recipe for a dish that he might like to eat. And, also, an analysis of one of his wins. WIM Alexey Root tells why Giri is the first Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

6/13/2020 – The semifinals of the Clutch Chess International came to an end on Friday. Magnus Carlsen cruised to victory and comfortably knocked out Levon Aronian, while Fabiano Caruana pulled out a remarkable comeback against Wesley So. Thus, the two highest-rated players in the world will face each other in the final, starting Saturday. | Photo: Austin Fuller

6/12/2020 – In this Power Play Show Grandmaster Daniel King makes an excursion into the world of problem chess but the main focus of the session will be a spectacular game by the 2018 World Senior Champion, Vlastimil Jansa. | Power Play is on air most Fridays at 17:00 UK (18:00 CEST, 11:00 EST) on playchess.com. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

6/12/2020 – Take a look at this position. Can White (on the move) win? And if so what must he play? The position looks deceptively simple, but if you are able to solve it in your head, congratulations! Today's challenge is mainly to humans, and we bring you simple-looking positions from which there is a lot to learn. Have fun.

6/12/2020 – In the diagram position White's last move was 14.Qh3 which creates a classical threat ... which Black happily ignored! Can you imagine what happened?

6/12/2020 – Four draws, no win - that was the outcome of the tenth round of the AVRO Tournament 1938, which was played in the Dutch city of Breda. But despite the four draws the spectators in Breda got their money's worth as they could watch two fascinating tactical duels: Samuel Reshevsky (pictured) used hidden tactics to attack Mikhail Botvinnik, Reuben Fine used hidden tactics to defend against José Raúl Capablanca. Of course, nothing has changed in the standings. After 10 of 14 rounds Fine and Keres share the lead with 6½/10, Botvinnik follows with 5½/10. | Photo: Samuel Reshevsky (Archive)

6/12/2020 – Magnus Carlsen and Wesley So have both taken four-point leads going into day two of the semifinals in the Clutch Chess International Tournament. Levon Aronian missed a big chance to beat Carlsen in game 1 and could never quite recover as the world champion had better positions in almost all the remaining encounters, while Fabiano Caruana's strategy of using offbeat systems backfired against So. Nothing is yet decided though, as Friday's games 11 and 12 each grant three points! | Photo: Lennart Ootes

6/11/2020 – Stuart Rachels is not only a former chess prodigy and great writer, he also made some beautiful chess puzzles. We are happy to showcase four self-mate riddles which are worth looking at. They are creative in a way, that the white king has to be check-mated in as little moves as possible, on a certain square.