9/28/2020 – In the 1930s, Bela Lugosi (best-known as Dracula) and Boris Karloff (best-known as Frankenstein) were the world's two most popular horror movie actors. In the film "The Black Cat" from 1934, Lugosi and Karloff played a sinister game of chess against each other - for the life and the liberty of a young woman.

9/28/2020 – The Covid-19 situation has presented the world with a tough time. The chess world is also affected heavily with over-the-board tournaments dwindling in number. But one thing that has received a tremendous boost is the level of chess education that has been made available in the last few months. A prime example of this is the Chess Stars Academy launched by GM Teimour Radjabov a few days ago. The World no.9 Azeri GM has launched his online academy together with two of his trainers, Vladimir Chuchelov and Igor-Alexandre Nataf, who have been responsible for his rise to the top in the last few years! Get to know more about Raja's new venture and the courses on offer.

9/28/2020 – With two rounds to go, Silla Bosch Serinsys has grabbed a one-point lead at the Spanish Team Championship taking place in Linares. Magic Extremadura defeated Jaime Casas in round five to climb to sole second place, while Beniaján Duochess, Solvay and Andreu Paterna still have chances to fight for the title as they stand two points behind the leading squad. | Pictured: Pia Cramling v Raquel Pablos | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation

9/27/2020 – Four times in a row, from 2016-2019, Komodo won the World Computer Chess Championship. And Komodo 14 is even stronger than its succesful predecessors and will help you to improve your game. With the Fritz Powerbook 2020 included, this "Autumn-Special" bundle, for only €89.90, is a "Championship Powerhouse" (offer valid till 30.9.)! 25 million opening positions, derived from millions of high-class tournament games, is what the Fritz Powerbook 2020 contributes. And if that isn't enough, all bundle-buyers have a chance to win a signed DVD by Indian super talent GM Nihal Sarin.

9/27/2020 – Alexander Donchenko won the ACP-ChessBase Knockout Tournament, which took place in the Emanuel Lasker Arena of the PlayChess server a couple of months ago. In an interview with Bojana Bejatovic, the German grandmaster talked about online chess, the psychological factor in the game and his advice for aspiring players. “No matter how much or how little you trained, you must be able to show as much of it as you can when it matters most, during a tournament game”, says Donchenko. | Photo: Amruta Mokal

9/27/2020 – The former leaders from Andreu Paterna are now sharing second place with Magic Extremadura after losing their Saturday encounter against Beniaján Duochess. Solvay and Silla Bosch Serinsys took this chance to grab the lead, with Solvay currently placed first on tiebreaks. However, while Silla Bosch Serinsys will play tailender Collado Villalba in round 5, Solvay will face the rating favourites from Beniaján. | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation

9/27/2020 – After diving into a philosophical puzzle, we are back on track with our logic riddles for chess players. In our ninth part of the series, we have two chess engines competing against each other. Funnily enough, they seem to be exactly equally strong, and the championship cannot find a decisive winner until someone is able to find a solution to this problem.

9/26/2020 – In 1949, four years after the end of World War II, the Allies divided Germany into West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany, FRG) and East Germany (the German Democratic Republic, GDR). In the second part of a series on the GDR composers, columnist Siegfried Hornecker continues to tell us how the chess composition scene was kept alive east of the Berlin Wall. | Pictured: Police personnel of the East German Volkspolizei wait for the official opening of the Brandenburg Gate in 1989 | Photo: SSGT F. Lee Corkran

9/26/2020 – "Critical Thinking", the directing debut of well-known and successful actor John Leguizamo, is a film about chess, passion, friendship and overcoming the odds. It is based on real events and tells the story of a group of teenagers from an underprivileged neighbourhood in Miami, Florida, who win the 1998 U.S. National Team Chess Championship. The well-made film with a fine cast of actors is a must for every chess player! | Photos and exclusive film clip from "Vertical Entertainment"

9/26/2020 – Andreu Paterna, the team led by Jorden van Foreest, Francisco Vallejo and David Howell, grabbed the lead of the Spanish Team Championship in round 3, as they comfortably defeated Collado Villalba. Three teams are sharing second place a match point behind, Silla Bosch Serinsys, Solvay and Gros Xake Taldea. Beniaján Duochess, the favourite team rating-wise, is not having the best of tournaments, as they lost a second match in a row on Saturday. | Photo: Spanish Chess Federation

9/25/2020 – In this Power Play Show Grandmaster Daniel King looks at a provocative, dangerous and entertaining line of the King's Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nc3!? Qh4+ 4.Ke2 which Steinitz, Keres (pictured) and King himself used to play. The march of the king looks crazy but the whole line is surprisingly powerful and dangerous. | 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. | Photo: Valter Heuer (Archive)

9/25/2020 – Duochess Beniajan is the heavy Elo-favourite in the Spanish Team Championship. But the top team unexpectedly lost in round two against Magic Extremadura. The other two top teams managed to win just barely. Shirov worked his magic. | Fotos: FEDA