5/1/2020 – In this Power Play Show Grandmaster Daniel King takes a look at pawn endgames and the King's Gambit Magnus Carlsen tried against Ding Liren in the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. | Photo: Lennart Ootes (Archive) | Power Play is on air most Fridays at 18:00 UK (19:00 CEST, Noon EST) on playchess.com. All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer.

5/1/2020 – The lockdowns prompted by the coronavirus outbreak have created a sense of timelessness for those staying at home day in and day out. Time does go on, however, and FIDE continues to update the ratings lists every first day of the month. We will keep sharing the lists as they are published.

5/1/2020 – In the middle of the 20th century Alexander Tolush was one of the best Soviet players but was rarely allowed to play abroad. He was famous for his combinations and his brilliant attacking play but he is best remembered as a coach. He was trainer of Paul Keres and Boris Spassky and helped Spassky to become World Champion. Today, May 1, 2020, Tolush would have celebrated his 110th birthday. | Photo: Alexander Tolusch, right, in a game against Fridrik Olafsson

5/1/2020 – The pandemic has posed the greatest threat to mankind in this century. Who can resist the dance of death? Surely, doctors, nurses and health workers who form the first line of defence. However, civil society also has to rally round and support them. It should appreciate their sense of duty and commitment to the cause. Recently Vladislav Tarasiuk paid them a unique tribute and our columnist learnt from him how it all happened.

5/1/2020 – A week after his 44th birthday, Nigel Short added yet another accolade to his illustrious career. And he did it in style, scoring 4½ out of 5 at the Sigeman & Co Tournament, a six-player single round-robin. A 15-year-old Nils Grandelius arrived in Malmö as the clear underdog and nevertheless finished in clear second place, already showing his tremendous chess strength. Ivan Sokolov and Tomi Nyback shared third place. | Photos: Official site

4/30/2020 – The seventh round of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational saw world numbers one and two, Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, losing to Ding Liren and Anish Giri respectively. Carlsen played some dicey openings against Ding and, despite equalizing in the middlegame, made critical mistakes in three of the four rapid games. Ian Nepomniachtchi and Hikaru Nakamura also won. The first semi-final between Caruana and Nakamura will be played on Friday. Round-up show by IM Lawrence Trent. | Photo: Official site

4/30/2020 – The white king in the diagram position is weak and vulnerable, particularly on the dark squares. Black only needs to activate his queen to get a decisive attack. But how about scoring a point with an elegant flourish?

4/30/2020 – People are urging me to write a book (or books) with stories about my encounters with famous players. And with puzzles and chess pleasantries. Most of the material has appeared on our news page, but the articles have descended into the obscurities of the archives. So people want a collection in printed form, to read in the garden, in bed, on trains. But what about the chess games and moves? Who is going to set up a board to replay them? Ahh, but perhaps there is a solution, a way to make printed games easily replayable. Curious? Here's what that would (will) look like.

4/30/2020 – The ChessBase Magazine provides comprehensive and up-to-date information about everything that happens in chess. Experts and top players show how to play chess successfully and constantly provide new insights. Now the May issue (# 195) has been published, including reports and analyses of the first half of the Candidates Tournament.

4/30/2020 – The four-player field for the semi-finals of the Magnus Carlsen Invitational has been decided one round prior to the end of the round-robin section. Fabiano Caruana defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to leave the Frenchman without chances of qualifying, while Hikaru Nakamura got the better of Ding Liren in Armageddon — both Nakamura and Ding will nonetheless join Carlsen and Caruana in the semis. | Photo: Official site

4/29/2020 – Merijn van Delft takes a look at the match and games between Alireza Firouzja and Anish Giri at the Magnus Carlsen Invitational. | Merijn's show is available at 15.00 UTC (17:00 CEST, 11:00 EDT) on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here. | Photo: Alireza Firouzja in Wijk 2020 | Photo: Alina l'Ami

4/29/2020 – The last riddle was difficult, but a lot of correct solutions have been posted in a very respectful manner. Thank you and well done. Now we move on to a classic logical puzzle, which exists in various forms. Fortunately, you can once again easily implement it with a chess theme. | Photo: Fritz 17 - 3D chess board.