7/11/2017 – In a few days the Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2017 will begin in Dortmund. As always, it is a strong Grandmaster tournament but this year it is dedicated to Vladimir Kramnik, with good reason: Dortmund and the former World Championship have a long and special relationship.

7/11/2017 – On July 11, 1972, the legendary Match of the Century between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer finally began. Fischer arrived late, due to heavy traffic, and was clearly distraught with the camera arrangements. To everybody's surprise he played a Nimzo instead of his normal Gruenfeld or King's Indian. The game developed along uninspired lines and most experts were predicting a draw. And then, on move twenty-nine, Fischer engaged in one of the most dangerous gambles of his career. "One move, and we hit every front page in the world!" said a blissful organiser.

7/11/2017 – Endgames are the soul of the chess games. This would probably a phrase from GM Karsten Müller. The german grandmaster is one of the leading experts when it comes to endgames. He published books and DVD's about this topic. In his Endgame Magic Show Müller invites strong players and shows recent examples of the tournament praxis. Starting at 3pm Uk time. Guest: GM Mihail Marin.

7/11/2017 – The youth versus experience battle between So and Anand in the finals of the 30th Leon Masters 2017 was looked forward to with great interest by chess fans all over the world. The rapid section of four games ended with a 2-2 tie. However, Wesley managed to win the match by defeating Anand in the blitz. In his first appearance at the Leon Masters, Wesley So goes back home with the winner's trophy!

7/11/2017 – As the Grand Prix in Geneva hits the official midway point after five rounds, it is safe to say that things are going to become make-or-break for a number of players who still wish to vie for one of the two coveted spots in the next Candidates. One player who clearly set out to make a stand was Alexander Grischuk, who defeated Pavel Eljanov in an important theoretical game. Enjoy this study of the various situations, accompanied by analysis by GM Mekhitarian.

7/11/2017 – Tuesdays at 5pm UK time Lawrence Trent goes on air on Playchess.com. In his show Lawrence Trent will be dealing with the latest trends, games and combinations from the elite chess tournaments. This week is all about the Grand Chess Tour and the World Team Championship.

7/7/2017 – The 2017 FIDE World Chess Grand Prix series continues with the third tournament, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland from 5-16th July. The tournament is being held in Hotel Le Richemond, set on the banks of Lake Geneva, by the famous Jet d’Eau, and brings many intriguing names such as Levon Aronian, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, and many more, but does that ensure a thrilling tournament? Round one brought several good wins, such as Teimour Radjabov over Anish Giri. Report with GM analysis.

7/6/2017 – World Champions have style. At least, this is often claimed. Kasparov loved to attack, Karpov excelled in prophylaxis, Capablanca liked positional play crowned by a "petite combinaison", Tal loved intuitive sacrifices while Botvinnik preferred clear strategic plans. But do you recognize the style of the World Champions when you see only the moves of their games? Try it out!

7/6/2017 – This week's games are by Max Wahlund, a Swede who will be 45 on July 10th. Max used to be a journalist in Stockholm, but more recently he's lived both in a Buddhist monastery and a Christian community and is currently in Linköping, where he works as a publicity officer for the Church of Sweden. And when he moved to Linkoping, he took up chess again after a break of over twenty years. His two extensively analysed games are evaluate by an experienced GM. You can learn a lot from the notes.

7/5/2017 – This is neither prank nor clever wording: Garry Kasparov will be playing in the official St. Louis leg of the Grand Chess Tour from August 14-19, 2017. Please note that this is the Rapid and Blitz competition, just as the ones held in Paris and Levuen these last weeks, and not the classical events. However, this is not an exhibition event, and will determine the official Grand Chess Tour rankings as well as FIDE ratings of the players. Here is the press release.

7/5/2017 – In the recent issue of New in Chess magazine GM Matthew Sadler, having switched jobs and looking for a low-effort way to keep his feeling for chess alive, watched some ChessBase DVDs on positional themes. He started with Sergei Tiviakov and progressed to Adrian Mikhalchishin, whom he calls "an entertaining and lively host ... who kept me thoroughly entertained all through the many hours of content. He does however make tactical mistakes, caused by the author's unbridled enthusiasm. Still: definitely a series worth consideration.

7/5/2017 – Completing the systems of memory to best use mnemonics, here is the first of two parts on using the Peg system, which together with the Memory Palace is the foundation for efficient use for both short term and long term. This is also the combination of systems used by Timur Gareev in his world record effort, and the one used by the world record holders in memorization. To learn more about what the Peg system is and how it works, read the article.