5/5/2017 – To be fair, the clash was not meant to be a direct confrontation, but chess players at Union Square were caught in the middle of a clash between protesters, and found their games interrupted with tables tossed and chess pieces sent flying, in spite of trying to stay apart from the angry banner bearers. Still, the community showed its spirit as a couple of Good Samaritans came to the rescue, and replaced the missing or destroyed material.

5/5/2017 – It is not unusual to see chess appear in the mainstream press, but the topics are usually on either a scandal, a player profile, or a singular event such as the World Championship. Forbes published an interesting article regarding the state of professionalism in chess, making a living, and how the internet has opened doors not just for fans but working pros. Here are excerpts and a a video report.

5/5/2017 – 21.Nf6! in the diagram position is a good idea since the knight cannot be captured. But how to continue if Black declines the sacrifice with 21...h6 then? Try to reproduce GM Markus Ragger's model attack from the Bundesliga - with splendid moves galore ...

5/5/2017 – Sergei Tiviakov knows how to win against the French: by playing 3.Nd2! The renowned author and grandmaster regularly plays this move which has brought him a score of about 80% against the French. On a ChessBase DVD he revealed the secrets of this line. French expert Markus Hochgräfe had a close look at the DVD - and was impressed.

5/4/2017 – ChessBase's youngest author 12-year-old Avathanshu Bhat has a quirky habit - he observes people closely. Being a chess player he meets at least ten new opponents in each tournament that he plays. Based on his examination, the boy has segregated chess players into seven different groups. Check out this hilarious article and see if you can place yourself in one of those categories.

5/4/2017 – In tournaments Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Vishy Anand are rivals. But from 29. April to 1. May they joined forces and met in Berlin to help turning the final three rounds of Germany's prestigious team competition, the Bundesliga, into a real chess festival. They also helped their team, the OSG Baden-Baden, to win the event more than convincingly.

5/4/2017 – By now everyone, even those who are not primarily interested in chess, knows the story: at the National Scholastic Chess Championship 2017 in Putrajaya, Malaysia, a 12-year-old girl was warned by the chief arbiter because of the "improper dress" she was wearing, which was deemed to be seductive and "a temptation from a certain angle". The girl, fairly traumatized, withdrew from the tournament and all hell broke out in the press, with many thousands of reports appearing in the international news portals. Peter Long has harsh words for the Malayian Chess Federation.

5/4/2017 – "When a friend records a DVD, curiosity knows no limit!" writes Niranjan, an player who has made a first GM norm. "Nisha shares her intriguing story of her cards-to-chess shift and makes it clear that she is going to cover some practical aspects and leave you with some useful tools by the end of the DVD." He believes that Nisha Mohota's DVD "Strengthen your Chess Foundation" has the potential to help players who have played few tournaments. Review.

5/3/2017 – When faced with a very bad or lost endgame, it is sometimes hard to muster the strength, much less the resources, to truly revert the situation. Yet that is what Hikaru Nakamura did, and against no less an expert than Vladimir Kramnik himself. Somehow the American found ways to keep it alive and justify playing on. Some of the resources he found smacked of black magic even. Here is a look at this epic endgame with detailed analysis by endgame expert GM Karsten Mueller.

5/3/2017 – The 18th edition of the Karpov–Poikovsky tournament was just held and it once again brought together a fascinating and eclectic group of players. The tournament ended in a spectacular win by Emil Sutovsky and Evgeny Najer, both finishing with 7.0/9 and both with 2900 performances. There were many very attractive games to enjoy. Here is the illustrated report with analysis and quiz positions.

5/2/2017 – Passed pawns can be tricky. Especially in the endgame and if they are supported by the enemy king. However, bishops can also be powerful. Karsten Müller shows why.

5/2/2017 – Although the top players all played, the stratospheric 2800 club all saw losses small or modest. Still it was anything but a dry month, starting with Levon Aronian's crushing win at Grenke ahead of an elite crowd such as Carlsen and Caruana, and not omitting Anish Giri's big win at the Reykjavik Open. Nevertheless, a number of players also enjoyed personal bests such as Nils Grandelius, Varuzhan Akobian, and rising female stars in Spain and Germany. Enjoy the report on the new ratings list!