8/11/2016 – In the world of chess, Lennart Ootes is one of those names you might see crop up here and there, without fully appreciating his role in the grand scheme of things. Much like the arbiters, his name goes unsung for the most part, while having a vital role in helping make a great event what it is. He is a regular guest of top events as the man who runs their DGT boards, he also helps run live video commentary, is a web designer, and talented photographer. Here is an interview with many high-res photos.

8/11/2016 – Who is the youngest player to become the World Junior Champion in the history of the game? Kasparov? Anand? Karpov? No, none of them. It is the French grandmaster Joel Lautier. From his ten encounters against Kasparov Joel had a score of +1. He was instrumental in Kramnik winning the World title in 2000 and the formation of the ACP. In 2006, with a healthy Elo of 2656, he retired from chess. Sagar Shah met Joel Lautier in Moscow and brings to us an exclusive two-part interview with the man who excels in everything he does!

8/10/2016 – A topsy-turvy round started with belliggerent intentions on all boards, but as the round progressed, it began to seem as if we would have another full set of draws. Anand and So played out a striking novelty well past theory and prepared by both, so that in the end, the draw was just. Caruana managed to outfox MVL in the opening and middlegame, but right at the finish line he faltered and let the Frenchman escape. Finally, Topalov took the least obvious route possible to beat Ding and become the leader. Illustrated report with GM analysis.

8/9/2016 – Michael Adams, the long-time highest rated English player on the FIDE rating list, has won the British Chess Championships 2016 in Bournemouth to add to his 4 previous British titles. His score of 10.0/11 equaled the record set by Julian Hodgson in 1992 and, given that future championships are planned to be run over nine rounds, this was probably the last opportunity for the record to be equaled or exceeded. Illustrated report with commented games.

8/9/2016 – It was another uneventful round, and while several games seemed to hold promise for more than a draw, the wind seemed to peter and die out in the players' sails. The most dynamic game of the round was unsurprisingly between Nakamura and Topalov, players for who the word dynamic seems a weak term, but despite the material imbalance at the end, neither seemed willing to press the issue. Giri pressed hard in an endgame against So, but the American neutralized his attempts and they also drew. Full report with GM analysis.

8/9/2016 – For a couple of months now the meme has been that the 2016 World Championship is not, as originally stated, going to be staged in New York, but moved to Moscow. Not true. AGON, is the official partner of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and owner the World Chess brand as well as commercial rights holder to the FIDE World Chess Championship cycle, has now definitely announced that it will take place from November 11th to 30th in the Fulton Market Building, a five minute walk from Wall Street. Press release.

8/4/2016 – The FIDE office in Athens has received a proposal by the President of the RCF suggesting that World Champion should in the future be allowed to "accept the challenge of any player who can contribute to the prize fund and the costs of holding of the match." FIDE would get 50% of the prize fund. The proposal, which is to be discussed in September at the FIDE Congress in Baku, has met with immediate protest from the Association of Chess Professionals.

8/3/2016 – In this part two of this article – part one had grandmasters tell us what they fear most during simuls – two FIDE masters recall their most memorable games from playing in simuls. Normally, FMs give simuls rather than play in simuls. Long before he became an FM, Keith Hayward played in grandmaster Lubomir Kavalek’s simul. The second FM, William Schill, couldn’t pass up the chance to play the current World Champion. They describe the experience.

8/3/2016 – We have seen many great chess events preceded by quality musical performances, and now the favor has been returned: during the great Verbier Music Festival, held in the heart of the Swiss Alps, chess activities were organized including a simul by Vladimir Kramnik to musicians and the director of the festival. With concerts broadcast online live, it is a must on your calendar. Read about it and enjoy some truly magnificent music.

8/2/2016 – The Karpov Poikovsky tournament celebrated its 17th edition this year in Nefteyugansk, Russia, and it must be said that it was a singularly exciting event to watch. This was not simply because many of the players are justifiably famed for their creativity, but because a number of the games were wild speculative affairs to leave spectators gaping at the players’ courage. The event was won by Anton Korobov who signed a brilliancy against Sutovsky.

8/2/2016 – Parallel to the Masters Challenge was the Juniors Challenge, following a similar format. There were two matches involving two Swiss juniors Noel Studer and Nico Georgiadis against guest youths Francesco Rambaldi and Benjamin Bok repsectively. In both cases they played four rapid games, followed by six classical games for a through workout and valuable experience gain in match play. The games were all hard-fought with dynamic play.

8/2/2016 – Every week ChessBase Magazine author and renowned endgame expert Karsten Müller presents a remarkable or particularly instructive endgame in his blog. A click on the diagram opens a larger board. Test your endgame skills, improve and have fun.