10/9/2024 – The WR Chess Masters Cup 2024, organised by entrepreneur Wadim Rosenstein, will take place on 14-17 October at London's luxurious Langham Hotel. The knockout tournament features 16 top players, including legendary grandmasters Vishy Anand and Veselin Topalov, as well as rising stars like Alireza Firouzja and Arjun Erigaisi. With a prize fund of €58,000, the four-day event promises exciting matchups, including Anand v. Vidit and Topalov v. Praggnanandhaa in the first round. A bidding Armageddon tiebreaker adds extra tension, ensuring thrilling chess action throughout.

10/9/2024 – DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, a DeepMind researcher who led the company's efforts to build AI models that could predict protein structures, shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, along with David Baker from the University of Washington. Through his AI company, he had already spearheaded breakthroughs in Go and chess with AlphaGo and AlphaZero, and he has now won the Nobel Prize thanks to AlphaFold2. (photos: DeepMind)

10/9/2024 – It took Wei Yi at least two to three days to recover from what was the game of the Olympiad and one of the toughest games he’s ever played. In the Hindustan Times the Chinese GM reflects on his tough loss to India's Gukesh and discusses the rise of Indian chess prodigies, emphasizing the focus for success.

10/9/2024 – Hikaru Nakamura ended Alireza Firouzja's unbeaten streak at the Tech Mahindra Global Chess League 2024. Just when everyone thought the game would end in a draw, Firouzja offered his rook up for trade, and the resultant pawn endgame turned out to be completely winning for the Speed King. IM Bibisara Assaubayeva. The PBG Alaskan Knights are now one match win away from securing their spot in the Finals. The seventh day will start with PBG Alaskan Knights vs. upGrad Mumba Masters from 1 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. | Photos: Shahid Ahmed

10/8/2024 – Every chess piece has a favourite region of the board. Knights like to be in the centre, kings rely on the safety of the corners. However, no piece loves a specific diagonal, file or rank as much as rooks do. Rooks love the 7th rank. On this rank, they feel like a kid in a candy shop. There are so many pawns to consume! Also, sometimes the opponent’s pieces are vulnerable as well. But why is the seventh rank so attractive for rooks? Jan Markos has some answers and examples! | Diagram: Final position of the game Vidit Gujrathi vs Wei Yi, Global Chess League 2024

10/8/2024 – Rapid games are noted for the fast-paced action and drama and mistakes, a fine line between quality and plain adrenaline. When played by world elite players such as MVL, Erigaisi, Nepo, and more, you can also run into astounding tactics and attacks that even the computers cannot criticize. Such was the case for two by the Frenchman no less. Now with video! (credit: Albert Silver/Flux Pro 1.1)

10/8/2024 – In the diagram position it is Black to move and he fights for survival as White's far advanced e-pawn is very dangerous. However, Black has a way to draw. What would you do?

10/8/2024 – The reigning champions of the Bundesliga, Viernheim, made a false start to the new season and lost to the host team in Hamburg. The defending champions were missing the top six boards due to the Global Chess League taking place concurrently. Baden-Baden also played without its top players in Munich. | Pictured: The cheerful Hamburger SK team with captain Reinhardt Ahrens | Photos: André Schulz

10/7/2024 – Alireza Firouzja is in the form of his life, as he defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave for the second time in consecutive days. Alexandra Kosteniuk scored the only other win for the team, which helped Triveni Continental Kings register their fourth win of the event. Anish Giri made a nice queen sacrifice to build a fortress and draw with Magnus Carlsen. Yifan Hou and Kateryna Lagno scored the wins for SG Alpine Pipers. Nihal Sarin's sole win for Balan Alaskan Knights was not enough to win the match. Ganges Grandmasters scored their second match win of the event. The sixth day will start with Alpine SG Pipers vs upGrad Mumba Masters from 1 p.m. local time, 4:30 p.m. IST. | Photos: Shahid Ahmed

10/7/2024 – ARTE, the French-German film production and TV channel, has made a six-part dramatic re-enactment of the epic 1997 match between Garry Kasparov and the super-computer Deep Blue. The movie, due for broadcast on October 17, can already be viewed in full on the ARTE Internet web site. Mind you, it will take almost five hours to watch, but it is definitely worth the invested time.

10/6/2024 – Every month or so, I have lunch with some chess players in central London. We normally go to a pub and this time I had a decent pint and a reasonable veggie burger which was punctuated by some gossip and some chess. Find here a few of the positions we discussed - plus three remarkable games from the Olympiad in Budapest! | Pictured: Benjamin Gledura (Hungary) at the 2024 FIDE Chess Olympiad | Photo: Michal Walusza

10/6/2024 – Alireza Firouzja continues his phenomenal form at the Global Chess League. He won the French derby against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave to power his team, Triveni Continental Kings, to a victory over upGrad Mumba Masters. American Gambits started the day with a win over Ganges Grandmasters, but finished the day with a loss against Alpine SG Pipers. Hikaru Nakamura showed excellent resiliency against Magnus Carlsen, got a winning chance, but missed it and the game ended in a draw. PBG Alaskan Knights registered their fifth consecutive win as they continue to lead. | Photo: Shahid Ahmed