12/1/2019 – The December rating list is out, with Magnus Carlsen back at number one in rapid, in addition to classical chess. Hikaru Nakamura, however, remains atop the world blitz rankings. They pair will have a chance to clash in both rapid and blitz formats later this month in Moscow. Alexander Grischuk (pictured) is now nearly sure of a 2020 Candidates qualification spot after his win in the Hamburg Grand Prix tournament. | Photo: Valeria Gordienko

11/1/2019 – The November rating list is out and reflects the performances of two of the most important tournaments on the calendar this year: The World Cup and the Grand Swiss, both qualifying events for the 2020 Candidates tournament which attracted a massive turnout of elite players. Every member of the top 40 was in action in the rating period except for the retired Vladimir Kramnik, Richard Rapport and Veselin Topalov. | Pictured: World Cup winner Teimour Radjabov, runner-up Ding Liren, third place finisher Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and fourth placed Yu Yangyi at the close of the Khanty-Mansiysk festivities. | Photo: FIDE

10/26/2019 – Germany's long and illustrious chess tradition has been shaped by top players such as Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch, Emanuel Lasker, Wolfgang Unzicker, Wolfgang Uhlmann or Dr. Robert Hübner. However, the youngest German Grandmaster ever is the 14-year old Vincent Keymer who just got the title at the FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss tournament on the Isle of Man. Thorsten Cmiel had a closer look at Keymer's way to this historic record. | Photo: John Saunders

10/25/2019 – Power Play is back! On the show today: GM Daniel King takes you through games from the FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss. Power Play is live most Fridays at 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST, Noon EDT) on playchess.com. You can watch the episode live for free! All the usual puzzles, games and instruction will be on offer. Puzzle and the live video...

10/22/2019 – The eleven-round FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss finished on Monday, with Wang Hao both claiming first place and getting the spot in the Candidates Tournament. The Chinese grandmaster beat David Howell — who was in a must-win game with the black pieces — to tie perennial co-leader Fabiano Caruana on top of the standings table. His better tiebreak score gave him first place and, of course, the chance to fight to become Magnus Carlsen's next challenger. Round-up show by GM SIMON WILLIAMS. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

10/21/2019 – Among the players on the Isle of Man is former top ten GM Alexei Shirov. Today GM Simon Williams selects his favourite of Shirov's sacrificial masterpieces. Watch for free (for a limited time) starting at the usual hour: 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST / 12 Noon EDT).

10/21/2019 – In the final round of the tournament, Wang Hao defeated the English GM David Howell and with 8½/11 he tied for first place with World No 2 Fabiano Caruana, who drew his last game of the tournament. Wang took first place as he had a better tiebreak than Caruana. | Photo: John Saunders

10/21/2019 – The FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss is coming to an end and the tension continues to rise as those fighting for the Candidates spot have assumed a do-or-die attitude in Douglas. Seven out of the eight top games finished decisively in round ten. After the mayhem, Fabiano Caruana emerged as sole leader, while wins by Magnus Carlsen, Wang Hao, Kirill Alekseenko, David Howell and Nikita Vitiugov left them still with chances to take first place. The other two contenders are Hikaru Nakamura and Levon Aronian, who drew their direct encounter. Round-up show by GM SIMON WILLIAMS. | Photo: John Saunders

10/20/2019 – With two rounds to got at the FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss, four players are tied atop the standings on 6½ out of 9. The last one joining the group of co-leaders was Hikaru Nakamura, who defeated Vladislav Kovalev on Saturday. The ever-changing pack of chasers now consists of eleven players, still including world champion Magnus Carlsen. Meanwhile, Vincent Keymer, Jonas Buhl Bjerre and Raunak Sadhwani completed their third and final grandmaster norms. Daily highlights with IM LAWRENCE TRENT. | Photos: John Saunders

10/19/2019 – Three players are sharing the lead at the FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss, as David Anton joined Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian after beating Alexander Grischuk. Much like the leading pack, the group of chasers grew in size on Friday. Ten players are at a half point distance from the leaders, with some big names joining after round eight — Vishy Anand, Sergey Karjakin, Hikaru Nakamura and Boris Gelfand. Also among the chasers is Vladislav Kovalev, who upset Radoslaw Wojtaszek on board nine. IM LAWRENCE TRENT recapped the highlights of the day. | Photo: John Saunders

10/18/2019 – In a round that only saw three decisive results on the top fifteen boards, Levon Aronian defeated Wang Hao to climb to shared first place at the FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss. The Armenian caught up with Fabiano Caruana, who signed a 42-move draw with Alexander Grischuk. Caruana will have the white pieces against Aronian in round eight, while Wang Hao will face world champion Magnus Carlsen on board two. GM SIMON WILLIAMS looked at the highlights of the day. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

10/16/2019 – Watching the top-flight chess on the Isle of Man, IM Merijn van Delft wonders whether the King's Indian is still playable at the elite level. The show is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). Merijn is on-demand this week starting at 18:00 UTC (20:00 CEST / 2 PM EDT).

10/16/2019 – The last round before the rest day at the FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss saw decisive results on seven out of the top ten boards. Wang Hao and Fabiano Caruana recaptured the lead — they were the only two co-leaders after round three — with wins over Vladimir Fedoseev and Luke McShane. The chasing group a half point back now consists of seven players, with world champion Magnus Carlsen in the mix. IM LAWRENCE TRENT recapped the action of the round. | Photo: John Saunders

10/15/2019 – Round five of the FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss was as exciting as could be, with the game on board one lasting almost seven hours and seeing world number two Fabiano Caruana miraculously saving a half point against Luke McShane. The point was also split in Wang Hao v Parham Maghsoodloo on board two, while Alexander Grischuk, Vladimir Fedoseev and Alexei Shirov won with White to join the leading pack. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

10/14/2019 – GM Simon Williams selects his favourite examples from the high-stakes Candidates qualifier ongoing on the Isle of Man. Watch for free (for a limited time) starting at the usual hour: 16:00 UTC (18:00 CEST / 12 Noon EDT).

10/14/2019 – Parham Maghsoodloo and Luke McShane won their round four encounters at the FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss to join co-leaders Fabiano Caruana and Wang Hao at the top of the standings table. With no more perfect scores at the Isle of Man, the chasing pack has grown and now includes sixteen players. World champion Magnus Carlsen was inches away from losing his unbeaten streak but ended up surviving against Vladislav Kovalev. | Photo: John Saunders

10/13/2019 – Fabiano Caruana and Wang Hao won their round three games to maintain a perfect score at the FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss. The chasing pack on 2½ out of 3 consists of ten players, nine of whom won on Saturday — only Adhiban, who was one of the co-leaders after round two, drew and stayed close behind the top scorers. World Champion Magnus Carlsen got good winning chances but ended up splitting the point with Rustam Kasimdzhanov. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

10/12/2019 – Fabiano Caruana, Wang Hao, Bu Xiangzhi, Alexei Shirov and Adhiban Baskaran are the only five players left with a perfect score after two rounds at the FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss. World champion Magnus Carlsen was held to a draw by Alexey Sarana and is now one of forty-five players on 1½ out of 2. Upsets kept turning up on Friday, as the plot begins to unfold in the Isle of Man. GM YANNICK PELLETIER looked at the highlights from round two. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

10/11/2019 – Formerly known as the Isle of Man Open, the FIDE chess.com Grand Swiss kicked off Thursday at the COMIS Hotel and Golf Resort in Douglas. A total 154 players are participating, with no less than 110 of them rated above 2600. The biggest upset of day one was Evgeniy Najer's 30-move victory over Vishy Anand. Youngsters Nodirbek Abdusattorov (b. 2004) and Raunak Sadhwani (b. 2005) also upset higher-rated opponents. | Photos: Maria Emelianova / chess.com

10/9/2019 – The annual Isle of Man Open has become a top tournament in recent years and has now been "promoted" by FIDE into the "Grand Swiss", a tournament that is now one of the qualification routes for the 2020 Candidates Tournament. The elite field is led by World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Today is the opening ceremony, while Round 1 starts Thursday.