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• Samarkand R2 (women): Georgia only manage a draw against Montenegro

  Georgia became the first leading team to drop match points in the Women's Chess Olympiad, as the second seeds were held to a 2–2 draw by Montenegro in round two. Alena Skvortsova and Aleksandra Milovic (pictured) scored the Montenegrins' two wins. The Czech Republic were also held by the United Arab Emirates, while Tajikistan and Kenya recorded notable match victories against higher-seeded opposition. | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

• Samarkand R2 (open): Despite close calls, all top teams grab wins

  All of the top 28 seeds won in round two of the open Chess Olympiad, but several favourites were pushed hard. The United States (pictured), India and the Netherlands all prevailed by 2½–1½, while El Salvador produced the biggest team upset by beating Cuba. Gukesh Dommaraju was held to a draw by Satria Duta Cahaia and slipped below 2700 on the live rating list. | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

• Poland crowned champions at Olympiad for People with Disabilities

  Poland won the 3rd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities in Samarkand after finishing unbeaten on 13 match points, ahead of Cuba and hosts Uzbekistan 1. The final round saw Poland defeat the Philippines 3½–½ to secure gold. The event featured a record 41 teams and was staged alongside the main FIDE Chess Olympiad for the first time. | Photos: Mark Livshitz and Rafal Oleksiewicz

• On the Superfluity of Words (2)

  In today's article we present a gem of chess composition. It is a study requires no words, no instruction or stipulation, such as, for example, "White to move and win". Everything is solved by simply analysing the diagram. Can you follow the logic that tells you everything abut this diagram? It is extensive, exacting, and truly dizzying.

• Samarkand R1 (women): Nine teams from the top ten score 4-0 victories

  India began their women's Chess Olympiad title defence in Samarkand as the top seeds, ahead of Georgia, Kazakhstan, China and the United States. The leading teams made a comfortable start, with nine of the top ten seeds winning 4–0 and no major upsets on individual boards. England's 11-year-old top board Bodhana Sivanandan also opened with a win, defeating Hanna Wilson of Barbados. | Photo: Michal Walusza / FIDE

• Samarkand R1 (open): Favourites win comfortably, Thailand's Laohawirapap upsets Erigaisi

  The 46th Chess Olympiad began in Samarkand with 206 teams in the open section, where the United States, India, Uzbekistan and China are the leading seeds. The top 30 teams all won their opening matches, though a few strong grandmasters dropped points. Botswana produced the only team upset by holding Brazil to a draw, while Arjun Erigaisi suffered the biggest individual upset of the day, losing to Thailand's IM Prin Laohawirapap (pictured). | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz / FIDE

• That time Uzbekistan surprisingly won silver at the 1992 Chess Olympiad

  The 1992 Chess Olympiad in Manila was the first held after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Suddenly, instead of one dominant USSR team, there were several very strong teams representing former Soviet republics. Russia continued the Soviet Union's run of success. The surprise team from Uzbekistan, with just one grandmaster, took silver ahead of Armenia. In the women's event, Georgia won the gold medal. | Photo: Gerhard Hund

• 25 years ago  –  ChessBase news

  "Yesterday, in one of the most horrifying terrorist atrocities in history, the World Trade Center in New York was destroyed..." Those were the words with which we launched our brand new database-driven news page, on September 12, 2001. It was the very first report we filed. It had a special meaning for the world – but also for chess. Exactly six years earlier the World Chess Championship had been staged on the Observation Deck on the 107th floor.

• ChessBase´26 – Tips for Beginners, part 30: Use "Folders"

  ChessBase´26 is amazingly versatile and often surprisingly user-friendly — as the first 29 parts of this tutorial series have already shown! One particularly important feature in this context is the “Folders” window, which lets you quickly locate anything you want to use within your storage directories. In this episode, we’ll show you how to activate the window (in case it’s been disabled) and what you can view and work with there.

• Fridrik Olafsson Memorial

  Chess players, mark your calendars. The Icelandic Chess Federation, Goðinn Chess Club, and Reykjavík Chess Club are joining forces to present "Town and Country" – two spectacular tournaments that together offer 15 rounds of high-level chess in just 11 days, set against two of Iceland’s most contrasting backdrops. It all begins on Thursday, 19 November at 19:00. On Tuesday, 24 November, the Friðrik Ólafsson Memorial Tournament opens – honouring Iceland’s first grandmaster.