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• Yu Yangyi beats Ding Liren in final match, wins Shenzhen Masters

  At the Shenzhen Masters, China's leading players faced young talents. The matches were contested in a knockout format, with four rapid games per encounter. In the event of a draw, blitz tiebreaks decided the matches. Defending champion Ding Liren faced Yu Yangyi in the final match. After a lengthy battle, Yu Yangyi came out on top. | Photos: Chinese Chess Association

• US Championships - Live!

  The US Championships are taking place on 9-21 October at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Each tournament is a 12-player single round-robin with a classical time control. Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Levon Aronian are the highest-rated players in the open, while Carissa Yip, Alice Lee and Irina Krush head the women's field. | Follow the action live starting at 19.00 CEST (13.00 ET, 22.30 IST) | Pictured: Hans Niemann | Photo: Lennart Ootes

• Fagernes: Jumabayev takes title, Gloeckler secures second GM norm

  Fourteen-year-old Christian Gloeckler secured his second grandmaster norm at the International Autumn Tournament in Fagernes, Norway. Although the German youngster lost his final two games, this did not affect the norm he had already secured. Rinat Jumabayev, Tiger Hillarp Persson and G. B. Harshavardhan (pictured, left) shared first place with 7½/10 points each. | Photo: Anniken Vestby

• US Championships: Shankland and Woodward score

  Wesley So and Awonder Liang drew their direct encounter in round three of the US Championship, remaining tied for first place on 2½/3. Andy Woodward and Sam Shankland (pictured) scored victories, with Woodward joining Fabiano Caruana half a point behind the leaders. In the women's tournament, Alice Lee defeated Nazi Paikidze to join Thalia Cervantes and Megan Paragua in first place. Defending champion Carissa Yip suffered her second consecutive defeat. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

• Bundesliga: Viernheim and Baden-Baden set the early pace

  Defending champions SC Viernheim and perennial favourites OSG Baden-Baden are the only teams to have won all three matches in the opening weekend of the 2026/27 Chess Bundesliga. Viernheim lead on board points, while Bayern Munich sit third with 5/6 match points. The first three rounds saw encouraging results for promoted sides Bad Mergentheim and Remagen Sinzig, while Bayern Munich's Matic Lavrencic was the only player to score three wins in as many games. | Pictured: Viernheim's Aydin Suleymanli (2½/3 points) | Photo: Angelika Valkova

• The Chess Olympiad that wasn't: Munich 1936

  Among all the Chess Olympiads held throughout history, the 1936 tournament in Munich occupies a special place. FIDE did not officially recognise the event as a Chess Olympiad. Nevertheless, the competition between national teams met all the requirements. Like in 2026, the German team also won the bronze medal on this occasion. | Photos: Ferenc Chalupetzky / Tournament Book

• US Championships: So and Liang remain perfect, Paragua beats Yip

  Wesley So and Awonder Liang remain the only players with perfect scores in the open section of the US Championship after two rounds. Fabiano Caruana stands alone in third place, half a point behind. In the women's tournament, the two lowest-rated participants, Thalia Cervantes and 13-year-old Megan Paragua, share the lead on 2/2. Paragua defeated defending champion Carissa Yip, who blundered in an equal position. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Saint Louis Chess Club

• The strange comforts of superstition in chess

  Chess sells itself as a contest of calculation, where chance has been removed. Yet some elite players keep lucky pens, repeat outfits and meals, or give a cat a place in their pre-game routine. The interesting question is not whether a lucky charm can change a position on the board; it is why people reach for one when the result matters and control feels limited. | Pictured: Alexander Alekhine and his cat Chess (Amsterdam, 1935)

• Between the Silk Road and the chessboard - eight days in Uzbekistan

  Besides the spectacular Chess Olympiad, Uzbekistan and the city of Samarkand had much more to offer, including friendly people and 2,500 years of culture. Axel Eger attended the Olympiad and took the opportunity to explore the country and get to know its people. Here is his travel report. | Photos: Axel Eger

• Review: Robert Ris' FritzTrainers on openings, calculation and strategic thinking (Part 2)

  In recent years, Robert Ris has made a name for himself as a creator of opening courses. He also hosts a regular ChessBase show on opening trends, in which he examines the latest developments. Lukas Köpl has taken a closer look at Ris's opening courses and offers an assessment.