6 Hit the Board

What do football players do on a plane? The stars of Borussia Dortmund don’t mind a game of chess!

8 NIC’s Café 

A chess challenge to aliens, a super-fast King’s Gambit, and Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann have buried the hatchet and seem ready to play each other again.

12 Your Move

Are we at that point in history that soon all possible 30-move starting sequences in chess games will have been played? Let’s do the math.

14 Carlsen Conquers Last Peak

He has come to find classical chess ‘stressful and boring’ and he was even wondering what on earth he was doing at the World Cup in Baku. Still, Magnus Carlsen was delighted and relieved when finally he won that one big prize that so far had eluded him.

19 Celeb64: Charles Leclerc

22 Infographic

The rise of the East in numbers.

30 Fair & Square

‘Firefighting is a chess game with Mother Nature’, warns Mike Morrow.

52 Interview: Praggnanandhaa

With his tremendous performance in the World Cup, Praggnanandhaa qualified for the Candidates and entered the world’s top-20. A good moment for a frank and spontaneous talk.

58 Norway’s Got Talent

Magnus Carlsen’s successes turned Norway into a chess-loving country. But are there enough up-and-coming players to keep the fire burning? Magnus’s first coach presents three new Norwegians that are making strides.

68 Week In, Week Out

The chess institution fondly known to everyone as TWIC reached a landmark anniversary with the publication of edition number 1500.

72 How to prepare your openings

Preparing openings becomes a lot more effective – and a lot more fun – if you stick to a couple of guidelines.

76 Adult Improvement

Bring on the data. James Altucher would love to see chess ‘Moneyballed’.

79 Maximize Your Tactics

Find the right moves.

80 Pragg’s on the prowl

Judit Polgar shows samples of the young Indian’s stunning talent from the tournament he won in Budapest on the eve of the World Cup.

85 What would you play?

Test your decision-making skills with Thomas ‘Toolbox’ Willemze.

90 Sadler on Books

As he was enjoying a classic book on Rubinstein (1882-1961), Matthew Sadler began wondering about the merits of pre-computer writers now that engines have deepened our understanding of chess and altered our views.

96 Ju Wenjun remains World Champion

Jan Timman looks at the highlights of a tense battle that was decided in the very last game.

105 They are The Champions

Barbara Skuhala is the national women’s champion of Slovenia.

106 Just Checking

Which three people would Sagar Shah like to invite for dinner?