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The Opening: Daily Chess News from First Look Chess

by First Look Chess

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Latest episodes

The Opening, Oct 27: Timur Turlov unveils a new FIDE structure

October 27, 2026 · 6 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: FIDE President Timur Turlov unveiled a new organizational structure for the…
The Opening, Oct 26: Andrew Tang shares first at Eastern Chess Congress

October 26, 2026 · 5 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: GM Andrew Tang, No. 21 on the US Chess overall list, shared first in the Premier…
The Opening, Oct 25: Hikaru Nakamura takes a seventh straight Bullet Brawl

October 25, 2026 · 5 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: Hikaru Nakamura won Bullet Brawl for a seventh consecutive Saturday, scoring 178…
The Opening, Oct 24: Lichess ends its boycott of US Chess

October 24, 2026 · 5 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: Lichess has ended its 2023 boycott of US Chess and will resume official…
The Opening, Oct 23: Wesley So takes the national title

October 23, 2026 · 6 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: Wesley So is U.S. Champion for a fourth time, beating Fabiano Caruana 1.5-0.5 in…

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The Opening, Oct 22: Rachael Li is US Women’s Champion

October 22, 2026 · 4 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: Rachael Li, 16, is U.S. Women's Champion in her debut, drawing Anna Zatonskih in…
The Opening, Oct 21: Wesley So a draw from a fourth title

October 21, 2026 · 7 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: Wesley So drew Hans Niemann in under an hour in round 10 of the U.S. Championship…
The Opening, Oct 20: Rachael Li beats Nazi Paikidze to lead

October 20, 2026 · 5 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: Rachael Li, 16, beat Nazi Paikidze in round nine to lead the U.S. Women's…
The Opening, Oct 19: Favorites keep winning at the European Club Cup

October 19, 2026 · 5 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: The favorites kept winning in round two of the European Club Cup in Budva: Wei…
The Opening, Oct 18: Wesley So beats Andy Woodward to lead alone

October 18, 2026 · 5 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: Wesley So beat Andy Woodward in a pawn endgame in round eight of the U.S…
The Opening, Oct 17: Wesley So leads alone after beating Ray Robson

October 17, 2026 · 6 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: Wesley So is the sole leader of the U.S. Championship on 5/7 after fighting back…
The Opening, Oct 16: Caruana and Liang join the leaders

October 16, 2026 · 7 min

Every story in this episode is in the First Look Chess newsletter, with the links, the games, and the PGNs to download: firstlookchess.com In this episode: Fabiano Caruana beat Sam Shankland with Black and Awonder Liang beat Levon…

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About the show

Daily chess news in about five minutes: the results, the players and the decisions that matter to American chess, every morning. The Opening is the audio edition of First Look Chess, a daily newsletter for players, organizers, coaches and serious fans. Each episode covers the top five stories of the day — the Olympiad and the world championship cycle, the US Championships and US Chess national events, norms and rating milestones, federation news and the business of chess — drawn from the newsletter's morning edition, with facts checked against sources before they are read. The full edition, with links, games and PGNs to download, is available for subscribers at firstlookchess.com. Read by a synthetic voice. Powered by AI, guided by human expertise. (Note: Some names will be mispronounced at first; we fix each one as we hear it.)