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The Opening: Daily Chess News from First Look Chess

by First Look Chess

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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.)

Latest episodes

The Opening, Oct 10: So, Liang and Xiong lead in Saint Louis

October 10, 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: Wesley So, Awonder Liang and Jeffery Xiong won the three decisive games of round…
The Opening, Oct 9: Caruana and Yip defend titles in Saint Louis

October 9, 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: The U.S. Championship and U.S. Women's Championship begin today at the Saint…
The Opening, Oct 8: Ukraine’s federation seeks treason case against Podolyak

October 8, 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: Ukraine's chess federation has asked the country's security service to open a…
The Opening, Oct 7: Three Afghan Olympiad players held in Kabul

October 7, 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: FIDE is pursuing "very discreet diplomatic actions" for the three Afghan Olympiad…
The Opening, Oct 6: Hikaru Nakamura sets a blitz rating record

October 6, 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: Hikaru Nakamura's chess.com blitz rating has reached 3500, a record for the…
The Opening, Oct 5: Wesley So backs Pacquiao’s new federation

October 5, 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: Wesley So has given his "full support" to the National United Chess Federation of…
The Opening, Oct 4: Awonder Liang wins the Seirawan Chess Championship again

October 4, 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: Awonder Liang won all 12 of his games to take the 2026 Seirawan Chess…
The Opening, Oct 3: Ethan Guo and Aditeya Das win in Chicago

October 3, 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: Ethan Guo and Aditeya Das each beat an IM in round four of the Chicago Fall GM/IM…