The Opening: Daily Chess News from First Look Chess
The Opening is a daily chess news podcast that delivers the day's most important stories in about five minutes, focused on American chess. It is the audio edition of the First Look Chess newsletter, aimed at players, organizers, coaches and serious fans. Each episode covers the top five stories, including the Olympiad and world championship cycle, US Championships and other national events, rating milestones and norms, federation news and the business of chess. Facts are checked against sources before being read, and the full edition with links, games and downloadable PGNs is available to subscribers at firstlookchess.com. The show is read by a synthetic voice, powered by AI but guided by human expertise.
Episodes
The Opening, Oct 13: Caruana joins So in the championship lead
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 Ray Robson in a 77-move rook endgame in round four of the U.S. Championship to join Wesley So in the lead on 3/4. Jeffery Xiong beat co-leader Awonder Liang, and Hans Niemann and Grigoriy Oparin also won.
Alice Lee beat 13
The Opening, Oct 12: Shankland and Woodward win in round three
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:
Sam Shankland and Andy Woodward won the two decisive games of round three at the U.S. Championship, Shankland beating Jeffery Xiong and Woodward beating Ray Robson, while co-leaders Awonder Liang and Wesley So drew in 30 moves and stay level o
The Opening, Oct 11: Wesley So and Awonder Liang share the lead
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 and Awonder Liang won again in round two of the U.S. Championship to share the lead on 2/2 and meet each other on Sunday with Liang holding White; Fabiano Caruana beat his second, Grigoriy Oparin, in the last game to finish, after 73
The Opening, Oct 10: So, Liang and Xiong lead in Saint Louis
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 one at the U.S. Championship in Saint Louis, So beating Sam Shankland in 80 moves on his 33rd birthday, Liang beating Hans Niemann and Xiong beating Sam Sevian; F
The Opening, Oct 9: Caruana and Yip defend titles in Saint Louis
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 Louis Chess Club with every member of both Olympiad teams in the fields: Fabiano Caruana, aiming for a fifth title in a row, and Carissa Yip, seeking a fourth in a ro
The Opening, Oct 8: Ukraine’s federation seeks treason case against Podolyak
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 treason case against Mykhailo Podolyak, the presidential adviser who became a FIDE vice president alongside former Russian sports minister Pavel Kolobkov, LIGA.net r
The Opening, Oct 7: Three Afghan Olympiad players held in Kabul
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 players held under house arrest in Kabul, a source close to president Timur Turlov tells EL PAÍS, and Spain's sports minister has written to Turlov and the IOC a
The Opening, Oct 6: Hikaru Nakamura sets a blitz rating record
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 platform, RookReview reports; the previous mark of 3488 was his own, set last week.
Christopher Woojin Yoo, No. 3 on the US Chess Under 21 list, won the 43rd Annual Re
The Opening, Oct 5: Wesley So backs Pacquiao’s new federation
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 Philippines, the new body chaired by Manny Pacquiao, in a statement released by NUCFP officials to Manila media.
Court records date Russia's suit against FID
The Opening, Oct 4: Awonder Liang wins the Seirawan Chess Championship again
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 Championship for a second time, and Hikaru Nakamura's fourth straight Bullet Brawl set a record for wins in a single year.
Aditeya Das, born 2011, beat GM Steven Zierk in ro
The Opening, Oct 3: Ethan Guo and Aditeya Das win in Chicago
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 Norm Invitational, Aiden Linyuan Li, born 2016, beat GM Brian Escalante Ramirez in the IM-norm group, and Das then lost to Artemii Khanbutaev in round five.
Matt
The Opening, Oct 2: Artemii Khanbutaev beats Sam Schmakel in Chicago
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:
Artemii Khanbutaev, born 2012, beat IM Sam Schmakel in round three of the Chicago Fall GM/IM Norm Invitational 2026 after drawing GM Aleksey Sorokin, and is unbeaten through three rounds of the GM-norm group.
The October FIDE list counts 34,06
The Opening, Oct 1: Aditeya Das beats Sam Schmakel in Chicago
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:
Aditeya Das, born 2011, beat IM Sam Schmakel in the opening round of the Chicago Fall GM/IM Norm Invitational 2026, a US-soil norm event with American players in both its GM and IM groups.
The October FIDE list puts Alice Lee at the top of the
The Opening, Sept 30: Wesley So wins Titled Tuesday
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 won Tuesday's Titled Tuesday on 9.5/11, his first of 2026, after opening 7/7 and drawing his last three games while the boards around him also drew.
Three of the four Afghanistan-based players who traveled to the Samarkand Olympiad w
The Opening, Sept 29: Carissa Yip takes Olympiad board one silver
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:
US Chess's closing Olympiad report adds Carissa Yip's board-one silver to Alice Lee's board-two gold and Levon Aronian's board-four bronze. It also says Yip's 2601 performance missed a GM norm only because she met two grandmasters, one fewer t
The Opening, Sept 28: Team USA beats Turkiye and finishes fourth
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:
Team USA beat Turkiye 3-1 in the last round of the 46th Chess Olympiad and finished fourth. The top seeds tied with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Hungary on 17 match points, a point behind the silver and bronze medalists.
The US women beat Romania 3
The Opening, Sept 27: Team USA beats Greece at the Olympiad
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:
Team USA beat Greece 3-1 in round ten of the 46th Chess Olympiad, with wins from Levon Aronian and Awonder Liang, and enters the final round sixth on 15 match points against Turkiye, with Fabiano Caruana back to face Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus.
The U
The Opening, Sept 26: Uzbekistan beat Team USA in Samarkand
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:
Uzbekistan beat Team USA 2½-1½ in round nine of the 46th Chess Olympiad — Wesley So's win over Javokhir Sindarov was outweighed by losses for Fabiano Caruana and Hans Niemann — and the Americans drop to 11th on 13 match points with two rounds
The Opening, Sept 25: Team USA beats Serbia at the Chess Olympiad
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:
Team USA beat Serbia 3½-½ in round eight of the 46th Chess Olympiad — Fabiano Caruana, Hans Niemann and Awonder Liang all won — and sits sixth on 13 match points, one match point behind co-leaders Uzbekistan and Germany, with the hosts waiting
The Opening, Sept 24: Team USA draws Armenia at the Olympiad
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:
Team USA drew 2-2 with Armenia in round seven of the 46th Chess Olympiad — Awonder Liang won on board four, Wesley So lost a rook ending on board two — and sits 13th on 11 match points ahead of Thursday's match with Serbia on table four.
The U
The Opening, Sept 23: Team USA meets Armenia as the Olympiad resumes
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:
Team USA meets Armenia on table two when the Olympiad resumes Wednesday, with Levon Aronian not lined up against his former federation; the US women, without Alice Lee on FIDE's card, face Switzerland with Carissa Yip against Alexandra Kosteni
The Opening, Sept 22: Team USA splits its Olympiad matches
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:
Team USA split its round-six Olympiad matches on the eve of the rest day: the Open team beat Norway 2½-1½ on Hans Niemann's board-three win, while the women lost 1-3 to defending champions India.
Uzbekistan beat India 2½-1½ and leads the Olymp
The Opening, Sept 21: Germany hands the United States its first defeat
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 United States lost 1½–2½ to Germany in round five of the 46th Chess Olympiad, its first defeat of the event, and dropped to 11th on 8 match points and 13.5 game points; Awonder Liang returns on board four for Monday's match with Norway.
Th
The Opening, Sept 20: Team USA beats Ukraine at the Olympiad
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:
Team USA beat Ukraine 3½-½ in round four of the 46th Chess Olympiad and goes to table two against Germany on Sunday, with Levon Aronian winning chess.com's Game of the Day from a position he called "dead lost".
The US women lead the Women's Ol
The Opening, Sept 19: Team USA gets past Denmark in Samarkand
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:
Team USA needed two wins on the middle boards to get past 25th-seeded Denmark 2½–1½ in round three of the 46th Chess Olympiad: Wesley So (FIDE 2774) beat Jesper Thybo (2579) with a queen sacrifice chess.com called "a quick and beautiful win" a
The Opening, Sept 18: Team USA edges Mongolia in Samarkand
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:
Team USA edged Mongolia 2½–1½ in round two of the 46th Chess Olympiad: Fabiano Caruana (FIDE 2789) won his first game of the event on board one and Levon Aronian (2725) converted a narrow win, after Awonder Liang (2693) lost on board four to I
The Opening, Sept 17: Team USA opens the Olympiad in Samarkand
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:
Team USA opened the 46th Chess Olympiad with a 3½–½ win over Iraq, Fabiano Caruana rested and Wesley So (FIDE 2774) leading from board one, as Hans Niemann won his Olympiad debut in 23 moves and Levon Aronian was held to a draw by 2163-rated C
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