Plane of the Week and Weekly Newsletter 10/7/2025
PLANES & CHESS WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
10/7/2025
Plane of the Week: The Stratolaunch
The massive Stratolaunch, with a wingspan double that of the Boeing 747, is the largest plane by wingspan ever to fly, and the current world's largest plane, as the An-225 was destroyed. Powered by six massive adapted 747 engines, two fuselages, and a gigantic wing broken into three segments, the Stratolaunch was intended to be used as a launch platform for hypersonic vehicles. Of its two “cockpits”, only the right-side (port) cockpit houses the crew. The other is primarily used to house electric generators, and Stratolaunch’s engineers made the two look identical for design simplicity. The Stratolaunch completed its first test flight in 2019 and has since flown 24 times.
Gambit of the Week: The Scotch Gambit
The Scotch Gambit is an incredible gambit for White that leads to many incredible traps. It can either begin with the Reti, or begin with King's Pawn, and it involves White sacrificing the d-pawn for some interesting trickery. It’s incredibly fun to play, and is an absolute minefield for Black. Above I have added a trap in the Scotch, and below I have linked GM Igor Smirnov’s guide to traps in the Scotch (because we all love a good opening trap).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSCxyqVe0-Q&t=143s
News
US vs. India match concludes: The United States’ match against India has wrapped up Arlington, Texas with the US winning 5-0. The competition’s unusual rules included no resignations or draw offers, a weird time setup, and it toyed with a novel “stadium” environment, where the crowd was encouraged to cheer and make noise for their team. GM Hikaru Nakamura seemed to embrace this new concept by throwing GM Gukesh Dommaraju’s king into the crowd and waving his arms in the air.
Weekly Chess Riddle
I am a state where every move you make,
No matter which piece for position's sake,
Will only worsen what you had before.
Your choices vanish, you can do no more
Than damage to your own carefully laid plan.
I am the feeling of the trapped player, man.
What am I?
Trophies will be awarded to the first correct answer. The answer and explanation will be in the next edition.
Previous Riddle Answer:
The answer was castling.
Club Happenings
Red signifies “new” news
New Member: Planes & Chess would like to welcome its newest member, F-22_Raptor2025!
Investigative Report Series: Planes & Chess, in the next few months, will "publish" an investigative series that covers aviation mysteries (disappearing planes, aviation conspiracy theories, UFOs, etc.
Dogfight Chess: Please join the latest Planes & Chess Dogfight Chess Tournament!
Vote Chess: We are playing in numerous vote chess matches against KLM Airlines, ISM Chess Crew, Baseball Chess Crew, and others. Good luck and play well!
Tournament Tracker
Dogfight Chess (Status: None):
Club Daily Match (Status: None):
Regular Daily Chess (Status: open for registration):
https://www.chess.com/tournament/planes-chess-presents-daily-chess
Chess960 Daily Chess (Status: open for registration):
https://www.chess.com/tournament/planes-chess960
Vote Chess (Status: open for registration):
https://www.chess.com/votechess/game/374078
https://www.chess.com/votechess/game/395945
Member Activity
Member @lucasli17 was the most active member this week! Great job!
To compete to be listed, post in the forums, chat, answer the riddle, and partake in other club-related activities.
Editor’s Note
Happy October, and welcome to the twelfth edition of the Planes & Chess Weekly Newsletter! I would like to welcome our new member! As I mentioned in the “Club Happenings” section, I will be making investigative reports on aviation mysteries in the hopefully near future. They will cover UFOs, disappearances, black projects, and everything in between, and I will try to make the reports as entertaining and intriguing as possible. I'll work out the exact format shortly, and hope to publish one monthly/every two months. In addition, we continue to work out changes to be compatible with our survey responses. Changes we will be making will be announced in the Club Happenings Section and/or a separate announcement as they happen.
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this edition. All suggestions for Plane of the Week and other Newsletter suggestions can be placed in the Suggestions Center forum. Have a great day!
