The Uzbek GM, 21, has a half-point edge, but rivals from his own country, the Netherlands, Germany, the US, and Turkey are all within one point

Nodirbek Abdusattorov still has a narrow lead as the “chess Wimbledon” at Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee heads into its final three rounds this weekend, but the Uzbek, 21, is battling to stay ahead of a quintet of rivals after being held to two draws and a loss in his last three games.

Leading scores after 10 of the 13 rounds are Abdusattorov 6.5, Javokhir Sindarov (Uzbekistan), Matthias Blübaum (Germany) and Jorden van Foreest (Netherlands) 6, Hans Niemann (US) and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (Turkey) 5.5. The world champion, Gukesh Dommaraju, is among three players on 5.

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© Photograph: Noushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Noushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Noushad Thekkayil/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Four points separate first from eighth in the Ekstraklasa and the aim is to establish Europe’s most interesting league as its sixth biggest

The temperature will be far below zero when Zaglebie Lubin and GKS Katowice restart Poland’s top flight on Friday evening. A bitter new wave of winter is about to hit central and eastern Europe, forecasts suggesting this is only the start. When the surprise Ekstraklasa leaders, Wisla Plock, play Rakow Czestochowa two days later the thermometer may plummet to -12C. It will take serious resolve to make these games happen but, after a break of almost two months, appetites to get back up and running are strong.

Why would they not be? The Polish league is in its best shape for at least 30 years, feeling the benefit of a booming economy that is outperforming most of its European Union peers. Attendances are soaring and its football infrastructure, whose transformation was catalysed by co-hosting Euro 2012, sets standards for much of the continent. Then there is the remarkable way in which this season’s competition is poised. The gap between first and eighth is only four points; even Bruk-Bet Termalica Nieciecza, at the bottom, are only 11 points from the summit.

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© Photograph: Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

© Photograph: Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

© Photograph: Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Saunas, island-hopping, mountain hikes, great design and cosy cafes abound in our readers’ treasured memories of the Nordic countries
• Tell us about a romantic break in Europe – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucher

A week’s hiking in Jotunheimen national park (230 miles north of Oslo) last summer brought me tranquillity and peace. During four days of challenging hiking and wild camping through the area we saw hardly anyone else, having entire lush green valleys and still glacial lakes to ourselves. We were fortunate to have stunning weather throughout and, despite it being July, still had a reasonable amount of snow to traverse. Norway has a fantastic network of signposted trails and huts which can be found on the Norwegian Trekking Association website.
Ben

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© Photograph: imageBROKER.com/Alamy

© Photograph: imageBROKER.com/Alamy

© Photograph: imageBROKER.com/Alamy

A psychologist’s gripping guide to surviving dark nights of the soul offers both comfort and insight

I’m proud of how mild-mannered my midlife crisis is. While the cliche involves the purchase of a Porsche or a frantic fling with a colleague, I’ve mainly fallen back into the geeky preoccupations of my youth, such as founding poetry clubs and playing niche racket sports. Nevertheless, on the cusp of turning 50, and having just been beaten by my 11-year-old at Scrabble, I’m thrilled to have found a book that addresses my small struggle: an elegant discourse on the deep wisdom that I’m hoping will characterise my remaining years.

First, the author, a clinical psychologist named Frank Tallis, diagnoses the problem. Following some of the arguments in Ernest Becker’s 1973 study The Denial of Death, he proposes that such crises are at least partly the result of the western reluctance to face mortality. In Britain, we eschew open coffins, for instance. When our relatives die, as my mother did two years ago, they die in a hospital rather than at home. We can hardly even bring ourselves to say “die”, preferring euphemisms such as “pass away”. In this Instagram age, our lives are dominated by filters and distractions. The crisis strikes when reality can’t be held at bay any longer. We lose our parents. Then we notice, inevitably, that we are now at the front of the queue.

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© Photograph: Heritage Images/Getty Images

© Photograph: Heritage Images/Getty Images

© Photograph: Heritage Images/Getty Images

Tenth edition showcases Belgian talent and introduces global themes and artists in a celebration of creativity

Where better to be in the midst of Belgium’s biting winter but in the warmth of Lee Shulman’s creation, The House. Cloaked in cosy mid-century nostalgia, the staging of this flagship exhibition at Hangar Gallery sets a fitting scene for Shulman’s collection of found photography, The Anonymous Project. The playful curation features all manner of family snaps from holidays to birthday parties, and sees characters peeping out of kitchen cupboards or lounging on the beach, photographed through the window of a caravan. The effect is a seductive step into the past, even if only the past of your dreams.

All the furniture used in the staging of The House has been sourced from online websites

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© Photograph: Alexander Glyadyelov

© Photograph: Alexander Glyadyelov

© Photograph: Alexander Glyadyelov

The late night host said, “Not since ‘The Terminator’ has there been this much excitement for a movie about a European cyborg.”

Older men seen as ‘gaining wisdom’ but women must keep looking younger or be ‘idiosyncratic’, review hears

Older women disappear from presenting roles across the BBC while older men are regarded as “gaining gravitas and wisdom”, according to an internal review of the broadcaster’s record on representation.

A “noticeable mismatch” in the number of staff and freelance male and female presenters over the age of 60 was uncovered by the review.

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© Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC

© Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC

© Photograph: Jeff Overs/BBC

Pre-2008, voters with prosperous and improving lives didn’t mind being excluded from the conversation. Those days are over

Who was the last politician you listened to for any length of time? Perhaps it was Andy Burnham or Zack Polanski. Or maybe it was Wes Streeting, Nigel Farage or Zarah Sultana. Perhaps your dark secret is that it was Donald Trump.

One thing these politicians have in common is that they are all unusually good communicators. From Farage’s drawling provocations to Polanski’s pithy directness, Sultana’s concentrated blasts of outrage to Trump’s mesmerising ramblings, they compel you to listen. The completely forgettable passages that voters across western democracies have associated with political speech for decades are largely absent.

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© Illustration: Nathalie Lees/The Guardian

© Illustration: Nathalie Lees/The Guardian

© Illustration: Nathalie Lees/The Guardian

When temperatures drop suddenly, trapped water can freeze and expand, splitting trunks with a gunshot-like sound

During the recent cold spell in the northern US, meteorologists issued warnings about exploding trees.

A tree’s first line of defence against freezing is its bark, which provides efficient insulation. In cold conditions, trees also enter a form of hibernation, with changes at a cellular level: cells dehydrate, harden and shrink, increasing their sugar concentration. This is the botanical equivalent of adding antifreeze, helping to prevent the formation of ice crystals.

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© Photograph: Scott Wilson/Alamy

© Photograph: Scott Wilson/Alamy

© Photograph: Scott Wilson/Alamy

The Institute for Public Policy Research also argues that tech companies must pay publishers for content they use

AI-generated news should carry “nutrition” labels and tech companies must pay publishers for the content they use, according to a left-of-centre thinktank, amid rising use of the technology as a source for current affairs.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said AI firms were rapidly emerging as the new “gatekeepers” of the internet and intervention was needed to create a healthy AI news environment.

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© Photograph: mundissima/Alamy

© Photograph: mundissima/Alamy

© Photograph: mundissima/Alamy

A richly textured and zingy loaf cake to enjoy with a cuppa

Anything bright and zingy is particularly welcome in January, even more so when it’s in the form of cake. I always have an odd end of marzipan after the festive season, and this is a great way to use it up and bring that cosy almond flavour. The marzipan gets blitzed into the butter for a plush-textured loaf cake, and comes together in minutes thanks to simply putting everything in a food processor.

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© Photograph: Rita Platts/The Guardian. Food styling: Aya Nishimura. Prop styling: Florence Blair. Food styling assistant: Isobel Clarke.

© Photograph: Rita Platts/The Guardian. Food styling: Aya Nishimura. Prop styling: Florence Blair. Food styling assistant: Isobel Clarke.

© Photograph: Rita Platts/The Guardian. Food styling: Aya Nishimura. Prop styling: Florence Blair. Food styling assistant: Isobel Clarke.

Leather, lace and an unexpected accessory or two will perfectly complement bold legwear choices

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© Composite: PR

© Composite: PR

© Composite: PR

The countries that invest in youth now will be the ones that define global innovation in the coming years

• Monica Geingos is founder of Leadership Lab Yetu and former first lady of Namibia

For the first time in our history, more than 70% of Africans are under the age of 30. This, along with entrenched inequalities, poverty, unemployment and socioeconomic fault lines, is reshaping how our societies interact with one another and the world.

This is Africa’s most consequential decade. Leaders who take office over the next 10 years will have to deliver on difficult mandates within a political, economic and social landscape that has been fundamentally altered.

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© Photograph: Topia Salone/The Guardian

© Photograph: Topia Salone/The Guardian

© Photograph: Topia Salone/The Guardian

Book The Crown’s Silence details how crown profited from and protected trade in enslaved African people for centuries

MPs, experts and campaigners have called on King Charles to make a formal apology for transatlantic slavery, after research highlighted how the British crown and Royal Navy extended and protected the trade in enslaved African people for hundreds of years.

The king has previously expressed “personal sorrow” at the suffering caused by slavery and has spoken of committing to “finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure”. However, the British crown has never issued a formal apology.

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© Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

© Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

© Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA

More than 300 brown hairstreak butterfly eggs discovered near Llandeilo this winter after decade of decline

Record numbers of eggs of the rare brown hairstreak butterfly have been found in south-west Wales after landowners stopped flailing hedges every year.

The butterfly lays its eggs on blackthorn every summer. But when land managers and farmers mechanically cut hedges every autumn, thousands of the eggs are unknowingly destroyed.

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© Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

© Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

© Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Chaos! Disaster! Even if it’s not your fault, whatever you’ve been doing up until now hasn’t worked has it

• Sign up here to get an email whenever First Dog cartoons are published

• Get all your needs met at the First Dog shop if what you need is First Dog merchandise and prints

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© Illustration: First Dog on the Moon/The Guardian

© Illustration: First Dog on the Moon/The Guardian

© Illustration: First Dog on the Moon/The Guardian

How does it feel when ICE agents swarm your city? Minneapolis residents on why they are rising up

Since the beginning of January, thousands of ICE agents have been deployed to the city. Confusion, violence and chaos followed. Two people have been killed, hundreds have disappeared – but that’s not the full story. Because thousands of residents in the city have been mobilising.

Annie Kelly spoke to five people living in Minneapolis about how they have been taking on ICE – and the consequences. Patty O’Keefe explains what it’s like to be a legal observer, and how ICE agents smashed her windows and detained her. Jenny talks about why her childhood experience of her father being detained by ICE has pushed her to stand up for others. A teacher explains how the city has changed and an organiser on why tactics have had to change as ICE strategies have developed. “We all grab a whistle before we leave. I know it’s a joke here. Make sure you’ve got your keys, phone, wallet, gloves, and now your whistle.”

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© Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

• British No 1 has had nine different coaches in her career

• ‘I will cherish the times we spent together,’ says Raducanu

Emma Raducanu will begin a fresh search for a coach after the British No 1 confirmed she has split with Francisco Roig after her early loss at the Australian Open last week.

Raducanu, who had worked with Roig for six months, said in a statement on social media: “Thank you for our time together. You have been more than a coach to me and I will cherish the many times we spent together on and off the court. While we have come to the conclusion together that we ought not to move forward, please know that I’m very grateful for all you have taught me and our time shared.”

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© Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters

© Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters

© Photograph: Tingshu Wang/Reuters

Federal prosecutors recommended US District Court Judge Angel Kelley sentence Cannon-Grant to 18 months in prison. 

'Romeo + Juliet' star tells supporters of immigration agency not to watch his movies in Instagram video.

"It's not what it was. Everyone is thinking twice about going there at the moment."

"The biggest problem is that by the time that people find out they've got it, it's too late," she said.

See all the stars on the red carpet.

The Santa Rosa City Council just gave a thumbs-up to a plan that would allow people to wander the sidewalks with open containers of booze.