We start our speedy roundup with the penultimate round of the Kings Tournament in Bucharest. It took a while, but at last another decisive result is in the books: Veselin Topalov defeated Liviu-Dieter Nispeanu in a game that is reminiscent of his old, top form: an interesting and dangerous opening idea followed by constant pressure, often leading to his opponent's collapse. Meanwhile, Fabiano...

In October, after the tournament director at my local chess club had seen me lose game after game over the previous month to players of a caliber I used to handle easily, he said to me—meaning to be kind, I believe—“I’m not willing to say you’ve lost it yet.” What is this “it”? Apparently in [...]

The Rector Cup MGSU “Our Heritage” was held on 8-11th November at the Moscow State Civil Engineering University. The tournament was played over 11 rounds of Swiss system, with time control of 15 minutes per game plus 10 seconds per move. The reigning Russian champion Dmitry Andreikin edged the 2011 European champion Vladimir Potkin on [...]

The 21st Annual Kings Island Open was held on November 9-11, 2012 at the Kings Island Resort, 5691 Kings Island Drive (I-71, 6 mi north of I-275), Mason, near Cincinnati, Ohio. The event had 7 sections: Open, Under 2100, Under 1900, Under 1700, Under 1500, Under 1250 and Under 1000. Each section has either 3-day [...]

WIth over 60% of the votes Makropoulos wins the elections

Results, games, and information from round 1.

(Από σχόλιο του Γεωργίου Μαστροκούκου)Τα αποτελέσματα των σημερινών αρχαιρεσιών στην Ελληνική Σκακιστική Ομοσπονδία: 1. Σκακιστική Συνεργασία (Mακρόπουλος): 123 ψήφοι και 16 έδρες, ποσοστό 61,5% 2. Νέα Σκακιστική Κίνηση...

Ψήφισαν: 204 Σκακιστική Συνεργασία – Κίνηση Zugzwang (επικεφαλής: Μακρόπουλος) 123 ψήφοι Νέα Σκακιστική Κίνηση (επικεφαλής: Αντωνιάδης) 48 ψήφοι Κίνηση για την Αλλαγή (επικεφαλής: Σπυρακόπουλος) 29 ψήφοι 3 λευκά – 1 άκυρο 16...

Last week my 10 year old son received the following email from the English Chess Federation, and checking with other parents it seems that several other junior members also got a copy: Dear Sam, If you are new to membership of the ECF, then welcome. This is the first email we have sent to members [...]

Chess books come in many different genres, and even with each genre there are different ways books can be excellent. One's "favorite" chess book might not do a thing for one's skill over the board, while some books that may be fantastic for training may be deadly dull in any other context. Rather than get bogged down soliciting opinions about your "favorite" chess book or the one you consider the...

The Kings Tournament in Bucharest continues to produce draws, but again it's not for want of trying as both of the games could and probably should have seen White come out on top. Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu obtained a big advantage against Vassily Ivanchuk on the white side of a Winawer French (Hook Variation) and missed several opportunities to win. First was 30.Nxd5. Maybe he was in time trouble...

The 24th Roquetas de Mar Chess Festival is set to take place from 2nd to 6th January, 2013, at the Bahia Serena Hotel in Roquetas de Mar (Almería), Spain. The Festival consists of the General Tournament (9-round Swiss) and the U2150 Tournament (7-round Swiss). The players can not carry electronic communication devices and accessories, except [...]

With a little spare time at Frankfurt Airport I thought I’d let you all know what’s been happening in the Bundesliga this season. After Remagen were relegated – too many 3.5-4.5 upsets, not that my 10 draws and 1 loss helped particularly, I switched to Solingen this season. Solingen came 3rd last year and with [...]

The Italian Chess Championship 2012 was held from 30th October to 10th November at the NH Hotel Ambasciatori (corso Vittorio Emanuele 104) in Torino. This was the first time that Torino hosted the prestigious event. Twelve players competed in the round robin tournament. The four-time champion Fabiano Caruana – winner in 2007, 2008, 2010 and [...]

Το τουρνουά Κάππα-63 διεξάγεται με σύστημα πουλ μονών συναντήσεων. Τα κριτήρια άρσης ισοβαθμίας είναι: Α. Το αποτέλεσμα μεταξύ των εμπλεκομένων ισόβαθμων παικτών, Β. Sonnenborn-Berger (δηλ. το άθροισμα των βαθμολογιών των...