In early versions of chess the queen was a pretty useless piece, moving only one square diagonally. When the new rules were introduced in the latter half of the 15th century the queen became the all-powerful piece we’re all familiar with today. She was sometimes known, it’s said, as the Mad Queen. Perhaps this game … Continue reading "The Mad Queen"

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Εδώ και έξι χρόνια έχει μπει στη των Ανωγειανών το σκάκι και εξαπλώνεται συνεχώς. Οι κάτοικοι της κωμόπολης του Ρεθύμνου, παίζουν καθημερινά. Στην αίθουσα του Σκακιστικού Ομίλου αλλά και στα καφενεία. Έτσι εξηγείται...

With the World Chess Championship in full swing and plenty of disappointed fans who don’t like an endless series of drawn games, I thought I’d talk about why there are times you should play for a draw. Knowing when to play for a draw is something beginners and intermediate players should consider incorporate into their … Continue reading "Playing for a Draw"

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The 2018 4th quarter FIDE Presidential Board, and the first in mandate of new FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, was held from 8-9th November at the Chelsea football club in London. Highlights: - FIDE budget increased by 150% - Still no bank account - A new super-body formed for day-to-day ruling - Kirsan Ilyumzhinov’s people in [...]

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Whenever it comes to reasons to sacrifice, the first thought is to create a fascinating attack or beautiful combination. This game is a bit different, Gary Kasparov sacrificed a bishop on f6 which improved the quality of pawns on e4 and f5, the rook on f1 and the bishop on e4. It was also quite … Continue reading "Sacrificing to Improve the Quality of Other Pieces"

Νοεμβριάτικα καιρικά φαινόμενα στην Ελλάδα σήμερα οπότε στη φωτογραφία επιστρέφουμε σε μια μέρα καλοκαιριού στην Ινβερνές, στη Σκωτία όπου παιδιά παίζουν σκάκι σε μια υπέροχη γοτθική αυλή. Μια πόλη γεμάτη θρύλους που...

World champion Magnus Carlsen, who is currently defending his title in London, will once again participate in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament next January, the organisation announced today. Five other players of the world’s top ten grandmasters will participate: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (3), Ding Liren (4), Anish Giri (5), Vladimir Kramnik (7) and Viswanathan Anand (8). [...]

In Memoriam IM-ICCF Valer Vasile Demian December 15, 1934 – November 16, 2018 My father was a chess player. He took an amateur level family passion for the game to a correspondence chess National Championship title (1968), three ICCF Coppa Latina Europe titles (1st, 2nd and 3rd editions) with team Romania (he was team captain … Continue reading "My Checkered Road"

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Υποψήφιος δήμαρχος Αθηναίων το 1986, σε γύρο της Αθήνας με ποδήλατα Η πιο σημαντική εκδήλωση σεβασμού στη μνήμη ενός σκακιστή είναι αναμφίβολα η διοργάνωση σκακιστικών αγώνων! Την Κυριακή 25 Νοεμβρίου αρχίζει στην...

Here’s a game by my Dad with the offbeat Bird’s Opening. He soon gets a position with a lot of space which makes Black’s position very difficult: Sam Davies

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