The French Chess Championship took place from August 18-26, 2018 in Nimes. 891 players took part in all the events! In the man and women championship it was 10 players round-robins. By beating Natacha Benmesbah in the last round, Pauline Guichard won her first title of champion of France! Pauline was making her comeback in [...]

Νεανικό Τουρνουά Rapid Ανοιχτό rapid τουρνουά με ελβετικό σύστημα 7 γύρων με διεθνή αξιολόγηση ELO FIDE Rapid Το Σάββατο, 1 Σεπτεμβρίου 2018, στην κλιματιζόμενη Αίθουσα του Πολιτιστικού Κέντρου «Μελίνα Μερκούρη», Μεγίστης 18-20...

ΠΡΟΚHΡYΞΗ 2ο OPEN ΤΟΥΡΝΟΥΑ ΚΑΛΛΙΘΕΑΣ <<ΛΑΖΑΡΟΣ ΔΡΕΠΑΝΙΩΤΗΣ>> 2018 2-9 ΣΕΠΤΕΜΒΡΙΟΥ 2018 ΔΙΟΡΓΑΝΩΣΗ: ΣΚΑΚΙΣΤΙΚΟΣ ΟΜΙΛΟΣ ΚΑΛΛΙΘΕΑΣ ΔΗΜΟΣ ΚΑΛΛΙΘΕΑΣ ΧΩΡΟΣ ΑΓΩΝΩΝ: Η κλιματιζόμενη Αίθουσα του Πολιτιστικού Κέντρου «Μελίνα...

Yesterday I managed to play one of my best games of the year against the strong Preston player, Graham Ashcroft. My Dad suggested the development of the knight to h3, which is something he has used in some of his own games. When the knights came round to e4 and g4 I got a very … Continue reading "A Win From Leyland"

A large crowd gathered at the Saint Louis Chess Club to watch the encounter between the World Champion and his challenger. The face off attracted so much attention that only media was allowed in the playing hall for the first 15 minutes of the game, while the fans patiently waited their turn. The game eventually [...]

Σκέφτηκα να αφιερώσω την πρώτη μετά από πολύ καιρό ανάρτηση σ' αυτό το ιστολόγιο στη "σκακιστική τύφλωση", και μάλιστα πρώτου μεγέθους. Κοιτάξτε τι είναι "ικανός" να πάθει κάποιος.Στην παρακάτω θέση λοιπόν, από πρόσφατη...

Returning to my games from last season, my fourth game involved a trip to Maidenhead, the far western outpost of the Thames Valley League, where I found myself playing white against my friend and namesake Steve James, who is graded slightly above me. Here’s what happened. 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 … Continue reading "2017-18 Season (3)"

1–2th of September it’s time for Pia Cramling’s tournament in Stockholm. Two parallell tournaments will be played – Pia Cramling’s Invitational tournament and Pia Cramling’s Ladies Open. Pia Cramling’s Invitational tournament is a double round Berger with 4 players: Pia herself, IM Elisabeth Pähtz, IM Almira Skripchenko and GM Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant. The...

The Saint Louis Chess Club will bring ten of the top chess players in the world, including legendary world champion Garry Kasparov, to play in the Champions Showdown this September. The matches will be played in Chess 960 style, also known as Fischer Random, with a $250,000 prize purse. The competition will include six rapid [...]

The Opening Ceremony of the Superfinals of 71st Russian men’s championship and 68th Russian women’s championship took place on August 24th in the Magnezit Palace of Culture in Satka, Chelyabinsk Region. Boris Dubrovsky, Governor of the Chelyabinsk Region, Mark Glukhovsky, Executive Direcor of the Russian Chess Federation, and Maria Morozova, Director General of Elena and [...]

Often, when playing one of my older students, a textbook position takes a turn for the worse. Not because I made a dubious move but because my student tried something new that turned a tranquil, predictable position into one of sudden chaos. Even when playing stronger players, I’ve ended up in chaotic positions. However, it … Continue reading "Sudden Chaos"

The First Division of the Top Chess Engine Championship starts today at 22:00 CEST, live on the official website and the Twitch TV channel. The six seeded participants will be Jonny, Chiron, Fizbo, Booot, and Fritz. They will be joined by the Div 2 winner Ethereal and the runner up ChessBrainVB. Version updates for First [...]

The 6th edition of Francophone Chess Championship 2018 will be held in Tirana – Albania from 25 August- 2 September under the “High Patronage of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie”. The playing Hall is at National History Museum. Accomodation is at Tirana International Hotel 4*. The tournament will be 9 Rounds Swiss System with [...]

There were no changes in the standings after a peaceful day in Saint Louis. For the first time in the tournament, all the games ended in draws but it wasn’t for the lack of trying. Both Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura had excellent chances to score a full point but vigilant defense was the theme [...]

Earlier this year a lot of my wins followed a similar pattern. My b-pawn would be sacrificed and I’d stir up some attack on the king-side or harass the harasser on the queen-side. To me sacrificing the b-pawn (compared with the g- or f-pawns) seemed to be particularly atomic. When the queen or whatever other … Continue reading "The b-Pawn Bomb!"