A few days ago we wished Viktor Korchnoi a happy birthday, as did many other chess sites. Korchnoi's chess and fighting spirit are universally commendable, but although he is capable of coming across in pleasantly impish manner, he hasn't always been a beacon of sunshine and happiness. Here's how Korchnoi's contemporary and fellow GM, Evgeny Vasiukov, sees it.

This isn't exactly exhaustive, but an indication of my interests and what I'm aware of. If I'm missing something of obvious significance, I'm sure someone will let me know! Ongoing: The European Chess Championship is almost halfway over. Five of eleven rounds are complete, and there's still one player with a perfect score: Vladimir Potkin. Three players are half a point behind: (IM!) Anthony...

The tournament will change format slightly with the addition of one more player, making the UK’s most prestigious tournament even stronger. There will also be five days of junior coaching, a Grandmaster Open, and weekend tournaments for players of all levels.

The 8th Annual Susan Polgar Girl’s Invitational will be held this year July 24-29 at Texas Tech University (TTU) in Lubbock, Texas. This is one of the most prestigious all-girls events and will incorporate a three-day intense training with Susan Polgar and her team of chess instructors, followed by a 6 round (g/60) championship tournament.

Asian Zone 3.5 Chess Championships are taking place from 20th to 28th March in Tianjin, China. The Men's tournament is a qualifier for the 2011 World Chess Cup and top two finishers will book tickets for Khanty-Mansiysk. 55 players compete in the 9-round Swiss tournament.

The 3rd London Chess Classic has been announced on 26th March 2011. The event will take place 3rd-12th December 2011 and will again be at the Olympia Conference Centre. This time there will be an additional player making it a 9 round 9 player event. 1 player per round will have a day off and help the commentary team. In the tradition of promoting chess in the UK there will be junior training...

The London Chess Classic takes place December 3rd-12th at the Olympia Conference centre in Kensington. Field yet to be announced.

Βαθμολογία μετά τον 5ο Γύρο:1. Potkin 5/52. Wirig 4.5 (3429!)3. Parligras 4.5 (2876)4. Nisipeanu 4.5 (2844)...24.Μαστροβασίλης Δ. 4 (2710)50.Χαλκιάς 3.5 (2700)78.Κοτρωνιάς 3.5 (2595)91.Dembo 3.5 (2323)118.Μαστροβασίλης Θ. 3 (2564)139.Παπαϊωάννου 3 (2501)185.Παυλίδου 2.5 (2468)212.Παυλίδης 2.5...

I'm so delighted to be able to introduce the 'Potkin' tag to the Dirt's extensive list. I believe he was the original Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. No? Well, memo to JK, it's a great name for a wizard. Vladimir Potkin just took over clear first in the European Individual Championship by rolling his tanks through Savchenko's Budapest. (PGN below.) The 29-year-old Russian is better known for not...

Του Παναγιώτη Κονιδάρη η ραψ. α’ εδώ η ραψ. β’ εδώ Λένε ότι η καλή μέρα από το πρωί φαίνεται. Η κακή όμως μάλλον δεν έχει τόση υπομονή να περιμένει μέχρι το χάραμα. Δεν είχε προλάβει να βραδιάσει καλά- καλά, μετά την...

Ενοποιημένη Τελική Βαθμολογία σε blind και rapid:Aronian 15.5Carlsen 14.5Anand 13Ivanchuk, Grischuk 11Nakamura, Gelfand, Gashimov, Topalov 10.5Karjakin 10Kramnik 8Giri 710ος ΓύροςBlindAnand, Viswanathan - Gashimov, Vugar ½-½Στην Leko-Wang Yue, Nanjing, 2009, στο 11.h4 ο Κινέζος είχε παίξει h6. O Gashimov έπαιξε αμέσως...

Η ζωγράφος Olga Igorevna Suvorova γεννήθηκε το 1966 στο Λένινκραντ (σήμερα Αγία Πετρούπολη) όπου και μεγάλωσε. Σπούδασε ζωγραφική στο φημισμένο Ινστιτούτο Ζωγραφικής, Γλυπτικής και Αρχιτεκτονικής Repin από το οποίο αποφοίτησε το...

There may be much in the world of chess politics to disagree about but everyone agrees that chess can have a positive effect if it is taught in schools. Malcolm Pein reports on a joint approach by Garry Kasparov and European Chess Union President Silvio Danailov to the European Union.

There may be much in the world of chess politics to disagree about but everyone agrees that chess can have a positive effect if it is taught in schools. Malcolm Pein reports on a joint approach by Garry Kasparov and European Chess Union President Silvio Danailov to the European Union.

The 12th European Individual Chess Championship is open to all players representing the Chess Federations which comprise the European Chess Union (FIDE zones 1.1 to 1.10) regardless of their title or rating. There is no limit of participants per federation.