Even when a situation seems hopeless it’s not always so clear. In this game White lost a piece after 29…d4, but the endgame proved to be complicated. The lesson to be learned is to never give up and always try to find ways to create chances. Sam Davies

Alexaner Fier gains 37 ELO in a month

In a recent Thames Valley League match my teammate Chris White managed to win a game against an opponent graded 173 in only ten moves. Here’s how it went. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Be2 Chris is playing a reverse Philidor, which doesn’t seem the most likely place to find a ten-mover. Still, […]

5th International Karun Cup is held from 17 to 24 February in Ahvaz-Golestan. The tournament is divided in 3 sections. The top seeded players are GM Amonatov Farrukh, GM Korneev Oleg etc … starting list 1 GM Amonatov Farrukh TJK 2624 2 GM Korneev Oleg ESP 2554 3 GM Sanikidze Tornike GEO 2533 4 GM [...]

The Azerbaijan Women’s Championship is a 9-round Swiss open taking place in ACF in Baku from 18-26 February, 2018. Players receive 90 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 30 minutes to the end of the game, plus a 30-second increment starting from move one. Top seeded is WGM Ulviyya Fataliyeva. Live games with analysis will [...]

7. Internationales Villach Open 2018 was held from 10 to 17 February in Vilach. 101 players took part in the tournament. The winner is IM Jadranko Plenca with 7.5 out of 9, followed by IM Gal Drnovsek, GM Rui Gao with 7 points. full standings 1 IM Plenca Jadranko 7,5 2 IM Drnovsek Gal 7 [...]

The 78th Noteboom Tournament is a 6-round Swiss tournament taking place from 16-18 February 2018 in Oegstgeest, Netherlands. Players receive 100 minutes for the entire game, plus a 10-second increment starting from move one. Tournament is divided in 3 sections. Top seeded players are GM Benjamin Bok, GM Predrag Nikolic etc… Live game with analysis [...]

The players for this years GRENKE Chess Classic were revealed. The tournament will be held from 31 March-09 April, 2018. Venue: Schwarzwaldhallte Karlsruhe (Round 1 to 3), Kulturhaus LA8 Baden-Baden (Round 4 to 9) Time control: 100 min/40 moves + 50 min/20 moves + 15 min/rest of the game with a 30 sec increment from [...]

GM Third Saturday 66 was held from 11 to 16 February in Novi Sad. It was 10 players round-robin. The winner was IM Kaiqi Yang with 7 out of 9, who also made GM norm, followed by IM Zoran Runic with 6 points and IM Milos Stankovic with 5,5 points . The B tournament was [...]

Abu Dhabi Chess Festival Committee has the honor of inviting the players to take part in a distinguished chess annual event, which consists of numerous FIDE registered tournaments. It will be held in Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the UAE from 6th until 16rd of August, 2018. Abu Dhabi Chess & Culture Club is [...]

The Brazilian Chess Federation (CBX) and the Rio de Janeiro Chess Federation (FEXERJ) are organising the 57th Brazilian Women’s Chess Championship from 17-23 February 2018 at Guanabara Club, Rio de Janeiro. The tournament is a 10-player round-robin in which each player has 90 minutes for all moves, with a 30-second per move increment from move [...]

Rooks are the second most powerful attacker in your army, yet beginners tend to neglect them as if they didn’t exist! Too often, the novice player will leave their Rooks sitting in the corners on their starting squares. A piece on its starting square has little value until it enters the game. A trapped Rook […]

Όταν ήμουν μικρός και προσπαθούσα να μάθω για τις σκακιστικές συνθέσεις, δεν έβρισκα πληροφορίες. Αργότερα, χάρη στον Τριαντάφυλλο Σιαπέρα, και περιοδικά είχαμε, (Το Ματ, Ελληνικά Σκακιστικά Χρονικά), και Διαγωνισμούς...

32nd International chess open Pierre & Vacances will be held from 19 to 25 February in Cannes. The open will be divided in 3 sections . A tournament for players rated 2200 and more. Tournament B for 2100 players and less. Players ranked between 2100 and 2200 can choose between the tournament A and B. [...]

The First Metal World Chess Championship (Fereydoon Ezzati) 2018 was held in Guilan,Rasht Iran. It was a blitz tournament with 5 minutes for game with 3 seconds increment from move 1. 226 players took part in the tournament. The winner was IM Mousavi Seyed Khalil with 8,5 out of 9, followed by Khoshkalam Seyed Mehrab [...]