On July 18, a Russian grandmaster Alexander Morozevich celebrates his 40th anniversary. Our congratulations to the outstanding chess player! Alexander is the winner of many strong international tournaments. He has represented Russia in seven Olympiads and other team events, winning numerous team and board medals. Morozevich is a two-time World Championship Candidate and a two-time [...]

Today’s position is a very good example of how important pawn endgames are; even a momentary lapse of reason (do you know Pink Floyd’s great album with the same name from 1987?) could be fatal to any player, beginners and grandmasters alike. Have a look at the position, do a quick assessment and decide what should […]

The 27th Heart of Finland Open is taking place from 17-23rd July in Jyväskylä, Finland. The playing venue is JAMK University of Applied Sciences, Rajakatu 35. The tournament system is 9-round Swiss with accelerated pairings in the first two rounds. The event is elo-rated and it is possible to obtain FIDE title norms. The total [...]

Grandmaster Kacper Piorun emerged clear winner of the Open A of Metlife Najdorf Chess Festival that was held from 8-17th July at the Warsaw Sports and Recreation Centre in Warsaw, Poland. The Open A, reserved for the players rated above 2200, had 145 participants. Piorun scored 7,0/9 points, leaving a group of eleven players half [...]

A FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar is going to be organized from 21 to 22 October 2017 in Seoul, Korea, by the Korean Chess Federation, in cooperation with the Asian Chess Federation and under the auspices of FIDE. The Lecturer will be IA Casto Abundo (PHI), FIDE Lecturer. The language of the Seminar will be English. The [...]

A FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar is going to be organized from 24 to 27 August 2017 in Pocos de Caldas, MG, Brazil, by the Brazilian Chess Federation and under the auspices of FIDE. The Seminar will be held during the FIDE World Cadets Chess Championships (21-31 August 2017). The Lecturer will be IA Antonio Bento (BRA), [...]

The popular weekend tournament, Bergamo Chess Open, has attracted 184 players competing in three elo-sections from 14-16th July. The main section, for players rated over 1900, had 67 participants. After six rounds of play the three members of 2600-elo club, Konstantin Landa, Ivan Salgado and Ivan Ivanisevic shared the first place with 5,0 points each. [...]

The FIDE World Junior Chess Championships 2017 (for boys & girls under 20) which will be held in Tarvisio, Italy from November 12th to 26th. The Championship will be organized and conducted by Accademia Internazionale di Scacchi under the auspices of FIDE and the Italian Chess Federation FSI. Participation Each National Federation can enter one [...]

Μια περιοχή στο νησί Χαϊνάν στη Νότια Θάλασσα της Κίνας, όπου βρίσκεται και η πόλη Τανζού. Είναι μια μικρή έκταση όπου σε λιλιπούτειο είδωλο απεικονίζεται η πινακοθήκη της αχανούς σύγχρονης Κίνας. Δηλαδή τοποθεσίες...

The Closed Sicilian is a good line at club level that I used when I was playing 1.e4 as White. Here’s a game I won with it from 2 years ago in which I got a passed d-pawn and then came in on the queenside with the b2-b4 lever. When Black resigned he had not […]

(* Non-greek speaking visitors, please scroll forward) Με νικητή τον Ουκρανό γκρανμαιτρ Ολεξάντρ Μπόρτνικ ολοκληρώθηκε την Κυριακή 16/7 το μεσημέρι το 40ο Διεθνές Σκακιστικό Τουρνουά "Ίκαρος" 2017! Αν και ο τελευταίο γύρος ήταν πρωϊνός, εντούτοις...

Τα φώτα έσβησαν. Τώρα;

Εξαιρετικά επιτυχημένη, κατά γενική ομολογία, χαρακτηρίζεται η επίσκεψη (10-11 Ιουλίου) στα Ιστορικά και Μαρτυρικά Καλάβρυτα, της Παγκόσμιας Πρωταθλήτριας Σταυρούλας Τσολακίδου που περιλάμβανε παρουσίαση παρτίδων της...

The other day we decided to show a video to the Richmond Junior Club Intermediate Group. As our subject for the day was opening tactics we chose this video from chesskid.com. I should start by saying that chesskid.com is an excellent site and their curriculum is one of the best I’ve seen. However, I have […]

Όταν το 1967 η Σβετλάνα Αλιλούιεβα ζητούσε πολιτικό άσυλο στη Δύση δεν θα μπορούσε να προβλέψει ότι μερικά χρόνια μετά θα την κατήγγειλε – εκεί δεν είχε ζήσει «ούτε μια μέρα ελευθερίας» και αισθανόταν «υποχείριο της...