After withdrawal from the FIDE World Cup 2021 due to a fever and Covid19 symptoms, Levon Aronian made a joke with his fans describing his trip to Sochi. Read more: Aronian forfeits the 1st game at the FIDE World Cup We hope that a good sense of humor comes with good health. Fast recovery Levon, […]

The 2nd round of the FIDE World Chess Cup 2021 brought several upsets and surprising results. 29 matches, in both Opean and Women’s sections, were decided in tiebreaks. Shortly before the start of the Round 2, Levon Aronian announced that he will definitely withdraw from the event due to a high fever. Read more: Aronian […]

Over the last few weeks, we have examined the fork, specifically how to employ this tactic. This week we will look at the fork from a defensive position. In other words, how do you deal with a fork if you are on the receiving side of this tactic. Defending against a fork can be difficult … Continue reading "A Foundation for Beginners Twenty Six" The post A Foundation for Beginners Twenty...

When the round 2 of the FIDE World Cup 2021 started today, it looked like everything will go smoothly. At the start of the round, the reigning World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen received the 2020 Fair Play Svetozar Gligoric award from the hands of FIDE Vice President Mahir Mammedov. However, after 10 minutes of play, […]

The FIDE World Cup 2021 kicked off in Sochi, Russia. The event takes place from 10 July – 8 August 2021 at the Galaxy Entertainment And Leisure Complex. Of the 309 qualified players in the Open and Women’s groups, there were only 8 justified nonappearances, essentially due to travel-related problems. The event opened with an […]

World No.5 Levon Aronian forfeited the first game of the FIDE World Cup. Aronian should have debuted in the 2021 FIDE World Cup, starting the competition from the round 2. However, it has been decided that Levon will not come to game 1 as he had symptoms of fever. “Even though Aronian feels well now, […]

Covering ‘X’ was always going to be a challenge so I cheated with some spellings. Several different Exchange Variations are possible, for example in the French (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5) and Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5) Defences. The one I have in mind is the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez with 1.e4 … Continue reading "X-terminate ’em with the X-change Variation" The...

“He who analyses blitz is stupid” GM Rashid Nezhmetdinov Last week we looked at games 2, 3 and 4 played by my U10 student at the online CYCC 2021. The first game had nothing to look at. With 3 points out of 4 games and a bad game behind him, he needed to rebound in … Continue reading "Tales from CYCC 2021 (2)" The post Tales from CYCC 2021 (2) appeared first on The Chess...

Άποψη του αγωνιστικού χωρου στο Αθλητικό Κέντρο Αγίου Κηρυκου το οποίο γέμισε με τραπέζια και σκακιέρες σε κατάλληλες αποστάσεις σύμφωνα με το αγωνιστικό πρωτόκολλο της ΕΣΟ και της ΓΓΑ - The playing area at Aghios Kirykos Sports Center full of...

Nigel posted an interesting thought on social media the other day. “I sense that a chess ‘kulturkampf’ is brewing with digital Bongcloudistas vs cantankerous traditionalists. Battle lines are currently being drawn with just an occasional skirmish at present…” In my new career as a chess book reviewer in another place, it’s very noticeable that there’s...

Last week, we started looking at the fork, another tactic the beginner should have in his or her chess player’s tool box. A fork occurs when one pawn or piece attacks two or more pawns or pieces simultaneously (at the same time). Any member of your army can employ a fork, even the pawn and … Continue reading "A Foundation for Beginners Twenty Five" The post A Foundation for Beginners...

An opening that I’ve had a long standing affection for is the Wing Gambit against the Sicilian Defence (1.e5 c5 2.b4!?). I recommended it for White in my 2007 book, Gambiteer I, something that drew a mixed reception. Club players who tried it in their games reported having a lot of fun with it, several … Continue reading "Whack ’em with the Wing Gambit" The post Whack ’em...

“He who analyses blitz is stupid” GM Rashid Nezhmetdinov This year’s edition of Canadian Youth Chess Championship (CYCC) took place online at Lichess. The format was unusual and consisted of 7 rapid games (15 minutes + 10 seconds increment), all played on Saturday, July 3rd. While the format attracted a higher than usual number of … Continue reading "Tales from CYCC...

Here’s another of my pawn ending questions for you. It’s Black’s move. What would you play here? In one of my club’s recent lockdown arena sessions I miscalculated two pawn endings in consecutive games. In the position above I was facing a slightly stronger opponent and failed to find the correct move. You’ll find the … Continue reading "Double Trouble" The...

At just 12 years of age, Abhimanyu Mishra has become the youngest grandmaster in chess history. He broke the record of Sergey Karjakin who held the title of the youngest GM in the chess world. Mishra’s quest for the youngest GM holder position had extra merit, having in mind the ongoing Covid19 pandemic and postponement of many […]