Live games with analysis

There’s still a game to go in this year’s British Championship but it’s been a fascinating event. Most of all the presence of Michael Adams, a top class GM who has successfully competed against the best players in the World, has provided many great lessons. It’s interested to watch the games as they unfold because […]

The Italian National U16 Youth Championship was held in Olbia from June 25th to July 2nd. The Championship was organized by Accademia Internazionale di Scacchi. 697 young players from all over Italy came to the Geovillage Sport and Resort in Sardinia to participate to one of the biggest editions ever. Along with the regular competitons, [...]

From 31 July to 4 August 2016 a FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar was organized in Suzdal, Russia, by the Russian Chess Federation and under the auspices of FIDE. The Lecturer was IA Alexander Tkachev (RUS), FIDE Lecturer, and Assistant Lecturer was IA Alexander Ivanov (RUS). The language of the Seminar was Russian. Seven (7) national arbiters [...]

Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright, The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light; And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout, But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out. -Ernest Lawrence Thayer, “Casey at the Bat” Years ago on a programming team I […]

LSG IntelliMagic from the Netherlands completed the registration for the 2016 European Chess Club Cup. In their own words: “LSG (Leidsch Schaakgenootschap) was founded in 1895. We participated in the European Club Cup in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014 and 2015. Our best performance was last year with a 9th place. We are [...]

"I see more women playing chess and especially in some developing countries. For example, I did some promotion all over the world for different activities. In some places I remember there were more girls than boys."

The Director of the Baku Chess Olympiad Operating Committee and Vice-President of the Azerbaijan Chess Federation, Mahir Mammedov, has been interviewed by the tournament’s press-service. - With less than a month left for the start of the 42nd World Chess Olympiad in Baku, what is the status of preparations for this prestigious event? - There [...]

The Russian Chess Federation submitted an official proposal to the FIDE Congress (Annex 44, pdf) for an addition to the current World Championship Cycle rules: anyone guaranteeing a required prize-fund can challenge the reigning World Champion. The ACP believes that this idea is completely detrimental to chess for a number of reasons, among which: - [...]

The 2016 Biel Master Tournament took place from 25th July to 3rd August, as part of the 49th Biel International Chess Festival. The 9-round Swiss open gathered 112 participants rated above 2000 elo. American Grandmaster Samuel Shankland took a clear first place with 7,5/9 points, leaving the second placed GM Eltaj Safarli half a point [...]

The 59th World Congress of Chess Composition (WCCC) and 40th World Chess Solving Championship are taking place from 30th July to 6th August at Hotel Metropol in Belgrade, Serbia. The Congress and Championship are organized by the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC) and Serbian Chess Problem Society. As one of the promotional events, the [...]

Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo (CEMC) from Monaco completed the registration of two teams (Open and Women) for the 2016 European Chess Club Cup. CEMC is the 5-times European Club Cup champion with the women’s team claiming the trophy in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013. Cercle d’Echecs de Monte-Carlo lineup (Women’s section): GM Hou Yifan [...]

In general blockading is a very rich concept. Some opening systems are designed around the concept of blockading. For example in the Gruenfeld Exchange Variation one of Black’s strategies is to blockade a White passed d-pawn and simultaneously try to roll his queen side pawns forward. Meanwhile the following variation of the French Defense demonstrates […]

Kennemer Combinatie from Netherlands completed the registration for the 2016 European Chess Club Cup. Kennemer Combinatie lineup: GM David Klein IM Quinten Ducarmon IM Miguoël Admiraal Lennart Dek Rob Duijn FM Richard Duijn Daan in ‘t Veld Robert Oosting – captain Edwin Rutte – manager The 2016 European Chess Club Cup (open and women) will [...]

The 2016 Primorskiy Debut open tournament, a stage of the Russian Cup, was held from 21-29th July in Vladivostok, Russia. 50 players took participating in the 9-round Swiss event, including seven Grandmasters in the field. Grandmaster Ivan Rozum from Vologda emerged clear winner after scoring a victory in the final round. Rozum collected 7,0/9 points [...]