One difference between beginners and advanced players is their use of time. Advanced players make a point of wasting little time while beginners tend to waste a great deal of time. When I say beginners waste time, I’m not trying to be critical of the chess novice. Part of being a beginner is having to […]

Carlsen with amazing tournament result

I had a hectic day prior to the tournament, playing a simul in the afternoon, where I vanquished all but organiser Alan Ormsby – his only mistake was to offer a draw in the final position! Then in the evening the chess poker began, like last year I didn’t fare well in the blitz section... Continue Reading

The World Cup is often treated as a necessary step to enable a city to host the Chess Olympiad, but Baku really made an effort with this one – overall it was the best of all the World Cups I have taken part in. I was picked up by a London taxi with an advert... Continue Reading

In this week’s problem, White can stalemate his opponent by playing 1. Bxb2 But White wants to win. To win, White has to work out an answer to Black’s two threats of 1.. PxB=Q and 1… b1 = Q. White has to reason logically and work out the best square for his Rook to be […]

Vajolet surprises and shares third

Recap of Carlsen's win of the Grand Chess Tour rapid

Continuing our exploration of the links between classical music and chess, we now turn to perhaps the first player since Philidor to reach the top in both disciplines – Mark Taimainov (1926-). You’re probably aware of Taimanov’s long and (mostly) successful chess career. Jeff Sonas, on his Chessmetrics site, ranks Taimanov in the top ten […]

Ηλιοβασίλεμα στο ΓιαλισκάριΗ οργανωτική επιτροπή του Διεθνούς Σκακιστικού Τουρνουά «Ίκαρος 2016», σε συνεργασία με τη Hellenic Seaways, εκ των βασικών χορηγών της διοργάνωσης, εξασφάλισε και φέτος σημαντικές εκπτώσεις στα...

Full details about the first day of the GCT

tie for first place in this section My opponent is lower rated than I am and he is from Turkey. He had White and he was playing for a win in positions that were rather even. I offered a draw after making my 37th move. He declined my offer and then offered a draw of his […]

Με επιτυχία πραγματοποιήθηκε η επίδειξη σιμουλτανέ από την WFM Μαρία-Άννα Στεφανίδη στο πάρκο Δαβάκη στις 11/6/2016, στο πλαίσιο του καλοκαιρινού Πολιτιστικού Προγράμματος του Δ. Καλλιθέας. Στην επίδειξη παρευρέθησαν ο...

Summer is here and Ikaros 2016 is coming

“That which one has the right to do, it is not always expedient to do.” Edmund Burke And a flat game it was indeed. Starting with 1. g3 often offers the “right” to transpose to Queen Pawn lines, for instance, the King’s Indian Fianchetto as in the present game. But it’s not always expedient: if […]

Live games with analysis