Strong players join the Ikaros 2016 event

On May 23, Anatoly Evgenyevich Karpov, the 12th World Champion, RCF Vice-President, and Russian State Duma Deputy, turned 65. Anatoly learned chess at the age of 4, like Capablanca. At 15 he became the youngest chess master in USSR. In 1969 the 18-year-old Karpov became junior world champion, confirming his status as of the biggest [...]

Stockfish, Nirvana, Andscacs, Fire, Critter,

Endings improve your ability to calculate. In an ending one loose move can mean the difference between a win and a draw, or even between a win and a loss. In this week’s problem, White can easily lose if he does not find the right moves. White wants to stop the pawn from promoting. It […]

Grandmaster Timur Gareyev aka. Blindfold King made an impressive score in the simultaneous blindfolded chess exhibition in Stockholm, Sweden on Friday night. He won 9 of 10 games – and the most difficult task he had to beat was the pedals on the spinning bike – because both broke during the event! Gareyev had this [...]

The Women’s Commission (WOM) of the World Chess Federation is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2015 Caissa award is Ms. Mariya Muzychuk (Ukraine). She is 23 years old and has already achieved a number of significant results. 2015 was a very successful year for Maria. Some of her key highlights include: - [...]

Apart from chess, my other great passion in life is music. While my chess ability is pretty close to zero, though, my musical ability is way below zero, so I ended up becoming a chess player rather than a musician. There are many connections between chess and music. It’s often remarked (not entirely correctly) that […]

A rapid tournament dedicated to the memory of GM Igor Kurnosov will be held from 26-28th May at the congress hall of the World Trade Center in Chelyabinsk, Russia. The stage of the Russian Rapid Grand-Prix is organized by the Russian Chess Federation, Chelyabinsk Chess Federation and Chelyabinsk Sports Ministry. The tournament format is 11-round [...]

My last nine articles were about endgame play, specifically positional problems the novice chess player might face and, if they’re properly prepared, easily resolve. Chess is really about logical problem solving, except the problem changes with every move which is why chess is so interesting. Endgame play befuddles the beginner because they tend to have […]

Live games with analysis

Direct battle for 1st between Komodo and Houdini

“Such exercises, involving analyzing and covering up the pages of the grandmaster’s notes, are very beneficial in perfecting the the technique of analysis. If the reader will try it for himself, he will soon realize how effectively it helps him improve.” –Alexander Kotov in Think Like a Grandmaster How would you like to have a […]

Grandmaster Eltaj Safarli edged his compatriot Shakhriyar Mamedyarov on tie-break to claim the winner’s trophy in 2016 Nakhchivan Open. The two players completed the race with 7/9 points each. Safarli repeated the success from last year’s tournament. The International Chess Festival Nakhchivan Open 2016, dedicated to the memory of Heydar Aliyev, took place from 9-19th [...]

A view of Drakano at the north-east end of IkariaThe traditional Ikaros International Chess Tournament is this year enriched with more rapid tournaments.Apart from the traditional Mediterranean Team Rapid, four (4) more FIDE rated rapid tournaments will be held: Open, Women, Juniors and Veterans. Most of the rapid tournament will take place on Saturday 9th of July (individual tournaments)...

Άποψη του λιμανιού του Αγίου ΚηρύκουΟι παραδοσιακές Διεθνείς Σκακιστικές Εκδηλώσεις «Ίκαρος» εμπλουτίζονται φέτος με περισσότερα τουρνουά ράπιντ.  Εκτός από το καθιερωμένο Μεσογειακό Ομαδικό Κύπελλο, θα...