The London Chess Classic has long established itself as one of the preeminent events on the chess calendar. This year’s edition will surpass its predecessors, as the presence of ten of the world’s top-ranked players will ensure the 7th Classic is the strongest tournament ever held on British soil. The catalyst for this is the [...]

The 38th edition of Ikaros International Chess Tournament belongs to history. The 134 participants had the chance to take part in a great event, to get to know the beauties of Ikaria, to have fun and enjoy the relaxing pace of the island. The end of the tournament found, as was already known after the [...]

The 2015 Dutch Open is taking place from July 21-30, 2015, at the Sports Hall at Grand Café-theater halls center Theothorne in the Netherlands. The event is a 9-round Swiss open for players rated over 2100 or youth players over 2000, while the tempo of play is 90′/40 + 30′ + 30″. Top seed is [...]

The 1st “Neoclassical Chess” Open Tournament took place on July 19, 2015, at Hotel NH Principe de Vergara – Madrid****, situated in the Spanish capital. The event was an 8-round Swiss tournament with time control 15′ + 5″. 40 players from 6 different countries took part in the tournament but the Spaniard GM Orelvis Perez Mitjans [...]

The 2015 Tikhookeansky Meridian was held on 18-20th July at the DVFU campus in Vladivostok. The 11-round rapid chess tournament with time control 15′+10” was a stage in the circuit Rapid Cup of Russia. Grandmasters Boris Savchenko and Dmitry Kokarev shared the first place with 9,0/11 points each, but Savchenko is declared winner on superior [...]

The Russian Chess Federation received a letter from Alisa Galliamova, informing that she will be unable to play in the Russian Championship Superfinal 2015 in Chita. According to the regulations, the organizing committee is in charge of selecting a replacement. RCF contacted Nadezhda Kosintseva (#4 in the Russian rating list) and Tatiana Kosintseva (#8), but [...]

Ο 22χρονος Νίκος Γαλόπουλος πρωτόπαιξε στην Ικαρία σε πολύ μικρή ηλικία. Φέτος ξαναήλθε για να αναδειχθεί πρωταθλητής Ελλάδας!Το 38ο Διεθνές Σκακιστικό Τουρνουά  «Ίκαρος 2015»πέρασε ήδη στην ιστορία. Οι 134 σκακιστές...

In one of my recent games, the player of the White pieces neglected the safety of his King. In the diagrammed position, White has weakened the white squares around his King and he has played f3 in response to Qb7+, opening up the second rank. This allowed me to launch an attack against his King. […]

The 2015 Swedish Chess Festival took place from 11-19th July, at the Selma Spa Hotel****, in Sunne, Sweden. The highlight of the festival was the 2015 Swedish Championship GM-Group, which was played in a 10-player round-robin tournament. For the third time in the last four years, the champion was decided by a playoff match and it is [...]

The 9th Asian Dragons Invitational was held in New Taipei City from 11-18 July 2015 and attracted 35 participants from a record 8 countries. Since it first started in 2007 in Kaoshiung, this tournament has always been held in two categories – Open and U-16 – originally with two representatives in each from Hong Kong, [...]

The 25th Heart of Finland Open Chess Tournament was organized by Jyväs-Shakki chess club from July 13-19, 2015, at the JAMK University of Applied Sciences in Jyväskylä, Finland. The first place of the 9-round Swiss tournament was shared in a four-way tie by GM Kirill Alekseenko (Russia), GM Jevgeni Solozhenkin (Russia), GM Kaido Kulaots (Estonia) and Sergei Lobanov [...]

The 38th International Eastman Open 2015 is taking place from July 18-22, at the Barbara College in Ghent, Belgium. The event is a 9-round Swiss tournament. Top seed is GM Sebastien Feller (2622). The sponsor of the tournament is Eastman –  a global specialty chemical company that produces a broad range of products found in [...]

Most of you will be familiar with magazine articles and books with titles such as “How Good is Your Chess” and “Solitaire Chess” where the author asks you to guess the moves made in a master game. You score points for matching the master’s move or for finding other good moves. You may also lose […]

The 33rd International Andorra Open 2015 is taking place from July 18-26, at Hotel St. Gothard, in Erts (La Massana). The event is a nine-round Swiss FIDE tournament with tempo of play 90′/40 + 30′ + 30″. A total prize fund of 10,500 EUR will be distributed. Top seed is French player GM Vladislav Tkachiev (2661). [...]

Absolute triumph for the 23 year old Hungarian GM Peter Prohaszka at the 38th International Chess Tournament “Ikaros” 2015.With one round to go Prohaszka retains a perfect score (8/8, with a 3055 performance!) and increased his lead over his closest pursuer, the Belgian Mathias De Wachter, to 1,5 points, which means that he already has [...]