I have always been an admirer of the late Russian Grandmaster, Vassily Smyslov. One of the things that drew me to his games, was his ability to take on cramped positions without becoming passive. He would then, very often unravel his position, rather like a spring which is wound and full of tension before being […]

The 2014 Oslo Chess International tournament will take place from 28th September to 5th October at the Thon Hotel Ullevaal Stadion, Sognsveien 77c, Oslo, Norway. The event is organized by Hans Olav Lahlum and Akademisk Sjakklubb Oslo. The total prize fund is 6000 EUR. The tournament consists of three sections: - GM-group is a 9-round [...]

The 2nd Zuger Schachopen will take place this weekend 12-14th September at the Clubhaus SAC Rossberg, Feldstrasse 20, 6300 Zug, Switzerland. The event is organized by the Schachförderverein Zug und Adrian M. Siegel. The competition will be completed over five rounds of Swiss system with the time control 90′/40 + 15′ + 30”. The prize [...]

Αυτούς που γέρασαν χωρίς να καταλάβουν πως εκείνο το πιόνι που άφησαν να χαθεί μπορούσε να κρίνει την έκβαση ολόκληρης της παρτίδας αυτούς που επέμειναν να παίζουν λες και η σκακιέρα τους ανήκει που τελικά ποτέ δεν...

Ολοκληρώθηκε στις 7/9/2014 το Τουρνουά Μνήμης “Νίκος Καραπάνος” 2014 με 46 συμμετοχές. Ανδρουτσόπουλος, Κόκκαλης, Δεληγιάννης οι τρεις πρώτοι. Τα αποτελέσματα αναλυτικά ...

My thanks to Michel Miro for sending me links to his Youtube chess videos. Nice work: Tribute to chess through painting Male and female World Champions (Rocky) Alexandra Kosteniuk (Pretty Woman) Nigel Davies

GM Fabiano Caruana has won the 2014 Sinquefield Cup undefeated, besting the strongest-rated field in chess history by a three-game margin. Article by Brian Jerauld. Caruana (8,5/10) went a record seven consecutive wins to start the U.S. super-tournament, then closed with three draws, including his final round match with GM Levon Aronian on Saturday. Considering [...]

The FIDE World Chess Championship 2014 is scheduled to take place 7th to 28th November of this year on the territory of the Olympic village of Sochi with a budget of 3 000 000 USD. Viswanathan Anand has already signed the contract for the match, while Carlsen has delayed his saying until the last moment. [...]

The Skovbo GM tournament (KKSA) is taking place from 5th to 14th September at the Borup Kulturhus, Møllevej 2, 4140 Borup, Denmark. The 9-round Swiss event with a time control 90′ + 30″ has attracted 52 participants. The Danish player IM Mikkel Djernæs Antonsen (2459) is a sole leader after 4 rounds with perfect 4/4 score. The top seeded [...]

The Webster University in Saint Louis hosted the SPICE Rapid Invitational tournament on Saturday 6th September. 16 players, including nine Grandmasters, competed in the 6-round Swiss event. Grandmaster Le Quang Liem emerged convincing winner after concluding the race with perfect 6,0/6 score, full two points ahead of the chasing pack. Possibly the decisive moment in [...]

Chinese Grandmasters Ju Wenjun and Hou Yifan are the joint winners of the 6th and final stage of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix that was held in Sharjah, UAE. In the 11th round World Champion Hou Yifan defeated Alina L’Ami to catch her compatriot Ju Wenjun, who in turn escaped with an important draw against [...]

Ολοκληρώθηκε προ ολίγων ημερών το 22 Διεθνές Τουρνουά “Τιμή στην Εθνική Αντίσταση”. Το τουρνουά διεξάγη σε 2 group δυναμικότητας. Στο Α’ Group (elo>1700) συμμετείχαν 2 αθλητές μας. Ο Μπουμπουλής Σπυρίδων-Οδυσσεύς με...

In my last three posts I’ve discussed three reasons for promoting junior chess: to encourage participation in serious competitive chess at whatever level, to identify and fast track potential master strength players, and to use chess as a learning tool. Between the 1950s and the 1970s chess was promoted in secondary schools: this proved successful […]

The new seventh season of the top computer chess championship TCEC is starting September 19th. The reigning TCEC grand champion Stockfish is once again in to defend the title, with its main competitor being the new Komodo and an updated Houdini, all three with very high chances for the first place. A total of 28 [...]

Η ΓΥΜΝΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑ ΑΓΡΙΝΙΟΥ ( ΓΕΑ ) διοργανώνει σεμινάριο ανάδειξης και προαγωγής διαιτητών στις 20/9/2014 και 21/9/2014, στο Παπαστράτειο μέγαρο (Πλατεία Παναγοπούλου 4) στο Αγρίνιο.