The Chess Club Brda, City of Split and Croatian Chess Federation are organizing the 2014 Split Chess Open on 16-23rd August at Hotel Zagreb in Split, Croatia. The tournament system is 9-rounds Swiss and the total prize fund is 8500 EUR. Last year winner was GM Davorin Kuljasevic Tournament website Participants: 1. GM Brkić Ante [...]

The 5th International Chess Festival Terre degli Elimi took place on 19-25th July 2014, in Erice, a historic town in the Province of Trapani, in Sicily, Italy. The event was a 9-round Swiss, organized by ASD “Amici della Scacchiera” di Erice. First place was shared by GM Viorel Iordachescu from Moldova and GM Nikita Maiorov from Belarus with [...]

This week, we have an example of second-front strategy in the endgame. In the diagram position, the obvious move is 35.b4+, but after 35…axb4 36.axb4 Kd5 37.Bc4+ Kc6, followed by Nd6, it is not clear whether White can make any real progress. Instead, Dydyshko focuses on the weakened light squares e4-f5-g6. which can provide a […]

And all on the same square, too. Some time ago I came across a puzzle in Chess Today, and while the first move was pretty obvious I managed to get myself sidetracked while working out the details. It was psychologically amusing, and it brought to mind a failure to accurate calculate a vaguely similar queen sac in a game ten years earlier. Both games can be found here, along with a third, even...

The Dutch Championship finished a week or two ago (won by Loek van Wely in a playoff over Sergei Tiviakov), but I didn't notice the remarkable game between van Wely and Erwin L'Ami until some time later. How often does a 2650 player lose in just 15 moves? Have a look here at the short, gory details.

The 2014 Canadian Open (Championnat ouvert du Canada) was held on 19-26th July in the “Grand Salon” of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, in Montreal. The 9-round Swiss tournament was organized by the Quebec Chess Federation and merged with the Quebec Open. The total prize fund is $25,000, with $20,000 guaranteed. 42 players competed in the [...]

Mr Gilad Japhet, the organizer of the 2nd Gideon Japhet Memorial Chess Tournament, son of Gideon Japhet,  founder and CEO of MyHeritage.com – one of the most popular websites connecting people using genealogy, agreed on an exclusive interview for Chessdom. It reveals much about the great festival in Yerusalem, including chess stars Boris Gelfand and [...]

The organizing committee of the 2014 Chess Olympiad has released a video that will be featured at the opening ceremony: “This video gives a good idea of what we want the 2014 Chess Olympiad to be all about – celebrating the game of chess, the players from 180 participating nations and what Tromsø 2014 stands [...]

The 13th edition of Charleroi Open is taking place from 27th July to 2nd August 2014 in Charleroi, Belgium. The event is a 9-round Swiss Tournament with prize fund in the amount of 6.000 €. 227 players take part in the tournament, first seed is GM Evgeny Gleizerov from Russia. Official website

Peruvian Grandmaster Julio Granda Zuniga took a clear first place in the 32nd Andorra International Chess Open that was held on 19-27th July at the Sant Gothard Hotel in Erts (La Massana). The 9-round Swiss event was organized by the Federació d’Escacs Valls d’Andorra. Granda Zuniga completed the tournament with 7,5/9 points, half a point [...]

The 47th Biel Chess Festival 2014 included a 11-round Swiss Master Tournament that was taking part on 14-25th July 2014. Indian GM Adhiban emerged a clear winner with 8,5/11 points, defeating Turkish GM Dragan Solak with black pieces in the last round and deservedly grabbed the first prize of 7.000 CHF. Second place was shared in [...]

The 16th Lake Sevan International Chess Tournament is taking place from 26th July to 4th August 2014 in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The event is organized by the Armenian Chess Academy in conjunction with the Armenian Chess Federation in a 10 player round-robin format. 10 Grandmasters from Armenia and abroad will take part in [...]

Yesterday evening I watched the first episode of Channel 4′s Child Genius, a programme in which exceptionally gifted young children compete in a series of tests to identify the ‘brainiest child in the country’. There were some seriously scary parents on view in the first episode, parents who are devoting their lives to proving a […]

The 2nd Gideon Japhet Memorial Open Chess Tournament 2014 took place on 16-24th July 2014 in Jerusalem, Israel, incorporating professional and amateur chess. The fascinating Rapid Chess duel between top grandmasters Boris Gelfand and Peter Svidler was the most widely recognized part of the event. The final result of the duel is 5: 3 in favor of Peter Svidler. There [...]

The 40th International Chess Open Vila de Sitges is being held from 22nd to 31st July at the Casino Prado Theatre Hall in Sitges, Spain. The organizers are Penya d’Escacs Casino Prado Suburense and Hotel & Apartaments Sunway Playa Golf. The event consists of two sections – Group A (for players rated over 2000) and [...]