(* Non-greek speaking visitors, please scroll below)   Σύμφωνα με ενημέρωση από τη Hellenic Seaways, το ΕΓ/ΟΓ "Νήσος Μύκονος", το Σάββατο 12 Ιουλίου 2014, αναχωρεί για Ικαρία στις 8.00 π.μ. από την Πύλη Ε7. Η Πύλη Ε7 βρίσκεται επί της Ακτής Τζελέπη (στην...

In the following example, the key position arises after Black’s 26th move. White has an obvious advantage, with more space and weaknesses on c6 and e6. However, neither weak pawn is easy to attack effectively, and it is hard to increase the pressure by normal means. Kramnik’s solution is the break d4-d5. This actually eliminates […]

In the previous post I linked to a short interview of Viswanathan Anand focusing on his performance in last month's world rapid & blitz championships, and in that article he singled out several games of special importance. Those games, with my brief notes (including his win over Magnus Carlsen), can be replayed here.

The 2014 International Star Mixed Pair Chess Tournament takes place from 5th to 9th July 2014 in the city of Chengdu, China. The event is played in a 5-round format. The teams are paired as follows: GM Nigel Short & GM Hou Yifan, GM Yasser Seirawan & GM Zhou Chen GM Artur Jussupow & GM [...]

Georgia and European Chess Union have the honor to invite all ECU member federations to participate in the European Youth Chess Championships, which will take place in Batumi (Black see), Georgia between October the 18th (arrival) and October the 29th (departure). The championship will be held in 5***** Batumi hotel “Sheraton Batumi” (built in 2010). [...]

The 48th edition of the Ilmar Raud Memorial was held from 30th June to 6th July 2014 at the Viljandi Sports Center in Viljandi, a town in southern Estonia. The event was played in memorial of Ilmar Raud, member of the Estonian team that scored bronze at the Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires. GM Aleksej Aleksandrov from Belarus emerged [...]

The Chess Federation of Canada has announced the lineups for the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway. National Team: GM Bator Sambuev GM Anton Kovalyov GM Eric Hansen IM Aman Hambleton IM Leonid Gerzhoy Captain FM Victor Plotkin Women’s Team: WIM Natalia Khoudgarian WIM Yuanling Yuan WIM Nava Starr WFM Alexandra Botez WCM Qiyu Zhou [...]

If you were paying attention last week you’ll know that my new chess course is called Chess for Heroes. One reason is that if you want to succeed at competitive chess you need a collection of non-cognitive skills which might be summed up as ‘mental toughness’ along with chess skills. But there’s another meaning to […]

The XXII Montcada International Chess Tournament took place from 25th June to 3rd July at Espacio Cultural Kursaal, in Montcada i Reixac, Spain. The event was a 9-round Swiss Open with more than 200 participants, 17 of which were Grandmasters. First place in Group A was shared by GM Hua Ni (China) and GM Yaroslav Zherebukh (Ukraine) on 7/9 points each, but [...]

Η Σκακιστική Άνοιξη διατηρήθηκε για τρίτη συνεχόμενη χρονιά στις κορυφαίες Ελληνικές σκακιστικές ομάδες , αντιμετωπίζοντας όλες τις αγωνιστικές και όχι μόνο αντιξοότητες και δυσκολίες που προέκυψαν και...

This year’s Quebec Open will be merged with the Canadian Open in one super-tournament to be held on 19-26th July in the “Grand Salon” of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth, in Montreal. The 9-round Swiss tournament is organized by the Quebec Chess Federation. The total prize fund is $25,000, with $20,000 guaranteed. Sections and prizes Over [...]

The 34th edition of Benasque International Chess Tournament is taking place from 4th to 12th July 2014 in Benasque, a town in the heart of the Spanish Pyrenees. The event is a 9-round Swiss, valid for FIDE and FEDA rankings, and provides the opportunity of winning title norms. The time control will be 90 minutes for [...]

The 34th edition of Benasque International Chess Tournament is taking place from 4th to 12th July 2014 in Benasque, a town in the heart of the Spanish Pyrenees. The event is a 9-round Swiss with a time control 90′ + 30″ and first prize in the amount of 4.000 €. Top seed is GM Julio [...]

Iasi County Chess Association, Romanian Chess Federation and European Chess Union have the honour of inviting youth teams from each national chess federation to participate in the European Youth U18 Team Chess Championship organised in Iasi, Romania, from 14th July (Arrival) to 22nd July (Departure) 2014. Each national federation may enter an unlimited number of [...]

Ο ιδιοφυής γάλλος Ζωρζ Περέκ (1936 -1982) εκδίδει το 1978 ένα μαγικό βιβλίο. Μέλος μιας εξαιρετικής ομάδας λογοτεχνών, του OuLiPo, συνθέτει ένα από τα πιο πειραματικά μυθιστορήματα στην ιστορία της λογοτεχνίας, που ταυτόχρονα...