Fred Reinfeld (1910-1964) was an American chess master and prolific author of chess books (and not only chess books), most of them written for less experienced club players. Most had their day and have been forgotten, but some still merit an audience despite their age. One Reinfeld book I've long appreciated is his 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations. I practiced from that book...

Ostravsky Konik International Chess Festival 2014 took place from 26th April to 4th May 2014 at the Social Hall of Culture House in Ostrava, the third largest city in the Czech Republic. GM David Navara takes the national trophy, winning the Czech Championship with 8/9 points, 1,5 points ahead of the nearest followers. Second place [...]

The 2014 Estonian Chess Championships for men and women took part from 28th April to 4th May in Tallinn, the capital and largest city of Estonia. GM Kaido Kulaots wins the Estonian National championship with 7.5/9 points, leaving the runner-up half a point behind. FM Ottomar Ladva takes the silver with 7/9 points, while third [...]

Indian Chess School is organizing ICS International Open FIDE Rating Chess Tournament at Thakur College of Science & Commerce, Thakur Village, Kandivali (East), Mumbai, India from 8-16 May, 2014 (both days inclusive). The tournament is being organized under the aegis of the All India Chess Federation (AICF Event Code 94155/MAH/2014), Maharashtra Chess Association and Mumbai [...]

From 25 to 27 April 2014 a Workshop for the training of the International Arbiters was organized in Brussels, Belgium, by the Antwerp Chess Clubs Union (Antwerps Schaak Collectief), in cooperation with the FIDE Arbiters’ Commission and under the auspices of FIDE. The venue of the Workshop was the conference hall of the Novotel Diegem [...]

Greek Ministry of Education announced on 25th April that chess is included in compulsory program for the primary schools. Having carefully considered the proposal, the Ministry concluded that the chess curriculum meets the counseling and teaching quality criteria and pedagogical suitability. Theodoros Tsorbatzoglou, ECU Board Member, commented for Chessdom: “It is a very important decision...

The 2014 Romanian National Championships for men and women were held from 26th April to 4th of May, 2014 at the Continental Hotel, in Targu Mures, Romania. IM Vlad-Victor Barnaure, GM Mircea-Emilian Parligras and IM Teodor Anton share first place in the Men Section with 8/11 points each. IM Barnaure claims the national title thanks [...]

Stockfish (3157) leads TCEC Season 6 – Stage 4 with 4.5/7 points. Houdini (3148) catches Komodo (3148), after defeating the reigning TCEC champion in the seventh round of the fourth Stage. Both engines have 4/7 points, half a point less than the leader Stockfish (3157). Replay the games from Stage 4 in the Archive mode [...]

The 2014 Kazakhstan Chess Championships for men and women are taking place from 3rd to 12th May, 2014 in Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. The Men championship is a 12 player FIDE round robin with an average rating 2417 (seventh category). GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev is the first seed. The tournament is valid for achieving [...]

Λίγα αποσπάσματα από άρθρο του Γιεβγκένι Μπεμπτσούκ που δημοσιεύτηκε στο Soviet Life (αγγλική έκδοση)  που επικεντρώνονται στο φιλικό και ανθρώπινο χαρακτήρα του Μπόρις Σπάσκι. Δεν επρόκειτο για σκακιστικό περιοδικό...

Στο Επιστημονικό Πάρκο Πατρών και με την συμμετοχή 34 ανδρών και 3 γυναικών ξεκίνησαν τα Ατομικά Πρωταθλήματα Ανδρών – Γυναικών ΕΣΣΠ 2014. Μπορείτε να παρακολουθείτε τις κληρώσεις και τα αποτελέσματα των γύρων πατώντας...

A few years ago I was teaching a Reasoning class (to help children succeed at IQ tests) at a local school when a young girl explained to me that there were two types of mistake. You might make a mistake because something is too hard for you or you might make a careless mistake that […]

According to the FIDE website (HT: Chess Today) the deadline for bids on the world championship rematch between Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand has come and gone, with nary a sponsor to pick up the tab. Not Norway, not India; no one. The FIDE page basically says "stay tuned", which might mean that come November the journalists will pack their bags for Elista or Khanty-Mansyisk.

If nothing else, Alexander Grischuk is always good for a forthright and generally self-effacing interview - see for yourself, here.

The Heroes Day International Chess Festival took place from 26th April to 1st May, 2014, at the Chess Center, Cavans Lane, in Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. The tournament was split into two groups – a 6 player double round robin Master tournament and a 9 round Swiss Open Candidates tournament. WGM Alina L’Ami was [...]