The first player in the Khanty-Mansiysk FIDE Grand Prix to have thrown sand into Hou Yifan’s wheels was the Ukrainian GM, Lagno, who successfully held the Chinese to a draw. In the second position, just half a point behind the leader, advanced the Slovenian GM Muzychuk, who is now the proud holder of three points, [...]

Batchimeg Tuvshintugs of Mongolia is playing in her 3rd event of the FIDE Grand Prix series. She is number 10 on the rating list for men and number 2 for women in Mongolia. Batchimeg took in 2006 1st place in the Susan Polgar World Open Championship, 5th place in the 16th Asian Games from Guangzhou [...]

Reader Kevin Connelly wrote in to say that while TV surfing this morning he came across an episode ("Knight Errant") of the old western series "The Rifleman" in which chess played a major role, and recalled an episode of Kojak where a Fischer-like character kills one reminiscent of Botvinnik. I know there have been various lists and summaries of chess in the movies (here and here, for instance)...

The 37th San Sebastian International Open is taking place on 12-19th April, 2014, at the Gros Xake Taldea. Anoeta passeig, 20. Donostia-San Sebastián (Frontón Karmelo Balda), Spain. 164 players are competing in the 9-round Swiss tournament. Top prizes are 1400 € / 900 € / 700 € / 500 € / 400 € / 350 [...]

"Our" India correspondent, Jaideep Unudurti, has interviewed ex-champ and newly minted challenger Viswanathan Anand yet again - and has kindly informed us of it as well. In it Anand discusses the high and low points of the recent Candidates' tournament in Khanty-Mansiysk, exulting in his wins and expressing his dismay about the missed wins against Dmitry Andreikin in round 12 and the tension...

Στις 9 Απριλίου ξεκίνησε στο Χάντι-Μανσίσκ της Ρωσίας το 4ο γυναικείο Γκραν Πρι. Συμμετέχουν 12 κορυφαίες σκακίστριες και οι αγώνες ξεκινούν καθημερινά στις 12 το μεσημέρι ώρα Ελλάδας. Η βαθμολογία μετά τον 3ο γύρο...

The latest Bundesliga season ended last weekend, with Baden-Baden winning for about the 30th time in a row. (Okay, it was only their ninth consecutive title. Other teams had better find rich benefactors if they hope to break this strangehold.) Levon Aronian was the special guest star helping push them over the edge to victory, scoring 2.5/3 over the final weekend to not only help them but himself...

In studying Tai Chi, I’ve learned about developing inner balance and maintaining harmony with the world around me. Studying the concepts of balance and harmony in context of an internal martial art made me realized how critical they are to chess. How often do beginners launch an attack only to have the position turned around […]

FM Nicolas Lopez Azambuja convincingly won the Uruguayan chess championship 2014 that was held from 2nd to 11th April at the House of Sports Artigas in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Lopez Azambuja collected 8 points from eleven games, leaving the nearest follower half a point behind. FM Manuel Larea took the silver medal with [...]

German national captain GM Dorian Rogozenco has nominated the teams for the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway. The men’s team will consist of GM Arkadij Naiditsch (Elo 2706), GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu (Elo 2686), GM Georg Meier (Elo 2636), GM Daniel Fridman (Elo 2616) and GM David Baramidze (Elo 2610). In the women’s team are [...]

Schachfestival Dresden e.V., German Chess Federation and sponsor UKA have announced the German Women Masters tournament which will be held from 16-25th November at the Hotel Wyndham Garden in Dresden. The tournament format will be 10-player round robin with the prize fund of 10,000 EUR. IM Elisabeth Pähtz and top three finishers from the previous [...]

The city of Nalchik hosted the North Caucasus Federal District Championships for men and women. The men’s event was 9-round Swiss with 38 participants, while the women’s event was 10-player round robin. Grandmaster Artur Gabrielyan from Georgievsk (Stavropol Krai) emerged champion for men, while the second place went to Oleg Nechaev (Stavropol Krai) and third [...]

Heart of America Spring Class Championships are set to take place on April 19-20, 2014, at the Ramada Inn, 1601 N Universal Ave., Kansas City MO 64120. The event will have six sections: Open, A, B, C, D, Under 1200 & Unrated. The playing format will be 5-round Swiss with time control G120/5 second delay. [...]

Sergei Tiviakov and Aravindh Chithambaram drew their game after three hours of play, a result that confirmed that Tiviakov would successfully defend his title and in doing so become a three time winner of the KL International Open. But for young Chithambaram, it was also a fantastic result as with the draw the 14 year [...]

My opponent in this game is from Russia (I think Siberia) and is the second highest rated player in this section. At the time that I am writing this, Norchenko has one win and four draws, including the one with me, and is in second place in this section. I am in third place with five draws and […]