The 44th International Chess Tournament “Bosna 2014″ will be held in Sarajevo from 30th May to 6th June 2014. The playing venue will be in hotel Saraj, Nevjestina 5, Sarajevo. The total prize fund is 35,700 KM (national currency in Bosnia and Herzegovina) or cca 18,225 EUR. The top prize in A tournament is cca [...]

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Veselin Topalov won their respective games against Peter Svidler and Vladimir Kramnik in round 6 of FIDE Candidates Tournament. The other two matches, Viswanathan Anand – Sergey Karjakin and Levon Aronian – Dmitry Andreikin, were drawn. Anand must feel happier as Aronian missed to win and catch him on the shared first [...]

Dutch writer, FM, and chess lover Tim Krabbé stopped updating his magnificent Open Chess Diary several years ago. This was in protest, I think, to those who cribbed his material without acknowledgement or permission, but happily there have been a few new entries over the past half year. If you aren't familiar with his website you're in for an incredible treat; if you are, you'll be pleased...

Garry Kasparov went to Bobby Fischer's graveyard on what would have been the latter's 71st birthday and attended a small memorial at the church there. More here, with a video and transcript of his remarks during an accompanying on-site interview.

Το πλήρες πρόγραμμα (21 Μαρτίου – 6 Απριλίου): Εγκαίνια Παρασκευή 21 Μαρτίου Χαιρετισμός, επίσημη έναρξη φεστιβάλ, ώρα: 19:00 – 20:00 Επίδειξη αγώνων σιμουλτανέ, ώρα: 20:00 – 21:00 Έναρξη Φιλοτέχνησης Σκακιστικών Πιονιών από...

What was looking like a four-man race has transformed significantly after today's sixth round at the Candidates' tournament. It seemed like a prime opportunity for the chase pack to catch the leader, Viswanathan Anand, after he failed to achieve anything with White in a Berlin ending against Sergey Karjakin, but as it turned out all three of his closest pursuers stumbled. The most interesting...

Η ΕΣΟ εξέδωσε την προκήρυξη για τα Πανελλήνια Ατομικά και Ομαδικά Πρωταθλήματα Μαθητών Μαθητριών 2014 που θα λάβουν χώρα στην Ερέτρια από 25 έως 27 Απριλίου.

The FIDE Seminar for International Organizers will be organized by the FIDE Events Commission (EVE) and the Cyprus Chess Federation on 27 -29 April, 2014, in Larnaca, Cyprus. The Seminar with the objective to educate and certify Organizers on an international basis will take place during the 1st Individual FIDE Zone (1.10) Championship 2014. Subject: [...]

I remember many games in which I had a good position but I lost those because I failed to spot some small traps set by my opponent. If you study the games played by players 2000 or lower you will find very few games which are won strategically, but often they end with mistakes. What […]

Interview with Mr D V Sundar, Vice President, FIDE & Member of Appeals Committee, FIDE World Candidates Tournament 2014, Khanty-Mansiysk A chess administrator par excellence, Mr D V Sundar, Vice President, FIDE has been doing yeomen service to chess in India and Asia for the past three decades. The icing in the cake, was the [...]

Alexey Bezgodov, The Extreme Caro-Kann: Attacking Black with 3.f3 (New in Chess 2014). 271 pp., $28.95/€25.95. On the surface the Caro-Kann looks like a very solid opening choice, but in fact it degenerates into mayhem in a surprisingly large number of lines. In some cases the play is deeply worked out and the adventures arise later, as in the Classical Caro-Kann (3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5...

Peter Svidler bounced back after yesterday’s loss by winning against Veselin Topalov in round 5 of FIDE World Candidates Tournament. At the same time Viswanathan Anand preserved the lead after splitting the point with Dmitry Andreikin. Kramnik and Aronian played a wild match that eventually settled in a draw after six hours of play. The [...]

Imre Hera and Ufuk Tuncer, A Cutting-Edge Gambit against the Queen's Indian (New in Chess 2014). 174 pp., €19.95/$24.95. This book is a dense monograph dedicated entirely to the theoretically hot gambit line 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.Qc2 c5 6.d5. It was first played (as far as I can tell) by Levon Gregorian against Paul Keres in the 1967 USSR Team Championship, but only hit...

We do what we can to keep you posted on the chess events of the day, but what about the events of 100 years ago? Relive the past as present on the Old In Chess website. (HT: Brian Karen) If only its subjects had internet access!

In 2011 Quality Chess put out a great book on the Tarrasch Defense (the opening that characteristically arises via the moves 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5) by Nikolaos Ntirlis and Jacob Aagaard. As is typical for QC books, that work didn't just summarize the theory of that opening but developed it, and while the book was (and is) a useful resource for club players it's pitched for stronger players ...