By the contract signed without decision of the Board and without open tender, all rights for the organization of both Championships were transferred from the MCF to NGO "Potez"...

Expanding on my post last week, I should say a little bit more the analogy of learning a language and learning to play chess. Chess is like a language in that there are universal rules that need to be learned before you can have a game – or communicate – with someone else. Once you […]

Stockfish and Komodo continue with their amazing performance at the world’s top computer chess championship TCEC. After 12 rounds the two engines share first with 9,5/12, which is 1,5 points more than the third Gull and 2,5(!) points ahead of the top seeded Houdini. Stockfish defeated one of it’s main opponents for gold medal in [...]

The current President of FIDE Kirsan Ilymzhinov and the former World Champion Garry Kasparov will go head to head at the upcoming FIDE President elections in 2014. Today they both announced their candidacy during the 84th FIDE Congress in Tallinn. First to confirm he is running for FIDE Presient 2014-2018 was Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. During the [...]

No financial guarantees from Bulgaria

Norwegian Grandmaster Simen Agdestein won the 3rd Oslo International GM-Group after defeating his compatriot GM Leif E Johannessen in the last round to conclude the event with 7,0/9 points. Agdestein is in excellent shape this summer, having dominated in Sant Martí Open and Telenor World Cup Blitz, and narrowly missing the title in Dieppe Open. [...]

The ChessIQ Academy & Chess Center is going to organize an Internet Based FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar, from 16 to 21 December 2013, under the auspices of FIDE. The Lecturer and Technical Organizer will be IA Sevan Muradian (USA), FIDE Lecturer. Schedule: Monday – Laws of Chess Tuesday – Tournament Rules Wednesday – System of Games, [...]

During the 84th FIDE Congress, FIDE Events Commission presented the new edition “FIDE Identity Manual & Sponsorship Guidelines” – a professional marketing tool which will provide more information to the Organizers and will give a new dynamic to FIDE World Championships. The Manual is developed in co-operation with “M-Spirit”, a company operating in creative...

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov announced that he will run for another term as President of the World Chess Federation at the upcoming elections in Norway next year. Moreover, he promised a hefty 1 million euro for the Chess In School program that already gains speed under the auspice of FIDE. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has been President [...]

Live action all day long

Με ένα όμορφο πρόβλημα από το 1897 με ματ σε δύο κινήσεις του Ολλανδού σκακιστικού συνθέτη B.J.M. Markx (20-08-1874 - ;) θα ασχοληθούμε σήμερα.     Παίζει ο λευκός και κάνει ματ σε δύο κινήσεις.

Stockfish and Komodo are provisional leaders of Stage 2 of the top computer chess championship TCEC. The two engines are with 8,5/11, with Stockfish holding the better tiebreak at the moment. The are closely followed by Gull 2.2 with 8,0/11, and the ex-leader Hiarcs with 7,5/11. The top seeded Houdini is finally catching up with [...]

This game was played on the ICCF server and is a draw against a master from the Netherlands. I believe that this opponent is the highest rated player that I have managed to draw, but is not the highest rated that I have played there. ICCF rules allow for the use of chess engines and […]

The 9th Ciudad de Zaragoza tournament was held on 5th October at the Estadio Miralbueno El Olivar in Zaragoza, Spain. The main event was a 9-round Swiss with the quick time control 12′+3” per player and 142 participants. Top Spanish player GM Francisco Vallejo Pons and IM Renier Castellanos Rodriguez shared the first place with [...]

Chinese player Li Bo emerged winner of the Hong Kong International Open Chess Championship 2013 that was held from 26th September to 2nd October in the Convocation Room at University of Hong Kong. The overnight leader and top rated participant IM Marcos Llaneza Vega was defeated in the last round by GM Meng Kong Wong. [...]