It’s curious how chess players rarely seem to consult research into skill development whilst researchers rarely seem to consult chess teachers in their efforts to uncover the improvement process. This article describes the stunning revelation that it’s not just practice that counts in the pursuit of excellence and that talent probably has a lot more [...]

Some of the players used the opportunity to hop on the open desk bus and go on sightseeing tour.

Veselin Topalov and Leinier Dominguez won their games in the 4th round of the Thessaloniki Grand Prix to catch the other five players in the shared lead. The remaining games were drawn, but not without fight. Morozevich and Nakamura played the spectacular game in Naidorf Sicilian. Caruana pressed for a long time but Kasimdzhanov was [...]

Move Two! Chapter 7 returns to the subject of tactics in the opening. Many games are decided by tactics at the start of the game so it’s important that students recognise the typical patters that occur over and over again. The first section is called ‘Trouble on the e-file’. We look at this idea through [...]

The final of the 82nd Ukrainian Chess Championship is scheduled to take place on 15-26th June in Kiev. The tournament format will be 12-players round robin. The federation has announced that the top national players will compete in the tournament, including the defending champion Anton Korobov, former World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov and European Champion Alexander [...]

7.     Μυθικό σκάκι Αυτός ο Αιγέας θα πρέπει τελικά να ήταν λίγο λειψός. Δεν περίμενε ο δωδεκαθεϊστής (κατά το χριστιανός) να δέσει το πλοίο και μετά να το πάρει απόφαση; Πάντως ουδέν καλόν αμιγές κακού. Αν δεν...

The 4th tournament of FIDE Grand Prix Series 2012-2013 is currently ongoing in Makedonia Palace Hotel in Thessaloniki, Greece. The round 4 pairings are: Grischuk Alexander 2779 – Bacrot Etienne 2725, Morozevich Alexander 2760 – Nakamura Hikaru 2775, Caruana Fabiano 2774 – Kasimdzhanov Rustam 2699, Dominguez Perez Leinier 2723 – Svidler Peter 2769, Topalov Veselin [...]

Ένα βιαστικό πέρασμα, αύριο θα έχει χάσει κάθε επικαιρότητα: Ενόψει του σημερινού τελικού του Champions League στο Γουέμπλεϊ, ο προπονητής της Μπορούσια Ντόρτμουντ Γίργκεν Κλοπ έδωσε μια ενδιαφέρουσα συνέντευξη στον Guardian (αν...

There are a plethora of books, DVDs and software programs designed to improve one’s chess skills. Some of these have titles that suggest rapid improvement if you follow the prescribed method of study. Chess players are always seeking ways to get better so many of the titles promising rapid improvement become top sellers. However, when [...]

A lot of fighting chess is taking place at this interesting event

Ivanchuk lost on time after spoiling a completely winning position

During the opening ceremony of Thessaloniki Grand Prix, FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov kindly accepted to answer a couple of brief questions. Q: Mr. Ilyumzhinov, you literally had only few weeks to prepare for Grand Prix in Thessaloniki. How did everything happen so sudden? A: Initially the tournament was supposed to take place in Madrid, where [...]

Παρακαλούμε όλους τους πρωταθλητές των σχολείων στα οποία έγινε το πρόγραμμα "Παίζω σκάκι - μαθαίνω σκάκι" ότι θα πρέπει να βρίσκονται την Κυριακή 26 Μαίου 2013 και ώρα 5.00 μ.μ στον πολιτιστικό χώρο "Αγορά Αργύρη" για να...

Η ιστορία ενός εφήβου με ιδιόμορφο χαρακτήρα, εξαιρετική ευφυΐα και μια μόνο εμμονή: το σκάκι..  Σκηνές από την πρόσφατη ταινία με μεγάλο σκακιστικό ενδιαφέρον, του 2013, που έρχεται από την Καταλονία (Fill de Cain)...

The second season of the very popular British Webserver Team Tournament has recently begun on the ICCF server. There are 25 teams of 4 players per team in 4 Divisions with 7 teams in the first 3 Divisions, and 4 teams in Division 4. Each player has 6 games, although in Division 4 it is [...]