When I utter the words “algebraic notation” to a classroom full of beginning chess players, their eyes grow wide with terror. Hearing the word “algebraic” tends to have a similar effect on adults. While I love mathematics, I can appreciate how frightening the words “algebraic notation” can be to those who don’t yet know the [...]

Tomorrow is the last round at Cappelle La Grande

The second half of the Zurich Chess Challenge not only saw more decisive games than the first half (not difficult, since there were no decisive games in the opening cycle), it saw more interesting and volatile ones as well. In the end, Fabiano Caruana (send him back!) was the deserved winner; not so much because he played especially sterling chess (no one in the tournament did), but because he...

This is my third time playing the Reykjavik Open and we again played in last year’s impressive new venue: Harpa, the picturesque concert hall in Reykjavik’s harbour. I remember last year noise was a bit of an issue but the organisers seem to have done a good job and there was only one day with [...]

Anand beat Kramnik and finished in second place...

The prizes were given during the closing ceremony...

The standings will get crowded at the top before the last round

Noroozi won with an impressive 10.5/11 score

The 3rd HDBank Cup International Open Chess tournament 2013 will be held from 18th to 25th March, 2013 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The local star Le Quang Liem will be the top seed in the tournament with 2709 elo. Another 2700+ player is GM Ferenc Berkes, arriving from a distant Hungary. Regional chess [...]

It will a single round-robin with 10 participants

The agreement between FIDE and ACES EUROPE for the promotion of chess in schools in Europe was signed last night in Valencia by the FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumnzinov, FIDE Vice-President Ali Nihat Yazici, ACES Europe President Gian Francesco Lupattelli and Vice-President of the association John Swanson. The Agreement was signed in the presence of the [...]

If Caruana does not lose, he will win the tournament...

The 45th International Women’s Grandmaster chess tournament will take place from 3rd to 10th March at the Hotel Slavija in Belgrade. The 10-player round robin event is organized by the Belgrade Chess Association, with sponsorship from Assembly of the City of Belgrade. One of the longest running chess tournaments in the world, established back in [...]

The 7th Annual Philadelphia Open will be held over the Easter week from March 27-31, 2013, at the upscale, luxury Loews Philadelphia Hotel, rated Four Diamonds by AAA, 1200 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event has a $75,000 projected prize fund, based on 480 paid entries, with $50,000 minimum guaranteed. The event has 7 sections: [...]

The top division of the Counties & District Correspondence Chess Championship has almost reached the halfway stage with Essex streaking ahead with a score of 10.5 / 12, followed by Northumberland on 7 / 10, Warwickshire on 7 / 11, Hertfordshire (who I play for) on 6 /10, Yorkshire on 4 / 5, Hampshire on [...]