Chess Blog

FIDE World Cup 2021 - Games and Results 19/07/2021
The FIDE World Cup takes place in Krasnaya Polyana 12th July to 8th August. The venue which is close to Sochi and which hosted events in the 2014 Winter Olympics and is high in the mountains. The field is very strong headed by World Champion Magnus Carlsen, but also including Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, Anish […]
Mark Crowther
34th Leon Chess 2021 - Games and Results 13/07/2021
The 34th Leon Chess tournament took place Wed 30th Jun to Sun 4th Jul 2021.This was a four player rapid knockout with Leinier Dominguez Perez, Boris Gelfand, Ju Wenjun and Jaime Santos Latasa. The event again - like last year - took place on Chess.com rather than in Leon over the board. There was a […]
Mark Crowther
San Fermin Masters Final 2021 - Games and Results 11/07/2021
The San Fermin Masters Final was a Chess24 blitz event that took place 10th to 11th July 2021. Four players (Eduardo Iturrizaga Bonelli, Le Quang Liem, Jaime Santos Latasa and Nodirbek Abdusattorov) qualified in events broadcast on Chess24's Spanish service and they were joined by World Champion Magnus Carlsen, Wesley So, Ding Liren and Levon […]
Mark Crowther
Croatia Grand Chess Tour Rapid and Blitz 2021 - Games and Results 07/07/2021
The Grand Chess Tour Rapid and Blitz in Croatia takes place 5th to 12th July 2021. Wild card Ivan Saris plays the rapid and Garry Kasparov, the blitz. Viswanthan Anand also plays the tour for the first time this year. Play starts on July 7th with the rapid. Players: Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Alexander Grischuk, […]
Mark Crowther
Goldmoney Asian Rapid 2021 - 04/07/2021
The Goldmoney Asian Rapid took place Sat 26th Jun to Sun 4th Jul 2021. This Champions Chess Tour event featured a number of Asian qualifiers and invitees. Goldmoney is an online company that facilitates the purchase of precious metals. Players: Magnus Carlsen, Wesley So, Anish Giri, Levon Aronian, Alireza Firouzja, Vidit Gujrathi, Ding Liren, Jan-Krzysztof […]
Mark Crowther
FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women's Speed Chess Championship 2021 - Games and Results 03/07/2021
The finals of the FIDE Chess.com 2021 Women's Speed Chess Championship took place 12th June to 3rd July 2021. The final stage had 8 invitees and 8 qualifiers established in events that took place 28th May to June 6th. Players: Humpy Koneru, Bibisara Assaubayeva, Kateryna Lagno, Valentina Gunina, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Harika Dronavalli, Antoaneta Stefanova, Deysi […]
Mark Crowther

ECF

DMR election results! 27/07/2021
The successful candidates for Silver Direct Members’ Representatives 2021 were John Reyes and Tim Wall Voting was as follows — Jonathan-Miller – 31 votes John...
WebAdmin
National Chess Library news 26/07/2021
The National Chess Library has arrived safely at its new home in De Montfort University in Leicester. Here is a link to a light-hearted blog...
WebAdmin
ChessFest – 6,000 chess fans on Trafalgar Square 22/07/2021
The UK’s biggest-ever outdoor chess festival, ChessFest, attracted a total of 6,000 visitors over seven hours for a day of sun, chess and fun at...
WebAdmin
County entry open for the ECF’s Pre-Season Regional County Challenge 21/07/2021
Whilst clubs and leagues look to re-establishing themselves ahead of the new season, County Associations have the opportunity to reconnect with their members and players...
WebAdmin
Covid Guidance – Step 4 21/07/2021
Step 4 of HMG’s Spring Response plan started on July 19th. The Step 4 Guidance / Recommendations page summarises some of the key HMG guidance...
WebAdmin
International Chess Day 20th July 19/07/2021
Tuesday 20th July is International Chess Day. This marks the anniversary of the day that the International Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded in 1924. The...
WebAdmin

Chessbase

Game of the Week 474: M. Carlsen - R. Wojtaszek 28/07/2021
This week, Merijn van Delft takes a look a close look at the encounter between Magnus Carlsen and Radoslaw Wojtaszek at the FIDE World Cup 2021 - a game full of tactical blows and surprises. | Merijn's show is available on-demand with a ChessBase Premium Account. You can register a Premium account here.
World Cup - Live! 28/07/2021
While the semifinalists in the women’s section get a rest day, the quarterfinals of the open kick off in Sochi. Magnus Carlsen starts with black against Etienne Bacrot. The remaining pairings: Vidit vs Jan-Krzysztof Duda (pictured), Amin Tabatabaei vs Vladimir Fedoseev and Sam Shankland vs Sergey Karjakin. Follow the action live with expert commentary starting […]
Biel: Round 2 live! 28/07/2021
The first round of the Grandmaster Tournament Biel brought three decisions and one draw. Round 2 also promises exciting chess: Kirill Alekseenko plays against Vincent Keymer, Noel Studer faces Alan Pichot, Nihal Sarin fights against Boris Gelfand and Gata Kamsky agaist Maxime Lagarde. The round starts at 14:00 CEST (8:00 ET, 12:00 UTC).
World Cup: Carlsen’s close call 28/07/2021
Only after an extremely tense struggle did Magnus Carlsen manage to knock out Andrey Esipenko to reach the quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup in Sochi, where he will face Etienne Bacrot. Jan-Krzysztof Duda, Vladimir Fedoseev, Amin Tabatabaei and Sergey Karjakin also went through. In the women’s section, Anna Muzychuk knocked out Nana Dzagnidze and […]
World Cup Highlights – Part 1 28/07/2021
The 2021 FIDE World Cup in Sochi, Russia has narrowed down the 206 starting participants to just 8 remaining players. Canadian FM Joshua Doknjas analyzes some of the most interesting games from the first half of the event. | Photos: Anastasiia Korolka (FIDE)
Biel: Lively start of the classical tournament 28/07/2021
In round 1 of the classical part of the GM Tournament at the Biel Chess Festival three games ended with a decision. Alan Pichot won against Boris Gelfand, Kirill Alekseenko defeated Nihal Sarin and Gata Kamsky won against Noel Studer. Vincent Keymer and Maxime Lagarde drew. | Photos: Biel Chess Festival

lichess.org

FIDE World Cup - Round 5 Report: 6 of 8 Games go to Tense Tiebreaks 28/07/2021
Excitement in the tiebreaks as Carlsen narrowly holds onAfter a tense and edgy round in both the World Cup and Women’s World Cup, the quarter-finalists and semi-finalists are now known:World Cup (Quarter-finals):Magnus Carlsen (2847) v. Etienne Bacrot (2678)Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2738) v. Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (2726)Vladimir Fedoseev (2696) v. Amin Tabatabaei (2613)Sergey Karjakin (2757) v. Sam […]
@cynosure
FIDE World Cup - Round 4 Report: Dubov, Andreikin, and Artemiev Whittled Down 25/07/2021
With 32 players left in the Open World Cup, and 16 players in the Women’s edition, there’s everything to play for - especially as many of the world’s strongest players were eliminated in round 3. [title image: Anastasiia Korolkova / FIDE] But round 4 was not without its surprises - such as Polish GM Radosław […]
@cynosure
FIDE World Cup - Round 3 Report: Caruana, Mamedyarov, Giri Out 22/07/2021
Round 3 of the FIDE World Cup finished yesterday with a series of surprises, upsets and interesting games. The current World Champion - GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) - beat his Norwegian countryman GM Aryan Tari (2639) to get through to round 4. However, Carlsen appeared to have an uphill struggle in the first game against Tari […]
@cynosure
Fat Fritz is not the Only Ripoff and now ChessBase is Getting Sued 20/07/2021
The developers of the popular chess engine Stockfish formally filed a lawsuit against ChessBase GmbH this week. Due to repeated violations of Stockfish’s software license, the Stockfish devs have ultimately revoked ChessBase’s right to distribute Stockfish and derivative software. ChessBase has ignored orders to cease and desist and continues to sell software containing code that […]
@Lichess
Andrew Tang wins Titled Arena 19/07/2021
With a 50 points lead!GM Andrew Tang (@C9C9C9C9C9) won his 4th Titled Arena very convincingly. He was followed by IM Minh Le (@mutdpro) and GM Daniel Naroditsky (@RebeccaHarris). In 4th place was NM Jasugi99 and 5th was GM Sergei Zhigalko (@Zhigalko_Sergei). Tang did not let any doubt come up that he was going to win […]
Lichess Team
World Cup Wobbles after Covid-19 scare as Aronian and others withdraw; Concerns for Caruana 18/07/2021
Round 2 of the World Cup continues, as the first impact of Covid-19 is felt. The risk of Covid-19, already looming in the tournament since IM Mohamed Ervan's withdrawal in round 1, took centre stage in round 2. Even before this latest round began, GM Levon Aronian was forfeited in the first game due to […]
@cynosure @konstantinos07

Chess24

FIDE World Cup 5.2: Shankland & Vidit in Quarterfinals 27/07/2021
Sam Shankland knocked out Peter Svidler to become the first player to reach the quarterfinals of the 2021 FIDE World Cup, while also securing a spot in the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix. Vidit was the second, after overcoming Vasif Durarbayli, but the remaining six matches will all be decided in tiebreaks today, after Haik Martirosyan […]
FIDE World Cup 5.1: Martirosyan & Kosteniuk strike 26/07/2021
Haik Martirosyan beat Amin Tabatabaei while Alexandra Kosteniuk took down Valentina Gunina in the only decisive games in a quiet start to Round 5 of the FIDE World Cup. Magnus Carlsen found himself under pressure despite having the white pieces against 19-year-old Andrey Esipenko, but the most dramatic game of the round was Vidit-Durarbayli, where […]
FIDE World Cup 4.3: 18-year-old Ivic knocks out Andreikin 25/07/2021
We’re down to the Last 16 of the FIDE World Cup, with just three matches as seeded: Carlsen-Esipenko, Grischuk-Duda and MVL-Karjakin. Vidit is the other player seeded to the Last 16 to make it and will face Vasif Durarbayli, who overcame Nodirbek Abdusattorov. The one major surprise of the tiebreaks was 18-year-old Velimir Ivic knocking […]
FIDE World Cup 4.2: Hari, Xiong & Pragg knocked out 24/07/2021
Harikrishna fought for 115 moves but couldn’t find a way back on Friday against Iran’s Amin Tabatabaei, whose clash with fellow giant killer Haik Martirosyan is the only Last 16 match already determined. Jeffery Xiong was beaten 2:0 by Vidit, while Praggnanandhaa lost a spectacular game to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. There are no less than eight […]
FIDE World Cup 4.1: Carlsen slowed, Goryachkina beaten 23/07/2021
Magnus Carlsen was seriously tested for the first time in Sochi as Radek Wojtaszek decided his best chance against the World Champion was aggression. It could have backfired, but in the end he achieved the moral victory of Magnus offering a draw in an unclear position. Elsewhere half the games in the Open section were […]
Chessable Masters features Ju Wenjun and Abhimanyu Mishra 22/07/2021
Women’s World Champion Ju Wenjun and 12-year-old youngest ever grandmaster Abhimanyu Mishra from July 31st play the Chessable Masters, the 8th event on the $1.6 million Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. The top seeds are Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Wesley So, Alireza Firouzja and Hikaru Nakamura, with three places still to be determined. The Chessable Masters starts on […]

thechessworld

Endgame for Club Players Vol.1 with IM Mat Kolosowski [TCW Academy] 27/07/2021
Myth busted: even if you are below 1500, you still need to learn endgames. Period. Let’s face a fact. If you are spending your waking hours studying the opening theory or solving chess puzzles, and… … ignoring or stalling your ENDGAME studies, you will never get good at playing chess. You see, the stronger you […]
Yury Markushin
10 Reasons to Learn Endgames in 2021 23/07/2021
Many chess players spend most of their training time studying openings. It is logical since you get to play the opening stage in every single game and it makes a huge impact on the following stages. At the same time, one should not forget to study middlegames and endgames as well since poor play in […]
Jesus Gonzalez
10 Reasons Why Every Club Player Should Consider 1.b3 Larsen’s Opening 16/07/2021
It is getting harder and harder to achieve any advantage with White pieces in the main lines. Black seems to hold their own in most of the popular openings. Modern chess players of all levels have an access to the strongest engines, and they use them for opening preparation. Usually, your best chance against such […]
Yury Markushin
Isolated Queen’s Pawn with IM Mat Kolosowski [TCW Academy] 15/07/2021
An early n4 move by White and n5 by Black, followed by undermining pawn moves in the adjacent files—and there it is, the true “pride and sorrow” of chess. Not only can it win you games like a rockstar, it can also lose you games like mere simpletons! Strong outposts on c5 and e5… Gaining […]
Yury Markushin
Tarrasch Defense with GM Marian Petrov [TCW Academy] 15/07/2021
Need an opening that is equally aggressive as positionally sound against White’s 1.d4? Without studying hours of opening theory… as in the Dragon or the Grunfeld? Here’s the Tarrasch Defense for you. It was a highly popular opening in the 1960s when Spassky used it first in his Candidates match against Geller in 1965… … […]
Yury Markushin
5 Reasons to Play King’s Indian Defense in Must-Win Situations 09/07/2021
Chess is extremely popular nowadays. A lot of people participate in different tournaments all over the world. To get on top in such a competitive field, you have to win frequently. The old strategy of winning with White and drawing with Black pieces does not work in open tournaments. You should play for a win […]
Yury Markushin

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