10/20/2019 – Going into the rest day we are now past the half way mark at the World Junior Championships 2019. In the open section we have two leaders: Evgeny Shtembuliak of Ukraine and Aram Hakobyan of Armenia. They are on 5.0/6 and are followed by a pack of seven players on 4½/6. In the girls section we have Mobina Alinasab who has taken the sole lead with 5½/6 beating Altantuya on top board. Polina Shuvalova is in the sole second spot with 5.0/6. As many as ten girls are on 4½/6. In this report we bring you the most interesting games of round six and interviews. We also tell you about the Iran-Israel controversy which has been going on at the event. Two Iranians (pictured) were paired against Israeli opponents in this tournament and forfeited. A power-packed report by IM SAGAR SHAH from New Delhi.

4/20/2019 – After starting off with two straight wins at the GRENKE Chess Open, Iranian prodigy Alireza Firouzja decided to forfeit his third round game as his opponent was an Israeli national: FM Or Bronstein (pictured). The laws of Iran forbid Iranian players from playing against Israelis. Had Firouzja played, he would have risked facing sanctions back in his home country. But forfeiting a game also cost him dearly — as ADITYA PAI reports from Karlsruhe — Firoujza seemed to have lost his composure in the next round as he simply left his rook en prise against 1945-rated Antonia Ziegenfuss (pictured). Surely one of the biggest upsets we'll see this year!

7/10/2018 – The "Gideon Japhet Cup" ended in Jerusalem on Friday, July 6th. Grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi slipped into the lead in the double-round rapid tournament finishing ahead by a full point over four other protagonists with equally well-known names: Peter Svidler (Russia), Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine), Boris Gelfand (Israel) and Georg Meier (Germany) finished with 5 points each. The Ukrainian Anna Muzychuk came sixth with 4.0 / 10. In the parallel open Arkadij Naiditsch won with 6.0 / 7 in front of five players with 5½ points respectively. | Pictured: Gelfand and Ivanchuk relax after the tournament | Photo: Ritvo Photography

7/5/2018 – Fierce chess battles at the Gideon Japhet Memorial rapid cup have led to the first place being up for grabs going into the last two rounds on Friday. Not only are Ian Nepomniachtchi and Georg Meier currently ahead by half a point, they face each other in the final two games! In the ACP Open group, Arkadij Naiditsch conceded his first draw but has 5½ out of 6 with one round to play, and is poised to win the tournament. | Photo: Ritvo Photography

6/29/2018 – Elite rapid chess and more in the Israeli city of Jerusalem. Nepomniachtchi, Svidler, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Meier and Anna Muzychuk star in the 4th edition of the Gideon Japhet Memorial, beginning July 1st. | Pictured: The prize giving podium of the third Japhet tournament 2016 | Photo: Ritvo photography

7/21/2017 – Georg Meier wins 20th Maccabiah top group ahead of Alexander Moiseenko, while Tal Baron took the B group. Yochanan Afek sends stories, photos and highlights | Photos: Ritvo Photography

7/12/2017 – National Cup games, in chess and in other sports, are usually run in a “knock out” system with half of the remaining competitors eliminated in each round. For already more than a generation, Israeli chess has been adopting a more innovative and dynamic method to run this traditional enterprise. At the end of the league season, 40 teams from the top divisions regroup for a day of real fun: A five-round rapid Swiss competition with almost all the country’s top players taking part.

7/7/2017 – German Grandmaster Georg Meier is an early leader in Jerusalem after three rounds. Yochanan Afek sent us this report of early highlights, including a "Greek gift". Dutch GM David Klein (pictured in his Maccabiah t-shirt) is also in the top group. | Photo: Ritvo Photography

12/12/2016 – Tiberias is an ancient city with a rich history. Founded by the Romans it is mentioned in the New Testament and considered to be one of the four holy Cities of Judaism. Currently, chess is also an attraction of Tiberias. The city is host to the Championships of Israel and used the opportunity to show how much it supports chess.

7/21/2016 – The third international tournament in memory of Gideon Japhet was concluded last weekend. It was the highlight of a spectacular summer chess festivity in Jerusalem throughout the first half of July, starting with the National Cup Games played in the first country’s railway station compound followed by a simul at the foot of the Tower of David. Pictures, videos, and great shots!

7/11/2016 – The National Cup games in Israel are a traditional one-day rapid team competition. For the first time this popular event was hosted by the Israeli capital, Jerusalem. Alongside this massive team competition with 38 teams was a series of parallel activities for aficionados and children, with balloons, chess, arts and craft, chess, actors, and more chess! An illustrated report.

12/12/2015 – Vassily Ivanchuk from Ukraine is the winner of the ACP Masters rapid super tournament that ended on Thursday in the Israeli city of Ashdod. The Ukraine No.1 beat Frenchman Etienne Bacrot in the final match with a flawless two wins and one draw to take home the title and the US$10 thousand first prize. Here is the final illustrated report.

12/9/2015 – It is described as the strongest event ever held in Israel, and the twelve-player rapid event in Ashdod has not disappointed. With star power such as Gelfand, Ivanchuk, Nepomniachtchi, as well as names such as Bacrot and Sevian, there were all the ingredients to a thrilling event. The players were split into two groups with four qualifiers, with plenty of fun chess.

3/11/2015 – Following a fascinating rest day in Old Jerusalem, in the final round, Evgeny Najer completed his final sprint with a draw and the title. In the midst of numerous safe results (AKA short draws) to guarantee a seat in the World Cup, one that stood out was Bartel Mateusz, who finished in third after beating Nepomniachtchi with an inspired sacrificial attack. Large illustrated report.

3/6/2015 – With just one round to go Russian GM Evgeny Najer is the sole leader in the European championship with 8.0/10 after three consecutive wins against Esen, Nisipeanu and Korobov respectively. Nepomniachtchi, who had been in the lead in round eight, lost a crucial game to Navara, who is in second. In third is Khismatullin who's win deserves the beauty prize.

3/5/2015 – In the Ramada hotel in Jerusalem tension is rising up as the battle for one of the 23 qualifying spots for the World Cup reaches its apex. In the eighth round Russian Ian Nepomniachtchi took a sole lead with 6.5/9 after beating Englishman David Howell whilst all other seven leaders had settled for a draw. A group of thirteen grandmasters are just half a point behind the leader.

3/4/2015 – Sometimes a tournament, no matter how strong, will see a player take off as if he had King Kong chasing him. This was the case last year when Alexander Motylev won with a record score. It is also most certainly not the case this year as the top spot is shared by nine players at 5.5/7, followed by no fewer than 21 more at 5.0/7. Lots of fighting chess and the gold is wide open.

3/3/2015 – After more than one round of wait-and-see, the sixth round of the European Championship turned up the heat as heads rolled at the top. Both early leaders, Anton Korobov and David Navara, lost as rivals took their fates in their own hands to take over the lead, and there are now four new top dogs at 5.0/6, with Ian Nepomniachtchi at the helm. Illustrated report.

3/2/2015 – Round five was another fairly controlled affair, with only three decisive games on the top sixteen boards. This isn't to say they were not played out, but clearly the players preferred to err on the side of caution than not when making decisions. This worked out well for Korobov, who drew but stays in the lead. Still, there was room for creative play.

3/1/2015 – The participants of the European Championship taking place in Jerusalem enjoyed a free Saturday. Most of the foreign guests took advantage of the great weather to join a magnificent excursion to Masada, a famous fortification built by Herod the Great, and the Dead Sea, where they immersed themselves in ancient history, mud baths and floating chess.

2/28/2015 – Whether due to cautious play, or simply the extremely balanced boards with players having similar ratings for the most part, round four saw an inordinate number of draws at the top boards for an open, with only five of the top twenty games ending in decisive results. This left the way open for one player to take sole lead, and one did just that.

2/27/2015 – Due to the extremely high level of the players, the second and third rounds saw top-level clashes already with top boards averaging over 2600 Elo. The number of players with perfect scores dropped from 26 in round two to just five in round three. Although they certainly all deserve praise, David Navara's play stands out for his extremely entertaining attacking play.

2/25/2015 – The 2015 European Championship was opened on Monday to a very enthusiastic crowd of players, who accustomed to a fairly sedate affair with speeches and welcomes, enjoyed the highly entertaining opening ceremony with mind reading magic acts, and percussion performances. Unfortunately for some, they soon found out there were further surprises in round one.

2/2/2015 – Following what seemed to signal a serious crisis in the Israeli capital’s chess scene, the last decade witnessed unexpectedly a new spring. A new star from France appeared in the sky of Jerusalem: Alon Cohen-Revivo, who migrated to Israel from the French city of Lyon in 1996 and now runs Jeruchess, which has become a leading chess force in the country. Yochanan Afek reports.