Grigoryan wins Badalona Open

8/19/2014 – The Badalona Open 2014 was held from 2nd to 10th August 2014. It was a fairly strong tournament with an average rating of 2160. There were 85 participants and among them six GMs and 15 IMs. It was won by GM Karen Grigoryan (2595) from Armenia, who took home his prize money and a beautiful painting. Big pictorial report by Sagar Shah from his last tournament in the Catalan circuit.

China Wins Gold at Chess Olympiad in Norway

8/18/2014 – For the third time in this century the Russian men's team did not win any medals at the Olympiad – and for the first time, ever, two Asian teams did. The young Chinese team – average age 21! – won Gold in the open section and Silver in the women's. In his Olympiad wrap-up Huffington Post chess columnist GM Lubomir Kavalek annotates a very exciting and instructive game from Tromsø.

Stephen Moss: Why chess is an extreme sport

8/17/2014 – Yesterday we reported that two participants of the Chess Olympiad in Tromsø had died, on the final day, within hours of each other. The chess world was stunned, but should they be? Stephen Moss muses in The Guardian: "There were almost 2,000 players taking part in the event, quite a few of them getting on in years, unfit, sedentary. Healthwise, they were high risk." Interesting article.

Looking back: Tromso

8/17/2014 – The Tromso Olympiad has come and gone, and we are left with beautiful memories of the most important chess gathering that happens every two years. Of course, not everything was positive. We bring you a review of the tournament, some of the highlights and lowlights, the ups and the downs, the final quickchats and a pictorial overview of what happened at the closing ceremony.

FIDE Elections: Putin congratulates Ilyumzhinov

8/16/2014 – "The election victory was a convincing evidence of the high esteem of your fruitful activity as the President of FIDE, well-deserved reputation in the global chess community," wrote Russia's President Vladimir Putin to the incumbent after his re-election. We bring you Ilyumzhinov's post-election statement, as well as a very stark one by Garry Kasparov. It's all about the future of chess.

HZ Chess Open won by Krasenkow

8/16/2014 – Coinciding with the Olympiad, the HZ Chess Tournament was held in Vlissingen, Holland, featuring a very healthy lineup of grandmasters, masters and amateurs, and brought in as its showcase player, Chinese GM Bu Xiangzhi, rated 2707. The tournament was announced as having a maximum of 250 players allowed to play, and the roster was filled up quite easily. An illustrated report.

Deaths at the Chess Olympiad

8/16/2014 – Sad news from in Tromsø: on the final day the Swiss-born CM Kurt Meier, playing on board two for the Seychelles, collapsed with a heart attack during his game. In spite of immediate attention he died later that day in hospital. That same evening another player, who we are told was from Uzbekistan, was found dead in his hotel room. What a tragic end to the 2014 Chess Olympiad.

Marin on Tromso R11 – Battling nostalgia

8/15/2014 – From his own days in the Romanian Olympic squad GM Mihail Marin knows the feeling: it's the last round, your team is not in contention for the medals, but you want to give the event your best. You know you are going to feel a deep nostalgia when this wonderful gathering of chess players is over, but you want to finish with a bang. Marin looks at two games that illustrate the mood.

Judit Polgar: the greatest prodigy ever

8/15/2014 – Judit Polgar's announced retirement from chess competitions at the 41st Chess Olympiad marks the end of an era the likes of which none could foresee, but that galvanized women chess for all time. She did not simply break the barriers of a highly prejudiced establishment, she shattered them with records that no male has come close to. Here is a profile with videos of her greatest triumphs.

Triumph on the diagonal?

8/15/2014 – Tactics are wonderful. It is deeply satisfying to finish the game with one inspired, unexpected move. However, before embarking on tactical operations and sacrificial adventures one should try to see the situation with the eyes of the opponent. Is he really helpless? Did he really overlook our tactical trick? Or did he prepare a tactical trick of his own?

Tromso Final

8/14/2014 – China kept its implacable pace and a last round win clinched gold. Hungary suffered but obtained the draw for a silver medal. India came out of nowhere, destroyed Uzbekistan and thanks to tiebreaks got bronze. In the Women's Russia's gold was never in doubt, despite Lagno's loss. China obtains silver and Ukraine holds on to third place. Last round report with all medal winners.

Lake Sevan 2014: Vidit Gujrathi triumphs

8/14/2014 – 23 years ago a young Indian grandmaster took part in one of the strongest events ever, together with nine other top players, all Russian speaking. He won with 6.0/9 points. The player was Viswanathan Anand. Last week, at another very strong event in Armenia, with nine Russian speaking players and one Indian GM, Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, it was déjà vu all over again.

Tromso final round preview

8/14/2014 – The last round starts at 11 a.m. CEST. Many of the medals are still to be defined, and we are not just talking about the team medals either. With so many strong players and so many fierce battles it has become clear that some players were more of an asset to their team than others. We bring you a preview of tomorrow's games plus a prediction on who will get the medals.

Marin on Tromso R10 – Boring symmetry?

8/13/2014 – How long can perfectly symmetrical play last at the top level of chess? Eleven moves? And what are the results of games in which the moves are mirrored? Draw, win for White or loss because of a kind of zugzwang? Curious about this our GM commentator Mihail Marin put on his symmetry glasses to look at round ten, giving us three instructive examples. You should be taking notes.

Judit Polgar to retire from competitive chess

8/13/2014 – It came pretty much out of the blue: the most successful, easily the strongest female chess player in the history of the game today announced her retirement in the London Times. Judit, who at one stage was number eight among all chess players in the world, is 38 and has two children. She is also working intensely on chess for children. We look back at a remarkable career.

Tromso 10: Hard to predict!

8/12/2014 – Today was a difficult day to predict, especially in the Women's section. Russia lost to Ukraine, a grudge match that was clinched by Zhukova. However the Russian team still leads solo as China was unable to beat Spain! An important win by Matnadze against Tan Zhongyi equalized the score. In the Open there was better news for China as they beat France in the top board. Round ten report.

FIDE (and ECU) elections in the international press

8/12/2014 – As you know the election for the FIDE presidency was won on Monday by incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov against challenger Garry Kasparov. Today the international press has devoted a number of articles to this news item. Another almost remained unnoticed: GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili unseated the President of the European Chess Union Silvio Danailov. News links.

Tromso Penultimate Preview

8/12/2014 – The medal contention is nearing the final battles. In the open section China and France are duking it out for the lead, but they are followed by a contingency of strong teams only half a match point behind them. In the Women's there is the grudge match between Ukraine and Russia, a very loaded encounter. Can the Russian team keep their lead? Preview of an exciting round.

Marin on Tromso R9 – The little guys

8/12/2014 – "Pawns are the soul of chess", said Philidor. There are many other ways in which the little guys can become the true heroes of the game, restricting the enemy's activity and making all the other pieces focus on them. For his round nine selection our GM commentator Mihail Marin has selected a few games in which pawns had a decisive influence over the final outcome. Learn and enjoy.

Winning against Magnus

8/12/2014 – Beating Magnus Carlsen is difficult. Especially in the endgame. However, Arkadij Naiditsch managed to do just that, even if he needed a bit of luck to reach a good endgame against the World Champion. But could Carlsen have saved himself at the very end? Or was he lost anyway? Karsten Müller took a closer look and discovered hidden possibilities.

Tromso 09: No changes at top

8/11/2014 – The top match in the Women's section could have gone either way. Armenia held a strong advantange in three boards at a certain point, but they could not hold on to them and at the end Russia even won the match and keep their lead. In the Open section China and Ukraine drew while Azerbaijan was also held to a draw by a very surprising Romania. One report, many quickchats.

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov remains FIDE President

8/11/2014 – In a very hostile environment today's General Assembly was held. With all the votes counted the official tally is Kirsan Ilyumzhinov 110. The current FIDE President will maintain his position until the next General Elections. It seems as if the Kasparov Campaign simply did not reach the votes they needed, and it certainly was not as close as expected. More to follow.

Round Nine Preview

8/11/2014 – We are in the final stretch in Tromso; the last three rounds are upon us and the battles for the medals are starting to line up. China leads in the men but they face a vicious Ukrainian team. In the Women's section Russia leads by a match point, but there are many teams that are still trying to position themselves in medal contention. Preview and top players so far

Marin on Tromso R8 – Lasker's Copyright

8/11/2014 – Back in 1889 Emanuel Lasker played a game of which Garry Kasparov wrote: "It contains one of the beautiful combinations which created a blueprint for future similar double bishop sacrifices" The though loomed on the mind of our GM commentator Mihail Marin: Would any reasonable strong player overlook the bishops' threats so easily nowadays? Here is his answer.