7/11/2026 – The second edition of the Sahel Chess Festival will take place in Monastir, Tunisia, from 24 October to 1 November 2026. After attracting more than 300 players in its inaugural year, the festival will again feature several classical tournaments divided by rating category, including a section for players aged fifty and above. The organisers also aim to draw more titled players, while highlighting Monastir's appeal as a Mediterranean chess destination. | Photos: Diana Mihajlova

9/25/2025 – Norway's GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen emerged victorious at the inaugural Sahel Chess Festival, held in Monastir, Tunisia, from 1 to 9 September 2025. Scoring 8½/9 in the main Open, Christiansen also won the blitz event, highlighting the high level of play at a tournament that attracted 263 participants from 11 federations. The festival, hosted at the Amir Palace Hotel, showcased Tunisia's vibrant chess scene and signalled the start of a promising new tradition in the Sahel region. | All photos: Diana Mihajlova

2/21/2025 – The Djerba Chess Festival's Masters section brings together top grandmasters from around the world for a highly competitive tournament on the island of Djerba, a.k.a. the Island of Dreams. Vetted GMs such as Vasyl Ivanchuk, David Navara and Parham Maghsoodloo compete alongside rising talents like Volodar Murzin and current tournament leader Marc'Andria Maurizzi. The event, enriched by Tunisian culture and hospitality, also welcomed the country's Minister for Tourism. | All photos: Diana Mihajlova

2/10/2025 – As the Djerba Chess Festival in Tunisia approaches, starting in just five days on February 15, Diana Mihajlova shares fond memories of Vasyl Ivanchuk, the most popular participant of the Djerba Chess Festival 2024: Vasyl Ivanchuk. | Photos: Diana Mihajlova

1/27/2025 – The Djerba Chess Festival is steadily securing its place on the international chess scene as an exciting blend of competition, tourism, and cultural experience. Known as the "sweet Djerba" or the "island of dreams," this enchanting destination on Tunisia's southeast coast will host its fifth edition from February 15–23, 2025.

3/5/2024 – The Djerba Chess Festival was not all about the Masters tournament, as a number of open tournaments and side events took place concurrently. Chokri Saidi, the festival’s organiser, noted: “I am a businessman, but nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing children and players from all over the region and from further abroad giving all their being into a game of chess”. | Pictured: Arezki Bouhini from Algeria | All photos by Diana Mihajlova

3/3/2024 – The Djerba Masters was an 8-player single round-robin featuring a mix of rising stars and experienced grandmasters. In the end, Daniel Dardha and Hans Niemann tied for first place with 4½ points each. Dardha was declared tournament winner thanks to his better tiebreak score. World junior champion Marc’Andria Maurizzi tied for third place with fan favourite Vasyl Ivanchuk. | All photos by Diana Mihajlova

2/24/2024 – The fourth edition of the Djerba Chess Festival is taking place on February 17-25 on the island of Djerba in Tunisia. Situated on the south-east coast of Tunisia, Djerba is a small, flat island at only 54 metres above sea level. The main event is the Masters, an 8-player single round-robin. After five rounds, Hans Niemann and Daniel Dardha (pictured) are sharing the lead. | All photos by Diana Mihajlova

2/19/2024 – The Arabian Karpov Cup, as part of the 1st Jeddah International Youth Festival, successfully fulfilled its mission: to present a platform for young players from the Arab and African regions to play in an international tournament, so as to increase their rating or simply to gain experience. Emirati WCM Rouda Essa Al Sarkal, aged 15, won the event after obtaining 7½/9 points and outscoring Humaidan Mohamed Alzaabi on tie-break criteria. | Photos: Diana Mihajlova and the Jeddah Chess Festival

2/17/2024 – The Jeddah Youth Chess Festival was held from 24 to 30 January in this Red Sea port in Saudi Arabia. It was a celebration of youth, chess and friendship. In the Young Masters tournament, a 10-players single round-robin for rising stars aged 18 or younger, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus from Turkey finished first with 6½ points. Volodar Murzin (FIDE), Raunak Sadhwani (India) and Andy Woodward (United States) obtained 6 points each.

2/11/2024 – Two tournaments focused on attracting the strongest promising talents in the world are devised, organised and sponsored by Chokri Saidi, an entrepreneur in love with chess, arts, travel, philosophy, psychology and spirituality. In an interview conducted by Diana Mihajlova, the chess enthusiast asserted: “I like to believe that God invented chess”

2/10/2024 – The Jeddah Youth Chess Festival was held from 24 to 30 January in this Red Sea port in Saudi Arabia. It was a celebration of youth, chess and friendship while soaking the culture and hospitality of a welcoming nation that is opening its doors and hearts to chess and all sports. Diana Mihajlova reports.

1/20/2024 – A brainchild of Chokri Saidi, a French-Tunisian entrepreneur, the Djerba Chess Festival aims to combine chess, friendship, culture and tourism on the beautiful island of Djerba, the largest island off the coast of North Africa — which is also known as the ‘island of dreams’. Furthermore, Saidi has gone a step further in his chess organizing pursuits and, from this year, he is also organizing the prestigious Jeddah International Youth Chess Festival. Diana Mihajlova informs.

12/23/2023 – The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) on October 31, 2003 and designated December 9 as the International Anti-Corruption Day. Commemorating the twentieth anniversary, this year’s theme for the International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) was “UNCAC at 20: Uniting the World Against Corruption”.

12/2/2023 – As described in the article "The Never Ending Saga of Moroccan Chess" (Part 1 and Part 2), the International Prix Mohammed VI tournament had an unfortunate end, as the winners did not receive their prizes. That incident did not take away from the players' efforts and performances, though, as shown here by Diana Mihajlova. | Pictured: Rising star Kevin Michael George with his parents and his coach, GM Bassem Amin

11/30/2023 – The recently published articles "The Never Ending Saga of Moroccan Chess, Part 1" and "Part 2" described the sorry state of Moroccan chess and the unfortunate end of the International Prix Mohammed VI tournament, where the winners did not receive their prizes. This bizarre end of the tournament overshadowed the success of the young Lithuanian GM Paulius Pultinevicius, who won the event convincingly. | Photo: Paulius Pultinevicius after winning the Riga Technical University Open 2022 | Photo: RTU Open Facebook.

10/28/2023 – The first part of the "Never Ending Saga of Moroccan Chess" described the dubious practices of Moustapha Amazzal, the President of the Moroccan Chess Federation. The second part describes how FIDE renewed its trust in Mr Amazzal and why Lithuanian GM Paulius Pultinevicius and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and other prizewinners of the 4th International Prix Mohammed VI tournament that took place in August 2023 are still waiting for their prize money. | Photo: Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca | Source: Brochure of the 4. International Prix Mohammed VI tournament brochure

10/25/2023 – When it comes to internal politics, our noble game is anything but ‘noble’. Nasty games can be played within federations for personal gain and power at immense expense to chess players. Disagreements and anomalies have affected the work of some federations at various degrees, but it seems that no one has suffered as much or as long as chess in Morocco. Diana Mihajlova reports.