Efstratios Grivas (30.03.1966) is a highly experienced chess trainer and chess author. He has been awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) the titles of International Chess Grandmaster, FIDE Senior Trainer, International Chess Arbiter and International Chess Organiser.
His main successes over the board are the Silver Medal Olympiad 1998 (3rd Board), the Gold Medal European Team Championship 1989 (3rd Board) and the 4th Position World Junior Championship U.20 1985. He has also won 5 Balkan Medals (2 Gold - 1 Silver - 2 Bronze) and he was 3 times Winner of the International ‘Acropolis’ Tournament. He has also in his credit the 28 times first position in Greek Individual & Team Championships and he has won various international tournaments as well. He was also been awarded six FIDE Medals in the Annual FIDE Awards (Winner of the FIDE Boleslavsky Medal 2009 & 2015 (best author) - Winner of the FIDE Euwe Medal 2011 & 2012 & 2017 (best junior trainer) - Winner of the FIDE Razuvaev Medal 2014 (Trainers’ education) and has been a professional Lecturer at FIDE Seminars for Training & Certifying Trainers. He has published a large number of Books & DVDs in Arabic, English, Greek, Italian, Spanish & Turkish languages. Since 2009 he is the Secretary of the FIDE Trainers’ Commission and since 2012 the Director of the FIDE Grivas Chess International Academy (Athens).
3/24/2024 – Nowadays when we talk about Bullet Chess definitely we refer to timing, and we mean a one-minute game. But there were times when this term could have a completely different meaning! ...
3/19/2024 – The centre of the chessboard is a crucial area that significantly impacts the game. The centre consists of the four squares in the middle of the board: d4, d5, e4, and e5. Control over the centre often provides a decisive advantage in chess. Why? Because every piece (except the rook) controls more squares when it is centralised. Remember, whoever dominates the centre often gains an advantage. So, keep an eye on those central squares during your games!
3/9/2024 – It is certainly one of the most famous games in chess history: the 13-year-old future FIDE World Champion Bobby Fischer played a spectacular combination against IM Donald Byrne, one that has been shown and analysed by generations of chess players and writers. Today on what would have been Bobby's 81 birthday, GM Efstratios Grivas gives us a comprehensive summary of all available analysis, including those of Garry Kasparov and GM Karsten Mueller of ChessBase. Many other sources were taken into account to make sure that no blind spots are remaining!
3/4/2024 – A battery is a formation that consists of two or more pieces on the same rank, file, or diagonal. In a more detailed way, a battery refers to a configuration of heavy pieces (rooks or queens) that occupy the same file. It can also refer to long-range pieces (queens and bishops) that occupy the same diagonal. Learn more about the strength of the chess battery in part two of a mini-series by chess trainer Efstratios Grivas.
3/3/2024 – Do you need special batteries to play chess? No, a battery in chess refers to piece formation! A battery is a formation that consists of two or more pieces on the same rank, file, or diagonal. In a more detailed way, a battery refers to a configuration of heavy pieces (rooks or queens) that occupy the same file. It can also refer to long-range pieces (queens and bishops) that occupy the same diagonal. Learn more about the strength of the chess battery from chess trainer Efstratios Grivas.
2/14/2024 – Development and piece activation are well-known assets that every decent player seeks during his game. So, centralisation is the key-word which comes to our thoughts when we are talking on the above subjects. But there are cases where the de-centralisation can be the alternative option! Well, of course we talk about ‘healthy’ ideas, which can help us to improve an inferior or better position, depending on the circumstances. Our internationally famous trainer explains.
Anyone who seriously deals with openings cannot avoid the opening encyclopaedia. Whether beginner or grandmaster. The Opening Encyclopaedia is by far the most comprehensive chess theory work: over 1,463(!) theory articles offer a huge fund of ideas!
1/23/2024 – The 9th European Team Championship was played in Haifa, Israel, 35 years ago. There are many reasons why it was a notable landmark in history. It was the last time the unbeatable team from the Soviet Union took part. And it was the first time in over 25 years that they set foot on Israeli soil. They won Gold, but in the third round were surprised by the Greek team, consisting of five IMs and one FM. Efstratios Grivas, at the time a lowly IM, describes the match.
1/20/2024 – Top players have a rather developed sense of danger; an asset that protects them from awkward moments. In the following game from round four of the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee we can observe how the great Indian talent Gukesh felt comfortable in his game against top-ten grandmaster Anish Giri, completely missing the so much needed sense of danger. The very experienced chess trainer GM Efstratios Grivas takes us meticulously through the very instructive game. | Photos: Lennart Ootes
1/15/2024 – The term was first used by Fred Reinfeld and Irving Chernev, in 1933. It is a chess tactic in which a player, instead of playing the expected move (commonly a recapture), first interposes another move posing an immediate threat that the opponent must answer, and only then plays the expected move. Leading chess trainer and analyst, GM Efstratios Grivas, tells us how this tactical manoeuvre works.
1/2/2024 – A rising star is the 17-year-old Srilankan Susal De Silva, who won the recent U18 category in the Asian Youth Championship 2023, which was held in Al Ain (United Arab Emirates). No wonder: he is a student of world-class trainer Efstratios Grivas, who tells us that "a Gold Medal is mostly welcomed, but hard work is in need and opening preparation is a value part of the success!"
12/21/2023 – It is totally accepted that the 20th FIDE World Champion Magnus Carlsen makes any ending look like a piece of cake! And this is simply based on good knowledge and understanding, two great assets that are wrongly interpreted as intuition and sometimes, even magic! A world leading chess trainer and analyst, GM Efstratios Grivas, shows us how Magnus handles the endgame. You can learn from it!
12/20/2023 – As it is already well-known, chess is a game of repeated motifs; a game of repeated knowledge! Once you carefully and correctly learn a motif, a pattern or an opening, your subconscious carefully stores it for use when time comes and demands! Here is a valuable lesson from a world-class chess trainer on the subject. There is a lot to learn!
11/20/2023 – In the recent European National Teams Championship 2023, which is under way in the town of Budva (Montenegro), a delightful miniature was played in the sixth round. It was a sensation in the match Greece-Azerbaijan, where the white player was 126 rating points lower than his opponent, who defeated a player famous for his stubborn defensive skills! It is definitely worthwhile to follow the instructive commentary of GM Efstratios Grivas.
10/23/2023 – The recently completed Qatar Masters 2023 was a quite strong event and, as usual, a lot of interesting games and subjects were in the daily menu. The endgame of rook vs. two minor pieces is a difficult one to understand and master. Using games from the above event, the world leading chess trainer, grandmaster Efstratios Grivas, shows you how to do the job, and help you understand the secrets hidden behind it.
8/25/2023 – The World Cup in Baku produced some exciting games and surprising results. But also a number of remarkable engames which it is well to study. What better way than to receive the assistance of a great trainer who shows us were some of the players went wrong, and what was needed to get a positive result. Learn more about the endgame from the instructive commentary provided to us by grandmaster Efstratios Grivas. Enjoy and learn.
7/13/2023 – In the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia we saw a true masterpiece by Magnus Carlsen. The former World Champion played super accurate moves, while his Polish opponent showed poor understanding and a lack of knowledge of classical games of the Catalan. Learn more about this opening and the strategy behind it from chess trainer GM Efstratios Grivas.
5/2/2023 – The final phase of the Astana World Championship brought us unparalleled drama. You saw Ding pull it off with tenacious defence in game 14, and then continue with extraordinary defensive skills in the first three playoff game. In the fourth game the Chinese GM took a very brave decision in the ending, to reject a draw and play for a win – a decision that paid off handsomely. Once again we have deep, instructive commentary for you to study, kindly provided to us by grandmaster Efstratios Grivas. We include pictures and the closing ceremony video.
4/28/2023 – The last free day of the Astana World Championship: time to take another look at the two previous games. Once again we have deep, instructive commentary for you to study, kindly provided to us by grandmaster Efstratios Grivas, trainer and FIDE international organizer. Our replay app makes it very easy to follow the annotations. You can even start an engine to work out the most subtle questions you might have.
Anyone who seriously deals with openings cannot avoid the opening encyclopaedia. Whether beginner or grandmaster. The Opening Encyclopaedia is by far the most comprehensive chess theory work: over 1,463(!) theory articles offer a huge fund of ideas!
Videos: Nico Zwirs on the Vienna Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 c6 5.f4) and part 2 of “Mikhalchishins miniatures”. “Lucky bag” with 53 commented games by Romain Edouard, Michal Krasenkow, Samvel Ter-Sahakyan, Gabriel Sargissian, Nodirbek Yakubboe
Dive into the fascinating world of the Sicilian Kalashnikov variation! We will uncover the secrets of this explosive opening from the very first moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5.
This Fritztrainer offers you the perfect addition to any Sicilian or Najdorf repertoire, and covers all the minor variations that White has tried to avoid the open Sicilian.
The Powerbook Philidor Defence 2024 is based on 33,000 computer games from the engine room of Schach.de as well as 21,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Philidor Defence Powerbase 2024 is a database and contains a total of 4561 games from the Mega 2024 and the Correspondence Database 2024, 269 of which are annotated.
Anyone who seriously deals with openings cannot avoid the opening encyclopaedia. Whether beginner or grandmaster. The Opening Encyclopaedia is by far the most comprehensive chess theory work: over 1,463(!) theory articles offer a huge fund of ideas!
Videos: Nico Zwirs on the Vienna Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 c6 5.f4) and part 2 of “Mikhalchishins miniatures”. “Lucky bag” with 53 commented games by Romain Edouard, Michal Krasenkow, Samvel Ter-Sahakyan, Gabriel Sargissian, Nodirbek Yakubboe
Dive into the fascinating world of the Sicilian Kalashnikov variation! We will uncover the secrets of this explosive opening from the very first moves: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5.
This Fritztrainer offers you the perfect addition to any Sicilian or Najdorf repertoire, and covers all the minor variations that White has tried to avoid the open Sicilian.
The Powerbook Philidor Defence 2024 is based on 33,000 computer games from the engine room of Schach.de as well as 21,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Philidor Defence Powerbase 2024 is a database and contains a total of 4561 games from the Mega 2024 and the Correspondence Database 2024, 269 of which are annotated.
€9.90
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