Hot Topics: Grand Chess Tour Leuven 2018 - page 1

"FIDE should be encouraging chess, not discouraging it"

6/19/2018 – Nigel Short is in a four-way race for President of FIDE, to be decided in an election in Batumi at the Chess Olympiad on October 3rd. Until a few days ago, it was a three-way race with one of those being the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. But now the Russian Chess Federation is poised to nominate someone else: Russian economist and politician Arkady Dvorkovich. Macauley Peterson spoke to Nigel for an hour in Leuven, during the first stop of Grand Chess Tour, to get his current thoughts on the race. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

GCT: Wesley So survives to win "Your Next Move"

6/16/2018 – In the Belgian city of Leuven, the "Your Next Move Rapid & Blitz" ended today with the victory of the American Wesley So. His score in the rapid tournament, which ended on Thursday, gave him a substantial lead in the overall standings. But a bad run of form in the blitz saw his lead melt away to zero, and set up an exciting if somewhat unlikely final round that saw So — but also his closest rivals Sergey Karjakin and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave — all lose. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

Grand Chess Tour LIVE in Leuven

6/16/2018 – Tuesday, June 12th, the Grand Chess Tour 2018 starts in Leuven, Belgium, with a combined rapid chess and blitz tournament. Ten world-elite players will compete over five days that will certainly deliver an entertaining spectacle. The prize fund is $ 150,000, with $37,500 for the winner. Live games and commentary from 14:00 CEST (8:00 AM EDT). | Photo: Grand Chess Tour / Lennart Ootes

GCT: So takes three point lead to the blitz

6/15/2018 – Wesley So survived the third day of the Grand Chess Tour in Leuven, Belgium, without a loss and won the tournament confidently with 14 out of 18 possible points. Three points behind are Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave. Tomorrow, the first nine of 18 rounds of blitz are on the program, and So must defend his lead against some legendary blitz specialists like Vachier-Lagrave, Karjakin, Nakamura and Grischuk. | Photo: Lennart Ootes, tournament page

GCT: So leads in Leuven

6/13/2018 – Wesley So got off to a good start in the rapid tournament in Leuven, with 5 / 6 (rapid games use double scoring). So maintained his lead on day two, keeping the same rhythm. He won in rounds 4 and 5, in round 6 he played a draw, bringing his point tally to 10 / 12. In second place is Levon Aronian with 8 / 12 | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

GCT Leuven: So with a solid start

6/13/2018 – Wesley So had the best start on the first day of the rapid tournament in Leuven and leads after wins over Caruana and Mamedyarov and a draw netting him 2½ points, using traditional scoring. Sergey Karjakin and Levon Aronian trail with 2 points. Rapid game point tallies will, however, count double in the final standings. | Photos: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour
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