The strong "Ciutat de Barcelona" now open to all

8/28/2019 – Soon after summer comes to an end, the traditional "Ciutat de Barcelona" tournament will take place in the beautiful Mediterranean metropolis. For the first time, however, it will be open to all, after having organized a Schveningen match in 2018 and a round-robin from 2004 until 2017. The nine-round Swiss begins on September 27th, and Gata Kamsky is the highest-rated player registered so far. | Pictured: Barcelona seen from the Tibidabo mountain. | Photo: Jorge Franganillo, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tibidabo_-_panoramio_(10).jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a>

Eduardo Iturrizaga wins American Continental

7/27/2019 – The 2019 American Continental Championship ran from the 5th to the 13th of July in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The eleven-round open tournament served as a qualifier to the World Cup, with four players getting tickets to the event scheduled for September in Khanty-Mansiysk. Coincidentally, four players — from four different countries — finished on 8½ out of 11, with Venezuelan Eduardo Iturrizaga winning the event on tiebreak criteria. | Photo: Elana de Souza

An Anti-Sicilian Repertoire

Tired of spending hours and hours on the boring theory of your favourite opening? Then here is your solution, play an Anti-Sicilian with 3.Bb5 against 2...d6 or 2...Nc6, and 3.d3 against 2...e6. In 60 minutes you will get a crash course in how to avoid mainstream theory and in understanding the ideas of this Anti-Sicilian setup. After these 60 minutes you should be able to survive the Sicilian for a long time, without being bothered by new developments found by engine x supported by an x-core machine. Now that it finally comes down to understanding, let's play chess!