7/20/2019 – Today, July 20th, is International Chess Day! To mark the occasion, Paris-based journalist DHANANJAY KHADILKAR brings us a scene from the famous Jardin du Luxembourg (pictured, the French Senate) where permanent chess tables have been a fixture for two decades, and you can always find a blitz game or two. Around the world, some chess aficionados take to the great outdoors and some new chess maps can help you find chess wherever you are. | Photos: Dhananjay Khadilkar
new: ChessBase 16 - Mega package Edition 2021
Your key to fresh ideas, precise analyses and targeted training!
Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.
Checkmate. That's the aim of the game. There are numerous ways to checkmate the enemy king, but there are common patterns that recur over and over again, and having these at our mental fingertips is essential for when we want to finish the game.
On this DVD you will be taken on a journey through what is arguably the sharpest opening line known to men.
€29.90
Bastille Day blitz!
If you happen to be in Paris and are passionate about chess, there’s no better place to enjoy the game, either as a player or as a spectator, than at the Jardin du Luxembourg.
During the summer, on average, more than 25 players match wits daily in the 17th century park that is located in the tres chic 6th arrondissement of the French capital.
Twenty years ago, the French senate decided to provide a dozen tables — five fixed, seven mobile — with chess boards painted on the surface using screen printing technique. These table tops are made of enamelled lava stones that were extracted from the volcanic mountains in the Auvergne region of central France.
This increasingly popular opening is easy to pick up as the Black pieces can usually be developed quickly and smoothly. Many of the ideas are thematic and Black can achieve attacking positions in several of the variations.
Volcanic rock from the Auvergne region
Everyone is welcome
The table tops are large to accommodate chess clocks adjacent to the boards whose squares are alternately painted in sepia and white.
Almost everyone here plays blitz chess, with the 3-minute time control being the most popular. These fast paced encounters demand a certain skill set from players who have to constantly think on their feet.
This format guarantees entertaining chess as pieces tumble and clocks take severe pounding as the two rivals try to make the best moves by using least time.
While many games are decided by the clock, there are some that produce a checkmate like this one, played on Sunday, July 14th (Bastille Day!), between 1900-2000 Elo rated players, which you can watch in real-time below. White delivered checkmate with just two seconds left on his clock!
The Rossolimo Variation 3.Bb5 is considered to be one of the strongest replies to 2…Nc6 in the Sicilian Defence. The fact that the move has been played by practically all the top players proves its popularity and strength. But the most interesting aspect of playing 3.Bb5 is that we force sharp, attacking players who love to have the initiative to forget about the Open Sicilian and to adjust themselves to a new world, one full of positional ideas, manoeuvres and nuances.
These chess tables are located in a corner of a huge garden that spreads over an area of 25 hectares. The garden boasts a host of other attractions, so it's suitable for a visit by anyone.
(Left) Statues in Luxembourg park depict French queens | (Right) Author Stefan Zweig
The entry into the chess cosmos. ChessBase 15 program + new Big Database 2019 (7.6 million uncommented games). Plus 3 issues ChessBase Magazine and CB Premium membership for 6 months!
There are new initiatives to help players and fans alike find chess destinations wherever they are. The European Chess Union has launched ChessWhere.com, which is focused on Europe but has aspirations to expand.
ECU is pleased to announce the new web-based project https://t.co/m2slxmpc85. An online platform & #Google maps application which presents the main Chess Locations in #Europe and later in all world, as federations, museums, historical places, clubs, pubs & cafes. @FIDE_chesspic.twitter.com/xsXOdEnS1b
At the moment, the chess tables at Jardin du Luxembourg are not on the ChessWhere map, but you can find them on the recently re-branded Chess Map app (formerly Le Chess Connection) for iOS.
A growing catalogue of chess tourist destinations, courtesy Chess Map
Dhananjay KhadilkarDhananjay is a Paris based journalist and a chess enthusiast. While he enjoys playing the game, he is more fascinated by the drama and history associated with it.
In this opening Black opts for active piece play and is not afraid to fight for the initiative from an early stage. One of the many good features of this opening is that Black is often the side which controls the pace of the game.
The French Defence Powerbase 2021 is a database and contains 9839 games from the Mega 2021 and the Correspondence Database 2020, 644 of which are annotated.
The main part of the material on which the French Powerbook 2021 is based comes from the playchess.com engine room: 637,000 games. An impressive number to which 80,000 games from correspondence chess and the Mega were added.
Looking for a surprise weapon against 1.e4? Try the Stafford Gambit! After the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5, rather than following the solid lines of the Petroff after 3...d6, Black prefers to sacrifice a pawn with 3...Nc6 4.Nxc6 dxc6.
€9.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.