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!

4/29/2021 – No Rapid Interview? That's right. Grandmaster Efstratios Grivas said that he doesn't play online chess any more. In our "normal" interview, we talked about how Grivas went to eight Olympiads, published over 110 books, and became a Grandmaster despite starting with chess at the rather late age of 13. Furthermore, we talk about the largest chess club in the world, the Sharjah Cultural & Chess Club in Dubai, which launches a "real" over the board rapid tournament today, and of course, the reason behind Grivas not playing online chess - he doesn't mince his words! | Photos: Efstratios Grivas

8/14/2019 – Grandmaster Efstratios Grivas hosts a four-volume set of video series covering tactics ("Unexpected Tactics"), strategy ("Mastering Strategy"), using rooks ("Rook Handling") and endgames ("Endgame Magic"). The experienced FIDE Trainer provides a foundation for taking the next move higher. This week only you can get all four volumes as a package at an amazing Flash Sale price: a 90% discount!

4/11/2019 – Once upon a time, in a now nearly forgotten past, when phones were attached to walls, or rested on furniture, and "to dial" meant to carefully rotate a disc, a young man, just 13, entered the world of chess. As always, the chess journey is quite harsh, in fact he lost all the games of his first tournament. But persistence, and his love for the sport, made him go on, 'till a decade later he became a Grandmaster! Here we can read more about the story and chess journey of Greek GM Efstratios Grivas, who recently celebrated his 53rd birthday.

11/17/2018 – The deadlock is yet to be broken. The sixth game of the World Championship match saw Magnus Carlsen use 1.e4 for the first time and, predictably, Fabiano Caruana responded with the Petroff Defence. What seemed to be a boring position that would unavoidably lead to a draw turned into a real fight when Caruana opened the centre. Carlsen ended up suffering to secure a draw after sacrificing a piece for two pawns. EFSTRATIOS GRIVAS and LAWRENCE TRENT analysed the game. | Photos: Nikolai Dunaevsky / World Chess