6/20/2017 – While a strong start is always desirable, it is how you finish that matters in a tournament. Ask Georgian GM Baadur Jobava who started with 2 losses, but finished second after seven straight wins, or Russian talent Vladimir Fedoseev who stumbled midway but came in third. Still, it was the class act by Maxim Matlakov, who was steady as she goes all the way, and ended a deserved 2017 European Individual Champion. Final report with GM analyses.

6/8/2017 – Round eight of the European Championship finally brought the first sole leader of the event: English GM David Howell. One might have expected a cagey draw between the two leaders of round seven, but the two players battled it out, and Spanish GM Anton Guijarro fell. Now tied for second and third are Bulgarian GM Cheparinov and Russian GM Demchenko. Report and analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

6/7/2017 – Rounds six and seven saw an important development: the number of co-leaders has been drastically reduced to two, as two young Spanish and British GMs scored back-to-back victories to take sole lead with six out of a possible seven points. Both GM David Anton Guijarro and David Howell are now the sole leaders, but being an 11-round event, anything goes still. Also note 13-year-old WFM Bibisara (2244 FIDE) who has a 2558 performance so far, all against GMs and IMs!

6/4/2017 – The 4th and 5th rounds of the European championship saw expected, yet exciting developments. After five rounds, four players stand at the top with 4.5/5: Cheparinov, Melkumyan, Kuzubov, and Fridman. All got there in slightly different ways, but all playing strong gritty chess. They are trailed by a huge pack of 27 players with 4.0/5, but with six rounds to go, the tournament is barely at the midway point. Report and analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

6/2/2017 – In an open tournament, the earlier rounds play as crucial role as the last rounds. Although, one can argue that every game has a point and one should remain focused and try to make the best of every round, we should accept that in a ‘giant swiss’, luck and turn of events play an important role in one’s result. The question becomes one of either giving a little to gain a lot, or trying to sprint ahead. Report and analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.

5/31/2017 – It is all one could hope for in such a mega event as the European Individual Championship. Held in Minsk, Belarus, it is a field that is so strong that even the no. 50 in the starting list (GM Romain Edouard) is rated 2640. The top seeds are David Navara and Dmitry Andreikin, but incredibly both suffered a reversal in the opening round, and they were not the only ones! Illustrated report with plenty of analysis by GM Elshan Moradiabadi.