11/2/2019 – Both Russian squads took clear first place at the European Team Championships in Batumi. Kirill Alekseenko scored the sole win that gave his team a final round victory over Poland in the open section. Ukraine managed only a draw against Croatia, but nevertheless got the silver medals ahead of England, who were relegated to third place on tiebreak criteria. In the Women's, Georgia and Anzerbaijan got second and third places, respectively. | Photo: Official site

3/23/2019 – Prior to the fifth round 19 players were tied for the first place, all with 3½/4 points and all willing to fight for the title. Maxim Rodshtein (pictured) is the new frontrunner. Boris Gelfand was the only one of those 19 top players in the 50+ category. On the other end of the age spectrum are Semyon Lomasov, Benjamin Gledura and Bogdan-Daniel Deac recently seen fighting for youth titles. Many players with three points were also eager to win, promising an exciting round, though not in all games. SIEGFRIED HORNECKER presents the highlights. | Photo: Patricia Claros Aguilar