10/29/2022 – This month, I planned to write about chess composition in Japan, but it turned out that not much information was obtainable. The situation in Singapore is even worse regarding sources. So instead, in this month's column we have a small mix of shorter articles again. | Photo: Pixabay

4/2/2021 – The months of February and March are quite busy with excitement in Japan’s chess calendar. Qualifying tournaments are held in various regional chess clubs to select candidates for the strongest event of the year, held in May — the Japan Chess Championship, a FIDE-rated event. Mayur Gondhalekar brings you all the news and updates from Japan in a two-part report. | Pictured: The playing hall at the ‘En Passant Chess Club’ in Osaka

2/29/2020 – CM Alex Averbukh of Japan, scored a perfect 5.0/5 to win Tachikawa Chess Open 2020. He finished a full point ahead of the competition. Wang Hao was on hand to give the winner his trophy (pictured)! Four players finished at 4.0/5. Koji Noguchi and top seed Atsuhiko Kobayashi secured second and third place respectively according to their tie-break score. The tournament was organized by Tachikawa Chess Club at two different venues in Tokyo, Japan on February 8th and 9th, 2020. Two rounds were played at Hamamatsucho on the first day and on second day the final three rounds were played in Tachikawa. Photos and Tournament report by one of the participants, Seiji Nakagawa.

11/24/2019 – Japan has hardly appeared on the chess map so far. But since Yumiko Hiebert took over the office of President of the Japanese Chess Federation, but seems to sprout a small plant. GEORGIOS SOULEIDIS spoke during the FIDE Grand Prix in Hamburg with Hiebert (photo), who belonged to the tournament's Appeals Committee.

6/19/2018 – Nigel Short is in a four-way race for President of FIDE, to be decided in an election in Batumi at the Chess Olympiad on October 3rd. Until a few days ago, it was a three-way race with one of those being the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. But now the Russian Chess Federation is poised to nominate someone else: Russian economist and politician Arkady Dvorkovich. Macauley Peterson spoke to Nigel for an hour in Leuven, during the first stop of Grand Chess Tour, to get his current thoughts on the race. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Grand Chess Tour

11/29/2014 – Yohiharu Habu is a legend in Shogi, the Japanese version of chess. He is also a 2400+ Western chess player, one of the best in Japan. To promote an upcoming human vs computer event Habu played an exhibition two game rapid chess match against another legend – who plays the game we all know. In this encounter Garry Kasparov had, in his own words, 'everything to lose'.

1/14/2014 – The Japanese form of chess enjoys a national prestige its western counterpart can only dream of. In part one you saw how some of the best Shogi players in are turning to our version of the game – with remarkable success. In part two of his report GM Peter Heine Nielsen, himself a shogi player, expands on the theme and takes us on a tour through the former imperial capital of Japan Kyoto.