7/3/2019 – Boris Gelfand turned in a strong second half in Netanya, and put himself in a tie for first with his victory in the eighth round against early-leader Luke McShane. Yesterday, a short draw against co-leader Leinier Dominguez was enough for him to win the tournament thanks to a better tiebreak score. Both finished with 5½ points. Mikhail Antipov won clear first in the Open with 7½/9. | Photos: Yoav Nisenbaum / imt.chess.org.il

6/28/2019 – After starting with two wins, the McShane-Express came to a screeching halt after running into Tamir Nabaty in the 3rd round of the GM tournament in Netanya. But Nabaty was able to enjoy his lead at the Netanya Chess Festival for only one round, before losing Leinier Dominguez who leapfrogged him into first place where he has stayed through six rounds of play. In the Open, two players have 5½ points. | Photos: Yoav Nisenbaum / imt.chess.org.il

6/26/2019 – This week IM Merijn van Delft turns his training eye on the recent game between Luke McShane and Pavel Eljanov played at the ongoing Netanya Masters in Israel. The live show is free to watch, and available on-demand for ChessBase Premium account holders (but FREE for a limited time!). To chat, please visit videos.chessbase.com/live or login via Playchess for Windows. Merijn is live at 18:00 UTC (20:00 CEST / 2 PM EDT).

6/25/2019 – The Netanya Chess Festival (June 23 to July 2) features a GM round-robin and an open. In the GM tournament, possibly the strongest tournament in Israel ever, five world-class grandmasters take on five Israeli GMs. The prize fund is $100,000, while in the open it is just under $50,000: Luke McShane started with two wins. Watch Round 3 LIVE! | Photos: Yoav Nisenbaum / imt.chess.org.il