7/15/2017 – The traditional Porticcio Open took place for the fourth year in a row on Corsica island, gathering 139 participants from 18 countries and beating all the records of the previous years. Tournament winner Michal Krasenkow from Poland had an impressive 8/9 score and 2834 performance. Eltaj Safarli and Gadir Guseinov finished 2nd and 3rd. IM Nino Batsiashvili was the top woman. Surprise upsets were 14-year-old Corsican prospect Albert Tomasi (rated just 2141) beating GM Sergei Zhigalko, and 10-year-old Maurizzi Marc Andria (a mere 1841) downing French grandmaster Fabien Libiszewski (2542)!

11/2/2016 – The cover picture to the left best describes what happened in the Sunday clash between MVL and Anand. It was a fighting match to be fair. Anand sacrificed his queen in the first game with the black pieces but had to build a fortress in the end to secure a draw. He might have fancied his chances of pushing with white against MVL. But the Frenchman is popular all over the world for his expertise in Sicilian Najdorf. The audience were praying for the Najdorf to appear and the Frenchman obliged.

10/29/2016 – The surprising thing about Corsica is the inherent diversity of the small Mediterranean island, one of the regions under France. It is a bit like a game between two fighting chessplayers — glittering bays, relaxed beaches, dense forests, mountain peaks. The geography is never constant. Corsica is hosting a notable chess festival with the chief attraction being a rapid tournament featuring MVL and Anand. Illustrated report with analyses.

7/13/2016 – Cimannacce, a village in the mountains of Corsica with a population of just 132 people (!), was host to a strong blitz tournament. World number four Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was the top seed of the event and was up against strong players like Bacrot, Laznicka, Areshchenko, Jones, Grandelius, Zhigalko, etc. The French number one scored 8.0/9 and won the event in style. In this report we have two games sent to us by MVL from the event. We also show you how a high class blitz tournament is organized.

7/11/2016 – In part one of our report on the Porticcio Open we showed how beautiful the venue is, and described the progress of the top three finishers Areshchenko, Naroditsky and Sengupta. In the second part we bring you details about the players from four to ten, with some lessons to improve your chess. We also tell you the reasons why you should seriously think about making space in your calendar for the fourth edition of the event in 2017. Report from Corsica by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal.

7/8/2016 – Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea located to the south of mainland France. It was home to an extremely strong tournament – the 3rd Porticcio Open 2016. Ten players above the rating of 2600 participated in the event, which ended in a six way tie. The winner was Alexander Areshchenko who went back home richer by €3000. ChessBase authors Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal were in Porticcio and they bring us a beautiful report rich in pictures, videos and detailed analysis.

7/20/2015 – The summer always brings a wide variety of activities, not least among which is the vibrant Corsican chess federation that has made chess one of the most played games among youngsters. They recently held a blitz open which attracted not only the platoons of youth, but top French players Etienne Bacrot and Maxime Vachier Lagrave. Illustrated report with videos.

10/22/2014 – The 2014 Corsican Circuit Rapid started and as always brings a mixture of some elite guests with opportunities for anyone to qualify for the sixteen-player knockout phase. The two guests, multiple World Champion Vishy Anand and Women World Champion Hou Yifan, were then joined by the fourteen qualifiers from the Open held before. The tournament has not been without surprises.

7/30/2014 – In the pastoral area of Casanova in Corsica, a nine-round rapid event was held on a Sunday afternoon. What makes the event noteworthy isn't the open air photogenic playing area, but the presence of French no.1 Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, fresh from his win at Biel, and Corsican GM Loek Van Wely, both of whom came to play in the event. Here are pictures and videos.

6/10/2014 – In spite of the record number of teams and players expected in Tromso this year, the Chess Olympiads will only be the second most attended chess competition of the year. Indeed, 3500 pupils solely from Northern Corsica came to compete in the 11th edition of the Corsican Scholastic Championships held in Bastia, Corsica, with hundreds of arbiters and volunteers, and even a drone video camera!

5/22/2014 – Vishy Anand visited Porto-Vecchio in Corsica where he played a small exhibition match against local masters, as part of a children's chess festival that brought in over 600 children to participate. Anand enthralled the young players with his friendly accessible demeanor, and remained completely at the disposition of his fans, never turning a single one down.

12/8/2013 – Which country has the highest percentage of registered chess players per capita? Russia, China? India? Nope, not per capita. Iceland? That's closer, but the correct answer is Corsica, which is part of France. It has over 6000 players from a population of 310,000. Léo Battesti, former Vice-President of the French Chess Federation, has produced a video illustrating this success.

10/25/2013 – The 2013 Corsican Circuit enjoyed its 17th edition in Bastia and Ajaccio in Corsica. The series of events included a massive youth tournament which brought 700 youths to fight over 30 thousand Euros worth of prizes, a blitz tournament sponsored by Coca-Cola, and a very strong rapid tournament, the Oscaro Open, with several top players. Illustrated report with video.