8/28/2018 – Tuesdays at 18:00 CEST (5:00 pm UK time, Noon EDT) Lawrence Trent goes on air on Playchess.com. In his show, Lawrence will be dealing with the latest trends, games and combinations from elite chess tournaments. This week Lawrence takes a look at the Russian, French and Spanish Championships!

8/28/2018 – The victory of Tigran Gharamian (photo) at the French Championships 2018 in Nimes turned into a marathon affair as the Armenian-born French grandmaster claimed the title only after two sets of tiebreaks culminating in an Armageddon game. The Women's Championship was clearer: Pauline Guichard won the title with 7½ out of 9. Second place went to Sophie Milliet, who scored 6½ points. | Photo: Amruta Mokal (archive)

8/28/2017 – Etienne Bacrot did it again. At the French Championship which was played form 19th to 27th August in Agen he won his eighth National Championship. After a dramatic last round and a tie-break against Laurent Fressinet. Sophie Milliet became French Women's Champion. | Photo: Pascal Simon

8/27/2016 – Some countries wonder how to make their national championships attractive. Maybe they should emulate the French chessplayers who crown their national champions in a real chess festival. This year it took place in the town of Agen and attracted a huge number of players who competed in various tournaments. In the strongest group, the National, the new French Champions were established. Matthieu Cornette and Sophie Milliet won the titles.

8/20/2016 – L’apogée de l’année échiquéenne française est son Championnat de France. Il est rare qu’une fédération soit capable d’attirer une telle attention et de réunir autant de joueurs d’échecs dans les divers tournois qui accompagnent les Nationaux. Des tournois fermés des meilleurs joueurs et joueuses français. Voici les résultats de tous tournois 2016...

8/17/2016 – The French Championship 2016 can boast of a strong field, even though Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Etienne Bacrot do not take part. But the nine Grandmasters and the one International Master who play a for the title do have an average Elo of 2587. With a rating of 2677 Laurent Fressinet is top seed but after four rounds GM Yannick Gozzoli leads with 3.0/4. Half a point behind follow three players with 2.5/4 each, among them Jean-Francois Jolly, the lowest-rated player in the field.

8/31/2014 – After five rounds, it had been a dominating performance by Laurent Fressinet, followed closely by Etienne Bacrot trying to catch up. They met in the final round, but Bacrot could not break him, and Fressinet won his second title. Nino Maisuradze was neck-and-neck with rival Safranska, but defeated her and went on to win the title for a second consecutive year. Final report.

8/23/2014 – In its 89th edition, the French Championship starts in Nimes with all the stars present. Among the more than 700 participants playing in the championship event and six opens is the local legend Roger Ferry who is playing his 55th consecutive championship! Leading the men's event is Laurent Fressinet and in the women Maisuradze and Safranska. It has seen over two thirds decisive games!

8/31/2013 – The 88th French chess championship was held in Nancy, France this year, and with the biggest guns missing, it seemed like the contenders would finally have their shot. Yet this was the year of the underdog, as the top prizes were taken by unlikely champions. Over 800 players came to fight for prizes or just enjoy some chess, and for two weeks Nancy went chess crazy.