Chess blog

Nakamura marries his queen, Atousa Pourkashiyan

GM Hikaru Nakamura, currently the second-best player after Magnus Carlsen and also a very famous Twitch streamer, has tied the knot with his girlfriend, WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan. She announced this exciting news on her Instagram, posting a photo from the wedding. Many fans and other chess players congratulated them on the comments. Atousa Pourkashiyan is an Iranian Woman Grandmaster, who changed her federation in 2022 and now lives in America. She is a seven-time Iranian Read more…

By Stella Sáňková, ago

Grand Prix PlusCity in Linz

At the beginning of the summer holidays, I played another tournament, this time in Linz, Austria. The tournaments were held from the 30th of June to the 1st of July in the PlusCity shopping mall in Linz. Blitz On the first day, we played the blitz tournament. The players were super strong, as there were 45 grandmasters and another 55 titled players, with a total number of 279 players from 33 countries. I was ranked in Read more…

By Lucia Ševčíková, ago

London ChessFest 2023: the largest chess event to promote chess in schools

Last Sunday, the 16th of July, Trafalgar Square turned into a chess hub for the day. ChessFest 2023 invited the people of London to come and challenge someone in chess or take part in chess-related activities. Over 300 boards were set up in tents around the Trafalgar Square fountains. In addition, a screen broadcasted live games and commentary. I arrived at the National Gallery shortly after 2pm. Most of the chess boards were taken and Read more…

By Maria Ciocan, ago

Hans Niemann’s lawsuit against Magnus Carlsen dismissed

Do you still remember the Carlsen – Niemann controversy that started in September 2022? In our last blog article we informed you about Niemann’s decision to sue Carlsen. In the $100 million lawsuit filed in October last year, Hans Niemann alleged that Magnus Carlsen falsely accused him of cheating after he defeated Carlsen at the Sinquefield Cup in St. Louis, Missouri. Niemann also alleged that the former World Champion paid a friend $328 to shout Read more…

By Stella Sáňková, ago

14° Open Internazionale delle Dolomiti

After the Vigevano chess tournament, I stayed in Italy a little longer (who could resist) and played another tournament there, the Chess Open Dolomites. This tournament took place from the 10th to the 17th of June in the lovely town of Forni di Sopra. The town was located right in the middle of the mountains, which gave us some breathtaking views, fresh air, and many possibilities between the rounds. Such as hiking or playing basketball with other Read more…

By Lucia Ševčíková, ago

Vigevano Chess Tournament

Last week I traveled to Italy to attend the Vigevano Chess Tournament, a U20 tournament, which was played from the 2nd to the 4th of June in the city of Vigevano. The playing hall was located inside the Castle of Vigevano, which gave it a majestic atmosphere and it was one of the most interesting places I have ever played in. The 7-round swiss-system had a time control of 60 minutes per game plus 30 seconds after Read more…

By Lucia Ševčíková, ago
Norway Chess

Norway Chess 2023 – Caruana leads, while Carlsen struggles to win in classic chess

Stavanger, a city in southwest Norway, is the host of a super GM tournament, which distinguishes itself by introducing an Armageddon format. Armageddon puts the players in a challenging situation since no match-up can end in a tie; if the initial game of classic chess ends in a draw, the players have to settle things in a rapid game. However, there are multiple catches: 1. Players keep the same colors as they had in the Read more…

By Maria Ciocan, ago

Grand Chess Tour Rapid & Blitz: Magnus Carlsen returns to the chess arena

The Grand Chess Tour 2023 continued with its second stage, this time rapid and blitz, between the 19th and the 25th of May in the capital city of Poland, Warsaw. Ten super GMs, amongst which the former World Champion, Magnus Carlsen, competed in nine rounds of rapid (25min/ +10s) and eighteen rounds of blitz (3min/ +2s) for the first prize of $40,000. Before we dive in any further, let’s revisit the results of the tour’s Read more…

By Maria Ciocan, ago
Peter Svidler - Photo: David Llada

Peter Svidler wins the TePe Sigeman & Co

GM Peter Svidler showed up to compete in the 28th edition of the Tepe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament, after not competing more than a year and a half. The tournament took place in Malmo, Sweden, from May 4th to 10th. Eight professional grandmasters played 7 rounds. Here are the full results of the tournament. The time control of the tournament was 90 minutes for 40 moves + 30 minutes for the remaining moves with Read more…

By Stella Sáňková, ago

Pieniny Chess Tournament 2023

From the 28th of April to the 1st of May, I took part in a Pieniny Chess Tournament. The tournament was played in a beautiful National Park in Pieniny in Slovakia. Mountains and nature surrounded us while playing our games. Another plus was the variety of free-time activities organized by the tournament staff members, such as hiking, renting a bike, or group rafting. It was a seven-round tournament played by the Swiss system and only Read more…

By Lucia Ševčíková, ago