Chess blog

Anish Giri Chess Power Rankings Photo: Lennart Ootes

Chess Power Rankings March 2023 – Giri slides, Aronian enters the top 10

King Watcher is starting a new monthly column the Chess Power Rankings, where we make a top 10 list of elite players according to their strength, form, influence, and potential. There was some change from the February Top 10 list. The WR Chess Masters was the most highlighted tournament of the month, where top players clashed. You can read more about the tournament in our previous article. Besides that, a few 2700 players played in Read more…

By Kingwatcher, ago

Sara Khadem moves to Spain, after not wearing a hijab

Iranian top chess player Sara Khadem took part in the World Rapid Chess Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan. On December 28, she played without a mandatory hijab. You can read it here: While the chess world was wondering why she chose not to wear a hijab, Sara Khadem had already gone into exile and moved to Spain. She now cannot return to Iran as they issued an arrest warrant against her. Sara Khadem moved to Spain Read more…

By Stella Sáňková, ago
Sara Khadem Photo: Lennart Ootes
Photo: Lennart Ootes - Levon Aronian playing the WR Chess Masters

Impressive Levon Aronian wins the WR Chess Masters 2023

Levon Aronian becomes the winner of WR Chess Masters after scoring a wonderful 3/3 in the Playoffs! Fighting for the tournament victory is over in Dusseldorf, Germany. You can read the course of the first 4 rounds in our previous article here. After players enjoyed their free day, they came back to fight in round 5, where Aronian and Keymer won their games with white pieces. In round 6, all players drew their games and Read more…

By Stella Sáňková, ago

29th International Chess Open Graz

The annual Chess Open Graz, held from the 18th to the 24th of February, broke the participation record with almost 370 participants, which came from 37 nations. I took part in this tournament, but unfortunately, after quite poor results, I quit the tournament after five rounds. Despite the bad chess results, I enjoyed the friendly atmosphere of the town and also visited some beautiful places in Graz, as well I got the motivation to train Read more…

By Lucia Ševčíková, ago

Kosteniuk won the Women’s Grand Prix – Munich 2023

The second stage of the Women’s Grand Prix 2023 was played from the 1st to the 13th of February in Munich, Germany. The Women’s FIDE Grand Prix Series 2022-2023 comprises four tournaments: 1. – Astana, September 2022 2. – Munich, February 2023 3. – India, March 2023 4. – Bydgoszcz, May 2023. It features 16 players, and each one of them will take part in three of four tournaments. They play each of these tournaments Read more…

By Lucia Ševčíková, ago

Aronian leads the WR Chess Masters 2023 after 4 rounds

Top grandmasters fight for the tournament victory in Dusseldorf, Germany from 16 to 25 February. The time control of the WR Chess Masters is very uncommon. Players have 120 minutes for the first 40 moves, followed by 60 minutes for the next 20 moves. Then they get 15 more minutes for the rest of the game, with a 30-second increment per move that starts from move 61. The prize pool is 130,000 euros. The tournament Read more…

By Stella Sáňková, ago
Levon Aronian WR Chess Lennart Ootes

Chess Power Rankings February 2023 – Carlsen at the top of the world!

King Watcher is starting a new monthly column the Chess Power Rankings, where we make a top 10 list of elite players according to their strength, form, influence, and potential. In January, one of the biggest events of the year took place, the annual Tata Steel Chess Tournament. The starting grid was impressive, with five players from the top 10 of the world ranking. Our list contains seven participants in the tournament. 1. Magnus Carlsen Read more…

By Kingwatcher, ago

Tata Steel Chess – Giri won his first title

The Tata Steel Chess Tournament took place from 13th to 29th January 2023 in Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. The format was a 14-player round-robin and the time control was 100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes for the rest of the game and with an increment of 30 seconds per move. Besides the super-tournament, there was a side tournament with a lot of promising players, Read more…

By Lucia Ševčíková, ago
Anish Giri - Tata Steel Chess 2023 Champion Maaike Brink - Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2023

Vugar Gashimov Memorial 2022

Vugar Gashimov Memorial was held in Baku, Azerbaijan from the 17th to the 24th of December. This tournament is dedicated to the dear memory of Azerbaijan’s genius chess player, European champion, and international grandmaster Vugar Gashimov. He was known for his attacking style and was one of the highest-rated chess players in the world at the time of his death. Gashimov died at 27 in 2014 because of complications from a brain tumour. The format Read more…

By Lucia Ševčíková, ago

A Top Female Iranian Chess Player Takes Part In The World Rapid Chess Championship Without a Hijab

Iranian chess player Sara Khadem took part in the FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan. On December 28, she played the second day of the tournament without mandatory hijab. For Iranian women and girls above the age of 9, the hijab is compulsory in public under Iran’s dress code. She is the latest athlete to compete in a competition without hijab since anti-government protests erupted in September. Iranians protested against the country’s clerical Read more…

By Stella Sáňková, ago