Europe
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Is 2010 Olympiad headed for Disaster?
The Chess Olympiad is less than one month away and there are continued grumblings about the logistical arrangements. One month ago there was a story about the venue in Khanty-Mansiysk still being under construction. There was also the revelation that the organizers may have chosen a venue unable to accommodate…
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Laznicka wins 2010 World Open!
GM Loek Van Wely of the Netherlands faces GM Viktor Laznicka of the Czech Republic in the last round. Photo by Daaim Shabazz. The World Open moved from City Center to Valley Forge. This change of venue was not greeted with enthusiasm, but there was still lots of exciting chess…
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Players protest “zero tolerance” rule
An interesting development is taking place at the European Individual Championships in Rijeka, Croatia. Participants in the tournament have shown their aversion to the “zero tolerance” rule which states that a player must be present when the round starts or suffer a forfeit. It was a matter of time before…
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Carlsson battling in Euro Championships!
GM Pontus Carlsson (Sweden) Pontus Carlsson of Sweden is currently competing in the European Individual Championship being held in Croatia. The tournament is extremely strong despite not featuring any of the top 20 players in the world. Carlsson sits in the #204 position in a field of 408 participants. Carlsson…
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2009 World Team Championship (Bursa, Turkey)
Many of the world’s top chess federations will assemble in the Bursa province of Turkey for the World Team Championships. Some of the notable teams represent perennial powers Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Israel and USA. Also included in the field is India, the world’s #6 team Despite the fact that World…
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Does the Soviet School of Chess still rule?
Mikhail Botvinnik, Soviet School icon Chess has a storied history. There are many theories of its origin stemming from either India or China and going to Persia through the Middle East across the Sahara and into Europe. Some say that chess went through Central Asia and into Eurasia. Regardless of…
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2009 London Chess Classic
Tomorrow will kick off the highly anticipated London Chess Classic with a marquee lineup including former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the world’s #1 rated player in Magnus Carlsen. The field will also include current U.S. Champion Hikaru Nakamura and one of China’s top guns in Ni Hua. The British…
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2009 World Cup: Quarterfinals
Dmitri Jakovenko vs. Boris Gelfand… will the veteran hold off the young lion? The 2009 FIDE World Cup gets serious. Eight 2700-rated players will vie for a chance at qualifying for the World Championship cycle. The balance of power lies in the former Soviet-bloc players with Boris Gelfand, originally of…
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