Features
-
Hybrid Chess
Curtains up for hybrid chess! – 19 Feb 2021
Grandmasters, masters and arbiters meet this weekend in four European cities to test a cheating-proof way of play in the Hybrid Cities Cup, writes the event’s initiator Stefan Löffler.
-
Background
Fat start – 10 Feb 2021
Fat Fritz has been redesigned to surpass Stockfish. Even though it hasn’t fully succeeded, it provides an interesting commercial alternative to the dominating open source engine, writes Conrad Schormann.
-
Chess Variants
The king on centre stage – 22 Jan 2021
2021 may become a good year for chess variants. ChessTech is dedicating a new category and series to them, starting with a Vladimir Kramnik favourite: No-castling chess. Conrad Schormann and Stefan Löffler report.
-
Review
Pocket sparring partner – 12 Jan 2021
Among chess playing apps, the open source Black Diamond is your most versatile choice, but don’t expect any fancy graphics, writes Heinrich Tillack.
-
Review
Quantity over quality – 03 Jan 2021
Lichess has published the world’s biggest collection of chess puzzles. Why you should not yet hold your breath, explain Stefan Löffler and Conrad Schormann.
Latest News
-
Short news
Sigeman tournament in April – 04 Mar 2021
The TePe Sigeman & Co invitational in Malmö mixes young talents like Jorden van Foreest and Nihal Sarin with veterans like Anatoly Karpov and Alexey Shirov on 24–30 April. Together with the Candidates Tournament from 19 April in Russia and Norway Chess from 9 May, Northern countries lead the return to otb chess.
-
Short news
Western professionals missing in Athletes Commission – 04 Mar 2021
Seven women and six men have been announced by FIDE as members of its newly formed Athletes Commission. None of them is currently rated over 2700. European professionals are underrepresented, not a single one is from a Western country. Since there were only nine candidates for ten places, no vote was taken, and additional players were nominated by the FIDE Council which will select two more.
-
Short news
27 opens to receive FIDE grant – 04 Mar 2021
27 open tournaments planned during the next 11 months, exactly half of the applicants, have been selected to receive grants of up to 20% of their budget from FIDE which has raised the total from €100,000 to €120,000.
-
Short news
Everyman Chess acquired by Play Magnus – 04 Mar 2021
The Play Magnus Group keeps investing in content with the acquisition of Gloucester Publishers for an undisclosed amount. Gloucester Publishers was founded in the late 1940s as Pergammon Chess. In recent decades its main brand has been Everyman Chess, which has many successful adaptations by Chessable, and there are also the imprints Cadogan Chess and Chess Press. The UK publisher generated a turnover of approximately €635,000 and was profitable in 2020. The announcement comes two days after news that Play Magnus signed a long-term cooperation with the UK author and presenter Simon Williams.
-
Short news
Canty and Johnson got E-sport contracts – 04 Mar 2021
James Canty III and Frank Johnson, both in the streamer programme of Chess.com, have signed up with the E-sport agencies Noble respectively Premier.