The national teams of Russia have completely dominated the 2015 European Team Chess Championships, winning the gold medals in both Men’s and Women’s tournaments. In the final round of the Men’s section Russia tied the match against Hungary to complete the race with 15 points and take the winner’s trophy. This is Russia’s first gold in the European… Read More »
With one round to go, both Russian teams are still in the lead, but none of them have won the title with a round to spare, which is good for the tournament’s suspense! In the open section, Russia was held to another draw, this time by the Armenians. Nepomniachtchi opened the score for the Russians by beating Movsesian,… Read More »
The main news of today’s 7th round is that in both sections the Russian teams not only managed to maintain their lead, they even further increased the gap to their closest pursuers! In the open section, Russia managed to beat France by the narrowest of margins after a nice victory by Grischuk against Fressinet. Bacrot was pushing against… Read More »
We witnessed yet another day of high-quality, exciting chess at the Laugardalshöll in Reykjavik today and both Russian teams were able to maintain their lead. In the open section, all the top boards were very close affairs, as can be told by the fact that the 6(!) first matches all ended in a 2.5-1.5 score. In the top… Read More »
The strongest invitational tournament ever to be held in Israel will be hosted by the city of Ashdod, in collaboration with the Association of Chess Professionals (ACP) on December 7-10 during the Chanukah holiday. Participants: GM Vassily Ivanchuk, Ukraine 2825 GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, Russia 2821 GM Gadir Guseinov, Azerbaijan 2739 GM Richard Rapport, Hungary 2736 GM Boris Gelfand,… Read More »
As the tournament crosses the halfway mark here in Reykjavik, the Russian men maintain their lead, while the ladies even further increase theirs! While the top board clash between Russia and Azerbaijan in the open section ended 2-2 (with all four boards being drawn), the board 2 to 5 matches all ended in decisive results. On board 2,… Read More »
What a day for the Russian teams in Reykjavik! In both sections we had the clash between the top two seeds in the tournament today and the matches didn’t disappoint. In the open section the Russians cruised to a 3-1 victory against Ukraine, while in the women’s section they beat Georgia with a merciless 3.5-0.5 score. In the… Read More »
The main news of the day was of course the clash between the two highest rated players of the tournament, World ChampionMagnus Carlsen (who made his tournament debut after resting during the first two rounds) and Levon Aronian. Linares 2009 was the last time Aronian beat Carlsen in a classical game, but Levon chose his moment perfectly, as… Read More »
The 2nd round of the European Team Chess Championship started today in Reykjavik with 1 minute silence in the memory of the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris. European Chess Union express the warmest condolences to the French Chess Federation, French teams and players and the whole French Nation for the victims of the terrorist attacks in… Read More »
The European Team Chess Championship kicked off in Reykjavik today. Playing venue for this extraordinary event – which is being held in Iceland for the first time – is Laugardalshöll, where in 1972 the Match of the Century took place between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. There are a total of 36 teams in the open section and… Read More »
