Gold for Malakhov at European Rapid Ch

After a very successful World Cup tournament, Vladimir Malakhov managed to keep his top form this weekend. The 29-year-old physicist from Russia won the European Rapid Championship with 11.5/13, beating big favourites such as Gashimov, Ivanchuk and Shirov. Update: games added. Read more

Kutin vs. Yazici: not justice, but chaos prevails

We received a letter from Ali Nihat Yazici, the President of the Turkish Chess Federation, concerning a recent arbitration in the court of Lausanne about an organizing dispute between the European Chess Union and the Turkish Chess Federation. Yazici’s letter speaks of justice, but to us, it seems only chaos prevails. A down-to-earth perspective is badly needed. Read more

The European Women Ch and the Women Grand Prix after five rounds

To the astonishment of ECU President Boris Kutin and everybody else (well, perhaps except for our distinguished FIDE President) two highly important women events are taking place at the same time: the European Championship in St. Petersburg and the first Grand Prix in Istanbul. A brief update on these two tournaments. Read more

European Championships start, Kutin criticizes Ilyumzhinov for clash with GP

Today the 10th European Chess Championship takes off in Budva, Montenegro, where Tiviakov will defend his title in a huge, 11-round Swiss. There’s turmoil in the women’s section: Sunday is the first round of the European Women’s Championship (held in St. Petersburg), while on Saturday the first FIDE Women Grand Prix starts in Istanbul. Europan Chess Union President Boris Kutin is not amused. Read more