Posted in Drum Majors, Europe, Georgia, Media Stories, Olympiad, Photos, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Oct 15th, 2018 1 Comment »
Back to another Olympiad… another new place… another adventure. I had been to Calvia, Turin, Dresden, Istanbul, Tromso and now would venture to a place abutting the Black Sea in a city known for vintage wineries. Nevertheless, I geared up for this trip not knowing what was to come after a contentious FIDE campaign that […]
Posted in Africa, Congo, Drum Majors, Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Oct 13th, 2018 1 Comment »
The Chess Olympiad is chock full of inspirational stories that become part of the event’s history. The Olympiad in Batumi had more than 180 nations participating so there was no shortage of them. In fact, ChessBase India did the best job in capturing the essence of wide experiences among the players. The story of Dr. […]
Posted in Africa, Caribbean, Drum Majors, Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Oct 10th, 2018 7 Comments »
Aster Bantiwalu (Ethiopia)Photo by David Llada The Chess Olympiad is a special event and by some accounts is the most important event in chess. It is at the biennial Olympiad that various expressions of chess are seen from every corner of the planet. Apart from the colorful outfits from the various delegations, there is the […]
Posted in Africa, Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Zambia on Oct 6th, 2018 1 Comment »
Lewis Ncube at African CongressPhoto by Africa Chess Media Lewis Ncube, the incumbent, declared to hold his position as President of the African Chess Conferation after two competitors emerged. It appeared that he would have quite a challenge after Tshepo Sitale and Dr. Essoh Essis released very impressive campaign statements. There was also the debate […]
Posted in Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Oct 6th, 2018 No Comments »
2018 Chess Olympiad: Round #11Friday, 5 October 2018 Open Section Full Results Dint Liren and Ju Wenjun (CHINA) Photo: @davidllada #BatumiChess2018 pic.twitter.com/F32w5ek57f — Batumi Chess Olympiad 2018 (@BatumiChess2018) October 5, 2018 China has won Olympiad gold after beating medal contender Poland in a thrilling last-round battle. The medals were not decided until the final tiebreaks […]
Posted in Olympiad, Tournaments on Oct 4th, 2018 No Comments »
2018 Chess Olympiad: Round #9Wednesday, 3 October 2018 Open Section Full Results Arkady Dvorkovich is the new FIDE President. Photo: @davidllada @BatumiChess2018 pic.twitter.com/4rwzciuuTv — Batumi Chess Olympiad 2018 (@BatumiChess2018) October 3, 2018 Top story of today was the election of the new FIDE President, Arkady Dvorkovich. He becomes the 7th to hold that position and […]
Posted in FIDE, Media Stories, Olympiad, The Chess Drum on Oct 4th, 2018 No Comments »
Arkady DvorkovichPhoto by David Llada Months after announcing his candidacy, Arkady Dvorkovich has won the favor of chess federations around the world by winning the office of FIDE President. In the lead up to the vote, There were several endorsements including a last minute show of support for fellow candidate Nigel Short who withdrew his […]
Posted in Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Oct 2nd, 2018 No Comments »
2018 Chess Olympiad: Round #7Monday, 1 October 2018 Open Section Full Results Key battles in the 7th round. Poland-Azerbaijan was drawn 2-2 while the USA beat Croatia 3-1 moving into a three-way tie for first. The USA benefited from favorable pairings the last two rounds, but will certainly play everyone that they’ll need to play. […]
Posted in Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Oct 1st, 2018 No Comments »
2018 Chess Olympiad: Round #6Sunday, 30 September 2018 Women Section Full Results First, the women… The Americans are making a run for medals in both sections after the 6th round proceedings. The story thus far has to be the play of unheralded FM Jennifer Yu who is now on 5.5/6 after winning against India. The […]
Posted in Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Sep 29th, 2018 1 Comment »
2018 Chess Olympiad: Round #5Friday, 28 September 2018 Open Section Full Results Levon Aronian (Armenia)Photo by Daaim Shabazz Things have heated up before the rest day at the 2018 Chess Olympiad. The marquee matchup between Azerbaijan and Armenia was a thriller, but ended up in heartbreak for the Armenians. Levon Aronian ran into the Shakhriyar […]
Posted in Olympiad, Tournaments on Sep 28th, 2018 No Comments »
2018 Chess Olympiad: Round #4Thursday, 27 September 2018 Open Section Full Results The heavyweights were beginning to meet in round four and when the smoke cleared France and Israel remained above the fray with identical scores. Each have won the four matches for two points and have accumlated 14 board points. The USA defeated India […]
Posted in Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Sep 27th, 2018 1 Comment »
2018 Chess Olympiad: Round #3Wednesday, 26 September 2018 Open Section Full Results The calm before the storm. Round three had some interesting matchups, but the favorites are still holding sway in this 11-round marathon. France finally gave up a 1/2-point, but holds the lead on board points with 11.5 while Israel has 11 and four […]
Posted in Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Sep 26th, 2018 1 Comment »
2018 Chess Olympiad: Round #2Monday, 25 September 2018 Open Section Full Results A couple of surprises in today’s games (including the Russian women dropping their match to Uzbekistan), but before we get into today’s proceedings, there are a couple of matters to discuss. The opening ceremonies was splendid by all accounts and it was widely […]
Posted in Olympiad, Tournaments on Sep 25th, 2018 2 Comments »
2018 Chess Olympiad: Round #1Monday, 24 September 2018 Open Section Full Results The first round of every Olympiad is one of intrigue given the disparity of the strength. However, each Olympiad makes it evident that the balance of power is leveling and that smaller federations are able to snatch valuable points from stronger teams. It […]
Posted in Europe, Georgia, Media Stories, Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Sep 23rd, 2018 45 Comments »
Chess players, fans and friends! The 43rd Chess Olympiad will open tomorrow with the opening ceremonies. There has been a lot of fanfare about the entertainment for the opening. Approximately 180 countries will be traveling to Batumi, Georgia to take part in the competition and the proceedings. There are some very intriguing developments with the […]
Posted in Media Stories, Olympiad, The Chess Drum, Tournaments on Sep 21st, 2018 12 Comments »
In a few days, the 43rd Chess Olympiad will open in the seaside city of Batumi in the Republic of Georgia. It is projected that approximately 180 nations with convene at the biennial event which will feature battles for team and individual medals as well as the election for FIDE President. The festivities will run […]
Posted in FIDE, Media Stories, Olympiad, The Chess Drum on Sep 15th, 2018 3 Comments »
Things are heating up as we move closer to the FIDE election to be held October 3rd in Batumi, Georgia. This campaign has been about as hotly-contested as we’ve had in the past 20 years. There have been many invectives tossed particularly against Georgios Makropoulos, the current Deputy President. In fact, FIDE candidates Arkady Dvorkovich […]
Posted in FIDE, Media Stories, Olympiad, The Chess Drum on Jul 25th, 2018 No Comments »
In the latest twist on the FIDE campaign, the organization’s Treasurer Dr. Adrian Siegel addressed a July 18th inquiry by Andrey Filatov (Russian Chess Federation) concerning federation debts. Citing a FIDE letter, Filatov wrote Executive Director Nigel Freeman concerning federation debts and their relationship to voting rights. Filatov asserted that federations must cover their financial […]
Posted in Africa, FIDE, Media Stories, Olympiad, Politics, The Chess Drum on Jul 17th, 2018 8 Comments »
The Chess Olympiad is less than two months away and it will be a very exciting event as usual. However, what will make the event more compelling is the FIDE Presidential elections. There are three candidates remaining after Kirsan Ilyumzhinov bowed out of the race after being adamant on his quest for reelection. FIDE Deputy […]
Posted in Africa, Cote d'Ivoire, FIDE, Olympiad, The Chess Drum on May 26th, 2018 1 Comment »
Dr. Essoh J.M.C. Essis Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) has some of the world’s top draughts players. If Dr. Essoh Essis has his way Africa will develop a foundation for an “African Renaissance” in chess. Dr. Essis has announced his candidacy for President of the African Chess Confederation (ACC). The voting will take place at the […]
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