With a last-round-win Czech Grandmaster Jiri Stocek won the 26. Open International Bavarian Championships ahead of GM Maxime Lagarde from France. Both players finished with 7.5/9, but Stocek had the better tiebreak. German International Master Roven Vogel won bronze and made his third and final GM-norm. | Photos: Sandra Schmidt
The Isle of Man plays host once more to the chess world's crème de la crème, as the 3rd FIDE Grand Swiss and 2nd FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss tournaments are set to launch on 25 October. The return of these prestigious world championship qualifying competitions to the Isle of Man marks a momentous occasion. Over the course of 12 days, from 25 October to 5 November, the island in the Irish Sea will emerge as the epicentre of the chess world, hosting an elite assembly of top-tier players fighting for the prizes, prestige and a spot in the 2024 Candidates.
For the first time in its history, Wieza Pomot Pegow managed to win the Polish Team Championship. The event was held as a 10-team round-robin tournament in Lublin. Almost all German national players were successfully involved in various teams. Votum SA Polonia Wrocław and KSz Hetman Płock finished in clear second and third place, respectively. | Photo: Andrei Volokitin (X)
The FIDE World Cup was a complete success, as top players fought for spots in the Candidates, both in the open and in the women’s section. Magnus Carlsen and Aleksandra Goryachkina were the winners. As ever, GM Karsten Müller compiled the most interesting positions from the tournaments. Find here five instructive endgames from the open category! | Pictured: Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | Photo: Stev Bonhage
Yannick Gozzoli and Mitra Hejazipour are the new champions of France. Both won their maiden national titles. The French Championships 2023, 16-player knockout tournaments held in open and women’s sections, took place on August 18-27 in Alpe d’Huez. Gozzoli beat Romain Edouard in the final of the open, while Iranian-born Hejazipour got the better of Deimante Daulyte-Cornette among the women.