Gennadi Sosonko was born in and grew up in the Soviet Union, in a golden age of chess. He emigrated in 1972, became a successful player and then an even more successful chess journalist and author. On 18 May he celebrated his 80th birthday. | Photo source: livelib
The name Erich Eliskases is familiar to only a few chess enthusiasts today. However, the Austrian was one of the best players in the world in the late 1930s. In 1941 he was supposed to play for the World Championship with Alexander Alekhine. But things turned out differently. 15 February 2023 is the 110th birthday of Eliskases, who was born in Innsbruck, Austria, and died in Cordoba, Argentina.
The traditional Tata Steel international invitation tournament series, annually ongoing since the year 1938, held in Wijk aan Zee and earlier in Beverwijk, is a highlight in the calendar of classical chess. Eduard Frey presents funny Trivia from the rich history of this remarkable tournament. | Photo: Playing Hall, Organiser
From Friday, 6 January, to Sunday, 8 January, the 32nd Keres Memorial was held in the Estonian capital Tallinn and featured a blitz and a rapid tournament. GM Vitaliy Bernadskiy from Ukraine won the blitz, GM Yuriy Kuzubov (also from Ukraine) won the rapid event.
There are currently 40 female chess players worldwide who have been awarded the grandmaster title. Nine of them are Capricorn! Then there were the two legendary elite players Paul Keres, and world champion Emanuel Lasker. Capricorn doesn't mess around, works hard and never gives up. That's why his strategy seems easy to see through, but there's a lot more to it than that. | Photo: Pixabay