The last round of the pool stage was full of unexpected twits and turns at the World Women’s Team Championship. In the end, France and Ukraine advanced from Pool A, leaving India out of contention; in Pool B, Germany beat Bulgaria in a nerve-racking match to advance despite having started the event with three losses in a row. | Photo: Michal Walusza
The Ukrainian Championships took place in Kharkiv on 8-17 December 2021. The tournaments were nicely organized in the library of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University. Andrei Volokitin clinched first place in the open section by winning both his games in the two final rounds, while Kateryna Dolzhykova surprisingly got the gold in the women’s tournament. | Photos: Ukrainian Chess Federation
An eighth win in as many matches gave Russia tournament victory at the women’s section of the European Team Championships with a round to spare. This is Russia’s fourth consecutive title and the seventh in the last eight events. Meanwhile, in the open section, four teams go into the final round tied for first place Armenia, France, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. | Photos: Mark Livshitz
In an exclusive interview with Tatiana Flores, Jovanka Houska talks about her career as a chess player, author and commentator. She also talks about some of her most important and memorable games and reveals how it feels to get free chess lessons from Judit Polgar. | Photo: Alina l'Ami