Cercle d'échecs de Wavre

ChessBase

1. Dominoes: Youth Composing Challenges

   Possibly readers would enjoy a little bit of behind-the-scenes information on how chess composers work together. As always, this will be supplemented by endgame studies.| Photo: Midjourney

2. The Isle of Man’s grand chess spectacle

   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.

3. There was a bank row!

   Last weekend I gave our readers a puzzle which, I said, only a segment of our readers could possibly solve. But even amongst them there were very few who succeeded. One exception: super-talent Gukesh, who managed – with a little help. And he collapsed in helpless laughter when he got it. Another super-talent, Leon Mendonca, filmed it all. Here is the solution, together with a second prank I played on a young chess talent.

4. There was a bank row?

   My readers, and all my friends in the chess world, know that I am fond of puzzles. I keep giving the most talented chess players non-chess problems to solve, and they keep coming back for more. Here's one I tormented some of my 2600+ friends with. Warning: it can only be solved by a certain section of our readers. Their reactions, like that of 2750-Gukesh, are priceless.

5. Birthday problem solutions

   On August 6th, to celebrate GM Helmut Pfleger's eightieth birthday, octogenarian puzzle master Werner Keym submitted two very clever little problems in two German newspapers. The puzzles, which had a unique form of birthday greetings encoded into them, were not at all easy to work out. Today we bring you the solutions.

6. Magnus victorious

   Former World Champion Magnus Carlsen has accomplished a significant milestone in his illustrious chess career by capturing his inaugural World Cup title, the only tournament that was missing from his immense collection of victories. All three top-placed players have qualified for the 2024 Candidates tournament, which is due to take place next April in Canada. Full report to follow.

7. Vidit Gujarathi: Master Advanced Tactics

   ... and calculations like a Super Grandmaster – which he is. Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, born 1994, attained the GM title at the age of nineteen. In August 2022 he became the second highest rated player in India (behind Viswanathan Anand), crossing the Elo rating threshold of 2700. Today we are releasing his latest Fritztrainer, one in which he shares his secrets of success at the pinnacle of the chess world.

8. The next big thing in Sri Lankan Chess: Thehas Rithmitha

   The junior chess championships of various age categories serve a very important purpose. The talented medal winners get the limelight they need — with the adequate amount of support, these kids can go on to do great things in the chess world! One such example is 2014-born Thehas Rithmitha Kiringoda, gold medallist in the Under-9 World Schools Championships 2023. Starting off as the 21st seed among 61 players, Thehas went on to score a dominating 7½/9 and win the event! In this article, we ask Thehas a few questions about his chess journey so far, his performance in the World Schools, future goals and much more. Get to know the mindset of a young chess talent.

9. Tony Ballard and the Gift of Chess

   Tony Ballard is a Kansas prison inmate who turned a 25-year sentence into a passion for chess. He used the game to teach other inmates critical-thinking skills, and became the Director of Prison Outreach. Tony partnered with The Gift of Chess, an initiative that is set to distribute one million chess sets all over the world by 2030. To date they have manufactured over 80,000, sending most to African nations. Read this report and prepare to be inspired.

10. Staff member wins World Cup

    "I am thrilled to share some exciting news with you," wrote us ChessBase sysop Angom Nongsha, who had just won the title. Not in chess, but in a related field. "I have emerged victorious in both the Asian Chessboxing Championship and the Chessboxing World Cup 2023!" he wrote. This sport has a long tradition (we have links to many reports). In this article Nongsha describes his success in the most recent events, in his own words.