After 6 rounds at the 2018 U.S. Championships, GM Sam Shankland and FM Annie Wang are on top of the Standings as they head into the lone rest day with the field chasing them. In round six, Shankland beat co-leader GM Varuzhan Akobian, while Wang beat IM Dorsa Derakhshani. The other pre-round co-leaders, GM Wesley So and IM Nazi Paikidze,…
Caruana Wins Grenke Chess Classic
Fabiano Caruana has won two elite tournaments in a fortnight, jumped to No 2 in the live ratings only 21 points behind the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, and starts play in the US championship in St Louis on Wednesday. America’s world title challenger is already putting psychological pressure on Carlsen, seven months before their 12-game world title series….
Don’t Make the Mistake of Leaving your King in the Center
As you prepare for the upcoming Waterdown Chess Challenge, let’s review the danger of leaving your King in the center. While this may be seen as a beginner’s mistake, it really isn’t. Players of all strengths prefer to develop their other pieces if their King looks safe in the center. As we’re about to see,…
Waterdown Chess Challenge presented by Manzer Insurance Services is only two weeks away!
We are excited to announce that Manzer Insurance Services is now our main sponsor of the Waterdown Chess Challenge. To learn more about our sponsor, click here. The Waterdown Chess Challenge is a one day annual event hosted by the club for players of all categories – young and old, masters and beginners. The 2018…
Caruana Wins FIDE Candidates’ Tournament
With a total of nine points, one point clear of the second place finish, Fabiano Caruana won the 2018 FIDE Candidates’ Tournament in Berlin convincingly, and earned the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the world title in November. Caruana defeated Alexander Grischuk in the final round with the black pieces to secure his victory. “I’m absolutely thrilled,” said Caruana, in…
Karjakin Wins Blitz and Anand wins Rapid at Tal Memorial Chess
In preparation for the Candidates’ Tournament coming up soon, some of the top players gathered at the Tal Memorial Blitz and Rapid Chess to compete. The Russian, GM Sergey Karjakin finished first in the Blitz chess with 1.5 points clear of his competitors. GM Viswanathan Anand finished first in the Rapid chess. At 48 years…
Don’t make the mistake of reacting to your opponent
In this article by GM Damian Lemos, he looks at one of the mistakes club players make all the time is reacting to what their opponent has just played. He advises that while you should try and understand what your opponent is up to, you shouldn’t let him/her dictate play. In the image above, Emanuel Lasker (Black)…
The 4-Step Thinking Process
As we approach the upcoming tournaments beginning next week, this article on the 4-step thinking process published on ichess.net may be useful for many players as they prepare to compete in the coming weeks. Your opponent has just hit their clock and now it’s your turn to move. Out of all the possible options on…
Best of 2017
2017 was another great year for chess as the popularity of the game continues to grow. There were so many amazing and brilliant games played by both upcoming and veteran players that captured our imagination. ChessBase.com ran a pool recently for Player of the Year, Female Player of the Year, Game of the Year, Endgame…
Happy New Year!
In a few hours, we will welcome 2018! We want to wish you all a Happy New Year and a safe celebration. In 2017, we started Elevate My Chess Canada with one goal in mind – to elevate your chess experience! With four scheduled tournaments coming up in January/February 2018 and great support from all…