Yesterday, the first round of the 2018 Women’s World Chess Championship got underway in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. 64 players from 28 countries are fighting in a knockout format to determine the new champion—and that might be for the last time. Canada is proudly represented by WIM Maili-Jade Ouellet. She is paired in the first around against one of…
Upsets at the 2018 Isle Of Man International Open

The 2018 Chess.com Isle of Man International, the strongest open tournament in history, fielded a score of 2700s. The main section of the tournament attracted 164 players, with the first round featuring the typical big rating gaps in all boards. However, unlike in other open events, we saw many of the underdogs drawing their higher-rated colleagues….
Key Focus Areas To Improve Your Chess

As with most activities, it takes intentional practice and mastery of key aspects of the activities to see improvement. It’s no different in chess. Our goal at Elevate My Chess is to see every player improve so below are some of the suggested areas we encourage new and fairly new chess players to focus on…
China Wins It All At The 43rd Chess Olympiad

A strong performance by both the Men and Women Chinese team saw them finish on top with gold medals ahead of other strong teams like the U.S.A, Russia, India, Poland and other strong chess nations. In addition, Ding Liren and Ju Wenjun both finished with individual gold medals on board 1. China also had the…
Chess Olympiad is Underway

The 43rd Chess Olympiad in underway in Batumi, Georgia. For those of you that have been following the biggest chess event in the world, it has been nothing less than spectacular, from the amazing opening ceremony, marriage proposal and upsets on the chess board, the event is certainly exceeding expectation. Added to this is the…
EMC Wins Bid To Host The 2020 Canadian Open & Canadian Youth Chess Championship

In partnership with the City of Mississauga and Tourism Toronto, we are excited to announce that Elevate My Chess Canada Inc. has won the bid to host the 2020 Canadian Chess Open and Canadian Youth Chess Championship in the beautiful and vibrant city of Mississauga. Yes, the biggest chess event in Canada is returning to…
EMC Level 2 Group Lesson Graduate Finishes Strong at our inaugural 2018 Montreal Open Championship

Our Group lesson students continue to show strong performances at chess events across the country. Over the past weekend, Hallie Green, one of our Level 2 Group lesson graduates, finished second overall and as the best girl in the U-900 Junior Section after winning 4 of 5 games played. You can see final results and…
The 10 Best Chess Traps

Chess tricks and traps have always caught the imagination and appreciation of chess fans as long as chess has been played. A nice trap shows tactical ideas, combinations, and fascinating concepts that capture our attention and stand the test of time. The traps in this article will give you ideas to try in your own…
Carlsen Arrives As Sinquefield Cup Begins

One of the most anticipated chess events in the chess calendar get underway today, Saturday, August 18 in the chess capital of the world. The 2018 Sinquefield Cup is an elite international event, featuring 10 of the strongest chess players in the world. Over the course of nine rounds, these competitors will battle for $300,000 in…
FM Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux and Sherry Tian win the 2018 CJCC and will represent Canada at the 2018 World Junior in Turkey

2018 Canadian Junior Championship The Canadian Junior Chess Championship ran from August 8-12, 2018 at Humber College, Toronto. It featured four sections: a 10-player invitiational RR, Open Swiss, U1800, and U1300. Male and female winners of the 10-player RR represent Canada at the World Junior in Turkey (Sept 4-16), and get $1500 for travel. Winners:…