Control of the centre has been considered to be the heart of chess strategy from time immemorial. As José Raúl Capablanca pointed out, the fundamentals remain the same, though application may change in the course of time. The Cuban world champion wrote: “In chess the tactics may change but the strategic fundamental principles are always the same”. | GM Sundararajan Kidambi analyses three ‘hypermodern’ games.
Today, 3 June 2023, Nils Grandelius celebrates his 30th birthday. Grandelius is known as his country's long-time leading player, an important member of the Swedish team, and has won several major international tournaments in his career to date. Grandelius worked as Magnus Carlsen's second for the World Chess Championship matches in 2016 and 2018, and is also a well-known author and teacher. | Nils Grandelius at the TePe Sigeman & Co. tournament in 2023 | Photo: David Llada
Now that Argentina has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhEWqfP6V w">won the FIFA World Cup</a> in memorable fashion, it is a great time to reminisce on the legacy of Miguel Najdorf. ‘Don Miguel’ was born in Warsaw, but was among the many European players who found themselves in Buenos Aires when the Second World War broke out in 1939. Najdorf stayed in Argentina and spent most of his life in the South American country. Najdorf was one of the fifteen players who participated in the legendary 1953 Candidates Tournament in Zurich.
The 44th Chess Olympiad is about to start in Chennai. The main focus will be undoubtedly on the team results, as every match is a joint effort to earn a match victory. However, individual achievements are also highlighted at Chess Olympiads. Let us recall some of the most remarkable individual results at the Chess Olympiads in the 21st century. | Photo: Niklesh Jain (from the 2018 Batumi Olympiad)