Viktor Korchnoi, chess grandmaster, 2011 in Porto Carras (Photo: Wikipedia by Andreas Kontokanis, Greece)
This is a tribute to Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi, the Inimitable and Infatiguable, the 'Lion from Leningrad'. Master of aggressive counter-attacking, full of fantasy, with a unique willingness to enter double-edged, unbalanced positions.
The iron man of chess who played and beat grandmasters of five generations, from Levenfisch (born 1889) and Lilienthal to Carlsen and Caruana (born 1992), beating a non-surpassed nine undisputed World Champions (including all from Botvinnik to Kasparov).
With a persistant search for new ideas and truth at the chess board, Korchnoi is winner of more than 220 tournaments, matches and team events in adult chess of grandmaster strength.
His fresh style and unrivalled combative longevity should be an inspiration to all of us. A fearless competitor and a non-conformist. Viktor Korchnoi will be remembered for
- 6 Jun, 2016
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The man who has spent his whole life in the game
A fighter and a survivor - Obituaries and Reminiscences
- 1 Jul, 2016
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More than 220 wins in tournament, match and team career events for Viktor Korchnoi (always strictly chess contests of grandmaster strength)
Chronological summary of all First Prizes won in adult GM competitions (not counting club level, exhibitions, etc., without junior or senior events)
- 1 Aug, 2016
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Compendium: International tournament series
A wrap-up of all past and present major recurring individual international chess tournament *serials* in classical chess (closed invitational round robin all-play-all and open swiss system)
More than eighty tournaments (past and present events) are presented in detail, among them the full story on the former supertournament series of Las Palmas and Palma de Mallorca. Exclusive in the Web: Banja Luka - 1 Aug, 2016
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Special: International tournament series in Switzerland
Major recurring international open or closed chess tournament series held in Switzerland - past and present, featuring Basel, Bern, Biel / Bienne, Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne, Lugano, Zurich all incl. Horgen
- 1 Jan, 2017
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Player biographies, a selection
Featuring uncrowned chess giants, and players who achieved a special cult character, who have become national heroes and / or worked with Viktor Korchnoi as a second (assistant). Sometimes a strong current player is portrayed, too.
- 1 Jan, 2017
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On a zero-sum ranking system and Elo rating inflation
In historical comparisons, ranking matters, not nominal rating, referring to top-level. A provocative essay and empirical research
- 4 Feb, 2017
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The legendary film icon Arthur Cohn is 90 years young
La diagonale du fou, produced by Arthur Cohn won the Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film in 1985: The first Oscar for Switzerland :)
From Russia with Love - James Bond 007: A famous film scene! - 31 Dec, 2017
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Exclusive in the Web: Open Superseries, an overview
Register of about twenty recurring international Open Supertournament series (named "Superopen" in analogy to the closed "Supertournament") in classical chess, from past and present.
A Chess Superopen series is big and diverse (strength and largeness of the top participating grandmasters and the status of the tournament in continuation), mixed in gender and ages, with players representing not only various countries, but also different continents. - 31 Dec, 2017
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Closed elite series, an overview
A selection of strong international invitation chess tournament *series*. By definition, the overview is focussed on series.
Note: Three countries, Spain, The Netherlands, and former Yugoslavia organised the most invitation tournament *series* in the modern era of chess since WWII. Tournament series held from there, are summarized under the corresponding chessdiagonals web sites.
Great Britain (international tournament tradition since 1851) and Belgium (the chess centre of the world in the mid- and late 1980s) are presented in full history in their section respectively.
- 1. Aug, 2018
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International Chess Festival of Biel / Bienne
The 51st Festival edition took place from July, 21 to August, 1, 2018
Magnus Carlsen from Norway, the reigning World Chess Champion and the World's Number One, and his father Henrik Carlsen in the Open, met the International Biel Festival again.
Seven undisputed World Chess Champions played at Biel Chess Festival (Interzonals included):
Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, Karpov, Kramnik, Anand, and Carlsen, a seven-time participant who played in 2012 as no. 1 of the world, and again in 2018 as no.1 of the world and reigning World Champion.
Chess is a game for all ages: Magnus Carlsen is the youngest winner in the history of the Biel GM Invitation Tournament, at age of 16 in 2007; Viktor Korchnoi is the oldest winner ever at Biel at age of 70 in 2001 (above Svidler as second and Gelfand as third, followed by joint Grischuk, Lautier, Pelletier).
The Biel GM Invitation Tournament 2018 was won in a double round robin by Mamedyarov ahead of Carlsen. Vachier-Lagrave and Svidler finished third / fourth, Navara was fifth, and young Nico Georgiadis from Switzerland placed sixth and last.
The reigning World Chess Champion played at Biel 2018
The current dominator of the Chess World: Magnus Carlsen (born in 1990) from Norway. The Festival of Biel in 2018 was his seventh visit already! Picture: Carlsen in play during Tata Steel in Wijk aan Zee, 2013. Photo by Frans Peeters (Flikr)
Coming soon
History of International Tournament Series in Classical Chess in a Matrix form
Chess Matrix
The Modern Monuments: World Elite Invitation Tournament Series in Classical Chess
The Modern Monuments: World Elite Open Tournament Series in Classical Chess
Top Tournament Players (most successful in modern times)
Year-by-Year Matrix of the tournaments and winners 1946 to 2019
(Prof. Max Euwe, world chess champion, grandmaster, and teacher. Photo via skaksogufelagid.is)