Welcome to another chess review where we comment on last week’s news from our own, county, country and the world. We will also take a look at what to expect next week.

In our own club we had an amazing week for the first team which remains undefeated this calendar year with three wins out of three games. Our top-rated players defeated Heathcote Arms 1 with a crushing 4-0 with all players showcasing amazing resilience. For more information on the match, follow this link. Two of our most promissing players, Hal and Julian, took on another challeng today as they participated in the Nottingham Rapid tournament, with both having both good and bad games. Nevertheless, an amazing experience for both, from which they will only learn.

The upcoming week will feature another home league game for our club, with our second team facing Ashby 3 in an expected eight-board match. We wish our second team success in what is scheduled to be a true celebration of the game.

In the county, there were a few games played last week. In Division 1, Shepshed 1 defeated the next in the table Braunstone 1. In the second division Ashby 1 got back on the winning track after 3-1 against Wigston 3 who are surprisingly two places above Wigston 2. In Division 3 Syston 2 secured another important win, this time against Market Harborough 2 which puts pressure on our first team as our top players are eyeing the first two places in the table. In the fourth division Melton Mowbray 3 conceded another loss this year, this time against Loughborough 2.

In the country, the ECF has announced an England vs Sweden Challenge Match in which GM David Howell will take on GM Nils Grandelius in London this March. For more information on their website, follow this link.

Worldwide, the first leg of the FIDE Grand Prix 2022 finished with GM Hikaru Nakamura claiming the top spot after amazing final games against GM Levon Aronian. The victor did not spend much time in celebrations and went straight into the Rapid Chess Championship, currently taking place on chess.com. The American Grandmaster even made it to the final but was denied a second crown in a row by his countryman GM Fabiano Caruana. On the topic of online chess, the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour, the competition with the richest prize pot in online chess, has started on Saturday, 19^th February and is currently taking place with the preliminaries ongoing. The current leader in the standings is the last World Championship challenger GM Ian Nepomniachtchi who decided that he is done with playing bad after losing the first game and won the following five games, finishing round 8 with 19 points, four points clear of the second GM Ding Liren and the third GM Eric Hansen who appears to be the pleasant surprise in the tournament so far. It is worth mentioning that the World Champion in classical chess GM Magnus Carlsen lost his game against the 16-year old GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa. You can follow all of the action on our own website on this link.

Lastly, better late than never, we missed to mention in the last Sunday chess review that the oldest Grandmaster, GM Yuri Averbakh turned 100 years and is officially the only GM to reach a centenary. We wish him strong health and many years to come!

Welcome to another chess review where we comment on last week’s news from our own, county, country and the world. We will also take a look at what to expect next week.

In our own club we had a busy club night last Thursday with ten people turning up for some proper chess and fun. We were happy to welcome back John and Deepa who both become regular attendees of our club nights, as well as the OG ‘Squish’ who came, played and left with a mic dropping joke. For more on the club night, follow this link. Next week our first team hosts Heathcote Arms 1 in a match where our top players will look to get the W in a move to attack the second place in their division.

In the county, there were a few games played last week. In Division 1, Shepshed 2 got back on the winning path defeating Market Harborough 1. In the second division Melton Mowbray 1 won against Ashby 1. In Division 3 there Syston 2 secured an important for their team win against Latimer. In the fourth division Melton Mowbray 3 won against Ashby 3, while Wigston 4 drew with Heathcote Arms 2.

In the country, the ECF has announced the 21st IPCA World Individual Chess Championship for the Physically Disabled 2022 in Ashdod, Israel from 8th – 17th May 2022. More information on their website – IPCA World Individual Chess Championship.

Worldwide, the first leg of the FIDE Grand Prix 2022 is still taking place in Berlin. In the semifinals a brave Richard Rapport could not hold on Hikaru Nakamura who is having an amazing tournament. Another GM in great form is Levon Aronian who managed to capitalise on a mistake by his opponent in the semis, Leinier Dominguez. Aronian and Nakamura will face each other from 15^th to 17^th February, you can follow all of the action on our website.

Welcome to another chess review where we comment on last week’s news from our own, county, country and the world. We will also take a look at what to expect next week.

In our own club, COVID-19 hit the club with Boris and Ben catching it. However, nothing could stop Ben to stream twice on twitch.tv, including a 5-hour puzzle rush stream. For more content from Ben, follow his twitch account on twitch.tv/notquiteagm. On Wednesday, our first team participated in a six board league game against Latimer, securing their first back-to-back win for the season. For more on the brilliant performance of the first team, follow this link.

For next week, we are expecting another quiet week, with only club night in sight due to our second team’s game with Market Harborough 3 postponed for 2^nd March. Join us for another evening of chess, fun and entertainment in the Methodist Church in Anstey. All abilities welcome!

In the county, there were plenty of games played last week. In Division 1, Braunstone 1 won against Thurnby, while Wigston 1 drew home against Shepshed 1. In the second division Wigston 3 achieved difficult win against Loughborough 1 while Melton Mowbray’s second team drew with Kirby Muxloe 1. In Division 3 Syston 2 and Market Harborough 2 joined us by winning their games against Heathcote Arms 1 and Ashby 2, respectively. No games were played in the fourth division.

In the country, the ECF is running a second Endgame Challenge with IM Lorin D’Costa and GM Keith Arkell. The challenge will focus on rook and pawn endgames. More about the event on this link.

Worldwide, the FIDE Grand Prix 2022 has started with the first leg of the tournament already on round 3. Follow all of the action on our own website by going back to the home page and scrolling all the way down. After today’s action, please find the below the latest results as presented by FIDE: