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International Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded on 20th July in 1924 in Paris, under the motto “Gens una Sumus” (Latin for “We are one Family”). Today, FIDE celebrates the 98th birthday anniversary and the whole World celebrates the International Chess Day!

Three years ago, on 12 December 2019, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 20 July as World Chess Day marking the date of the establishment of the International Chess Federation.

After the European Youth Team Chess Championship 2022, Hotel Lazart Thessaloniki, Greece hosts the European Youth Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships 2022. The events take place from 20-22 July with European Youth Individual Rapid Championships first on the schedule.

The 1000 GM/IM St. Louis Norm Tournaments will take place from 19-23 July in Saint Louis, Missouri. Both IM and GM events will be played in 9 rounds, round-robin system. The time control will be: 90 minutes + 30 seconds increment.

Researchers of the King’s College London conducted a study analyzing data from 79.000 chess games finding that men play 8% longer against women than they would in a same-sex game. The study explains male chess players delay resigning when they play against a Woman to avoid the “psychological cost” of losing to a female chess player.

The International Open Chess Tournament “Svetozar Gligoric Memorial” kicked off Sunday, July 17th in Belgrade, Serbia. The event is played in two categories: Masters (for players rated 2100+) and Amateurs (for players rated U2200) with participation of more than 300 players from 40 countries.

Sergey Karjakin is currently playing his first event after he received a 6 months ban from participating in FIDE events. Karjakin competes in a closed round-robin event in a field of four participants who in higher or lesser extent supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The 2022 Warsaw Chess Festival was held from July 8 to July 17 at the Warsaw sports hall. The Festival featured Jan Maciej’s Memorial in blitz chess and Mieczysław Najdorf Memorial in classic chess which was played in two categories: A and B. The total prize fund of the events was 60.000 PLN (~12.500 euros), with the prize pool of 15.000 PLN for Jan Maciej’s Memorial Blitz, 29.000 PLN for Najdorf memorial A tournament and 16.000 PLN for Najdorf memorial B tournament.

European Youth Team Chess Championship 2022 concluded yesterday in Thessaloniki, Greece. The event was played from 12-18 July and broke the participation record with 53 teams competing in two age categories: U12 and U18, open and girls sections separately.

Grandmaster Jergus Pechac is the recipient of the Gligoric Trophy 2021 in recognition of his exemplary behaviour and fair play spirit. The decision was made by the special Award Commission chaired by Mahir Mamedov, Judit Polgar, and Eugene Torre.

The 11th IBCA World Women’s and Junior Chess Championships for the Blind and Visually Impaired, organized by the IBCA, the French Blind Chess Association, and the Maison d’Échecs de Toulouse Lardenne, chief organizer Mr. Laurent Kruk, took place in Castelnaudary, France, from July 10-18, 2022. The participants, representing 18 federations from three continents, used specialized Braille chess boards, talking clocks, and voice recording equipment.