BOTW (not!): 2018.05.18
Not the Best of the Web features two competitions which ought to create some buzz, but bad internet presence makes them both evidence for the prosecution...
53rd Capablanca Memorial
May 9-19, 2018.
Havana, Cuba
The Elite tournament is a six-player double round robin. After 8 of 12 rounds the field, with the exception of the tail-ender, is in precise order of rating:
- Samuel Shankland: (2701) 6
- Aleksey Dreev: (2653) 5
- David Anton Guijarro: (2646) 4.5
- Aleksandr Rakhmanov: (2635) 3
- Yusnel Alonso Bacallao: (2594) 3
- Lazaro Bruzon: (2664) 2.5
Three Canadians are playing in the "Abierto" (Open) section:
- GM Bator Sambuev: lost his first two games but has rolled back to 6/8.
- IM Thanh Nha Duong: 4/8
- Halldor Palsson: 2/8.
Unfortunately, Cuban internet is unreliable at best, and this makes it almost impossible to use the official site. Games can be followed elsewhere.
Homepage
http://torneocapablanca.inder.cu
Live Games
http://www.chessdom.com/53rd-capablanca-memorial/
Results
http://chess-results.com/fed.aspx?lan=1&fed=CUB
Women's World Championship Match
May 3-19, 2018.
Shanghai & Chongqing, China
The Women's World Championship is now contested annually, alternating between a knock-out tournament and a match between the knock-out winner and a Grand Prix-style qualifier. Current Champion Tan Zhongyi, who won the title at the 2017 Women's World Cup knock-out in Tehran, defends her title in a 10 game match against World #2 Ju Wenjun, who won the 2016-17 Grand Prix. After 9 games, Ju leads 5:4. The final round is May 18, with Tan needing to win with the Black pieces to force a playoff.
Unfortunately:
- World #1 Hou Yifan refused to play in the women's Championship cycle due to the unpredictably changing schedule.
- The original website for the event was 100% Chinese.
FIDE Site
http://china2018.fide.com/
Live Games (3am EST)
http://www.chessdom.com/womens-world-championship-match-2018/