8/13/2025 – Pavel Eljanov, the top seed by Elo rating, has won the Zeeland Open at the HZ University of Applied Science in Vlissingen, a Dutch city in the county of Zeeland, edging out Eelke de Boer on tiebreaks after both finished level on points. Full report by Gerd Dening. | Photos: Gerd Densing and Tina Rouwendal (teaser photo)

8/6/2025 – Seven players share the lead at the halfway mark of the traditional Zeeland University Open in Vlissingen, each with 4.5 points after five rounds. Among them are top seed Pavel Eljanov, as well as two Germans: Daniel Hausrath and Tim Ronge, the U16 champion of Rhineland-Palatinate. A mid-tournament report by Gerd Densing. | Photos: Gerd Densing

6/18/2025 – Since 1994, the Echternach Open has been a regular highlight on the tournament calendar in the Eifel region. Set in the historic town of Echternach - the oldest city in Luxembourg - the event is held in the beautiful setting of the Old Abbey. Combined with flawless organization, this charming venue draws over 300 chess enthusiasts each year, including grandmasters. This year, German GM Daniel Fridman claimed victory thanks to the best tiebreak score, edging out four other players who finished with the same number of points. Gerd Densing reports and sends impressions.

8/13/2024 – The 26th edition of the HZ University of Applied Sciences Chess Tournament 2024 was played in the Dutch city of Vlissingen in the province of Zeeland, from 3 to 10 August. GM Daniel Fernandez (pictured) won with 7½ out of 9 points. There was a player in the event who caused a stir by trying to increase his playing strength with a mobile phone hidden in his sock. Gerd Densing reports.

4/18/2024 – "Eurochess" is the apt name of the European banks' chess tournament. From 11 to 14 April, the tournament was held in Athens with 69 participants and 14 banking institutions. The National Bank of Belgium won the team competition, Radu Liviu the individual tournament. Gerd Densing represented the Bundesbank and reports.

9/16/2023 – The Netherlands hosted Eurochess, a now traditional bankers’ tournament, and offered the guests from Europe a nice visiting programme. The host team from De Nederlandsche Bank (the Netherlands’ central bank) won the team competition, while Razvan-Alexandru Sebe-Vodislav finished first in the individual standings. Gerd Densing played for the Bundesbank and found time to prepare a fine pictorial report. | Photos: Gerd Densing

3/31/2023 – When they hear ‘Reykjavik Open’, many chess players spontaneously express the wish to be there. Our author Gerd Densing belongs to this group: he is currently in the Icelandic capital, playing in the tournament, writing and taking photographs. In the first three rounds, he has met not only the rating favourite, Vasyl Ivanchuk (photo), but also many other interesting personalities.

5/29/2022 – DZ-BANK and the chess club of the Cultural and Sports Association of the Deutsche Bundesbank organized a charity simultaneous exhibition with the Ukrainian national champion WIM Kateryna Dolzhykova at the premises of the bank in Frankfurt.

8/3/2018 – Norway's Jon Ludwig Hammer (pictured middle) won the tournament victory at the Xtracon Open in Helsingör, followed by Russian GM Dmitry Andreikin (left) while the German "prince" Rasmus Svane (right) finished third and Vincent Keymer was the eleventh but also enjoys his second GM norm. | Photo: Jacob Carstensen

3/13/2018 – After seven rounds in the Reykjavik Open, Richard Rapport and Baskaran Adhiban lead with 6 points apiece. Young Nihal Sarin is having a breakout performance, and was leading after five rounds, and still maintains a tournament performance rating of 2767. Games annotated by GM Daniel Fernandez Watch round eight live! | Pictured: Alexandr Lenderman (centre) was the winner of the rest day rapid tournament celebrating Bobby Fischer | Photos: Gerd Densing

3/8/2018 – Just two days in, already three rounds have already been played in Reykjavik. And only three players remain on a perfect score: Mustafa Yilmaz, Vaibhav Suri and Elshan Moradiabadi. Alina l'Ami, this time in front of the camera, started with two out of two but then lost to Moradiabadi. Gerd Densing reports. Game annotations by GM Daniel Fernandez | Pictured: Alina l'Ami | Photo: Gerd Densing

3/6/2018 – The Gamma Reykjavik Open 2018 is all about Robert Fischer, who would have turned 75 this year. In Reykjavik he celebrated his greatest success, and he's also buried in Iceland. Among the participants are over 30 grandmasters. Richard Rapport and Pavel Eljanov lead the ranking list. Live games and commentary, plus a preview and photos by Gerd Densing.

8/31/2017 – The nineteenth edition of the Sants Open in Barcelona finished with a clear winner in group A: Rinat Jumabayev. The young man from Kazakhstan has been a GM since 2009 and is the number one in his country. An afternoon playoff determined second and third places which went to Moldovan Dmitry Svetushkin and German Julian Martin. | Photo: Gerd Densing