Watch the  video review of all the trainers, 2025

Watch the video about the newest super trainer, Positional play in Russian draughts-64

A short review lasting twenty minutes, of the Edeon-Profi 64 draughts program, by master of sports Vasily Naumik (Belarus)

The review covers the most interesting know-how of Edeon-Profi and much more.

To watch the video, left-click on «A short review»

The 2025 Belarus championship in Russian draughts will be held from 23 January to 2 February 2025!

The 2024 champions of Belarus were masters of sports Artyom Tikhonov and Emma Savras!

The 2023 champions of Belarus were Igor Mikhalchenko and Viktoria Nikolayeva!

You can download the games of the 2023 Belarus championship at this link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TyX52GQ_Ro5SpB-CaMsLoLnpf3pOJ6e2/view?usp=sharing

On 24 May 2019 the Belarus championships in draughts-64 for men and women began in Minsk.

The tournament regulations can be seen here

Analysis of the games with Edeon-Profi will appear as the games come in, on the website of the Belarusian draughts federation

2019 Belarus championship in Russian draughts

Andrey Valyuk – Sergey Sadovsky, round 1. Game one 1-1

Video of game 1 — watch it here

XXVII – 22
1. g3-h4 d6-c5 2. f2-g3 f6-e5 3. e3-d4

Black to move. That is the opening drawn between these friends and rivals
3… c5:e3 4. d2:d6

Black’s position is worse and Black has to equalise.
Black faces a difficult choice: which way to capture?
4… e7:c5
The other capture is more common: 4… c:e5, and Edeon-Profi’s game database contains 22 games with it:



5. c1-d2
The grandmaster decided to wait one move in order to get a completely new game.
More often the black flank is attacked at once with 5.cb4, and in the superbase of 182 books, in B. Vinogradov’s book on the 8th correspondence world championship, the game K. Savchenko – L. Rizberg is given: 5… gf6 6. b:d6 c:e5 7. gf2 bc7 8. bc3 fg7 9. cd2 ef4 10 10. g:e5 f:b2 11. a:c1 hg5 12. h:f6 g:e5 13. ab2 de7 14. bc3 cd6 15. de3 bc5 =

5… g7-f6 6. c3-b4 c7-d6

7. b4-a5 d6-e5
Black plays correctly by the standard; it would be interesting to check the unconventional plan suggested by Edeon involving 7…bc7
8. a5:c7 b8:d6 9. b2-c3 a7-b6 10. d2-e3

Despite the bad piece on a1, White has put Black in a difficult position, because the pin on the flank with ef4 is threatened!

10… f8-g7 ?
Black has made the flank safe from being pinned, since 11.ef4 would be met by 11…fg5 =
But Black lost the psychological duel: the pin on the flank should not have been feared and 10… ba5 ! should have been played, and after 11.ef4, as grandmaster Yuri Kirillov advises, 11… fe7, and White is forced to walk into a combination — see grandmaster A. Valyuk’s forcing line below.

(After the match grandmaster A. Valyuk showed a forcing line that he had worked out, or knew, even before the game: 11. ed2 fe7 12. ef4 dc7 13. ab2 hg7 14. gf2 hg5 15. f:f8 ed4 16. c:g7 ef6 17. g:e5 d:f4 18. g:e5 cb6 19. f:b4 a:b8 20. hg5 be5 21. ab4 e:a1 22. bc5 b:d4 23. gf6 a draw

11. a1-b2! d8-c7
Black has built columns.
11…ba5 changes nothing and likewise forces Black to work for a difficult draw, as will be seen in the notes below.
12. g3-f4?
For 8 minutes Andrey Valyuk calculated hard in this position, and, tempted by this strong move, let slip the big advantage he could have obtained after 12.ed2 !! ba5! The only move (The exchange 12… ed4 loses at once
13. c:e5 f:f2 14. g:e3 de5 because of 15. ef4! cd6 16. hg5! and there is no salvation for Black, for example 16… cd4 17. dc3 de3 18. f:d2 h:f4 19. de3 f:b4 20. a:a7! x )
13. ef4! cb6 14. de3! ed4 15. c:c7 b:d8 16. bc3 dc7 17. gf2

Very interestingly, Edeon-Profi reports that with colours reversed the position has transposed to the game V. Svizinsky – A. Valyuk from the top league of the Belarus championship of the distant year 1996!
17… cd6 ! Only this!
(In the game White erred with 17… cb6? 18. hg5! f:h4
19. fe5 ?
( 19. cd4! won: gf6 20. fe5 fg5 21. gf4 hg7 22. hg3 x )
19… hg5? (Loses; 19…gf6!= gave a draw) 20. gf4 gh6 21. cd4 hg7 22. hg3 gf6 23. e:g7 h:f8 24. f:h6 fg7 25. h:b4 a:e5 26. ab4! x
12…e5:g3 13. h4:f2 f6-e5 14. e3-f4 e5:g3
15. h2:f4 b6-a5 16. f2-e3
White has built parallel pieces

16…c7-b6!

(Without hesitation Black made this only move. White was evidently hoping for 16… gf6? 17. cd4 cb6 18. bc3 fg5
(On 18… hg7 19. gf2 fg5 20. cb4 a:g3 21. f:h8x )
19. gf2 gh4 20. fg3 h:f2 21. e:g3 hg7 22. de5 gf6 23. e:g7 h:f8 24. gh4 with the inevitable strike from square h4, as happened in the games of Y. Kondrachenko and N. Struchkov on Gambler.
17. e1-f2 g7-f6 18. f2-g3 h8-g7 19. g3-h4 f6-e5 20. g1-h2 e5:g3 21. h4:f2 h6-g5
22. h2-g3 g5-h4 23. g3-f4 g7-f6

24. f2-g3 1-1
They agreed a draw, since after White’s strike there follows Black’s counter-strike de5 with a draw.
An interesting, hard-fought and tense game!

Game 2 Sergey Sadovsky – Andrey Valyuk, round 1, 1-1

Video of game 2 — watch it here

1. g3-h4 d6-c5 2. f2-g3 f6-e5 3. e3-d4 c5:e3 4. d2:d6 c7:e5

Andrey Valyuk chooses the generally accepted capture.

5. a3-b4 g7-f6 6. b4-a5

6… f8-g7! A new move in the theory of flying draughts!
6…hg7 or 6…bc7 were usually played, with an interesting game, as Edeon-Profi’s game database shows — it contains 4 games on this theme.

7. a5:c7 b8:d6 8. c1-d2 d6-c5

9. g3-f4 e5:g3 10. h4:f2 f6-e5 11. h2-g3 h6-g5
Edeon-Profi recommends 11… ed6 and 12…ab6 with an equal game
12. d2-e3
both sides are playing in the strongest way!

12…g5-f4 13. e3:g5 g7-h6
The standard sacrifice and attack, which both players had foreseen!
14. g5-f6 e5:g7 15. c3-d4 c5:e3 16. f2:d4

In the end White obtained a small advantage and Black had to make a draw, which Black duly demonstrated without any trouble:
16… e7-d6 17. g3-f4 g7-f6 18. e1-d2 f6-g5 19. d2-e3 d6-c5 20. d4:b6 a7:c5 21. b2-c3 h8-g7 22. a1-b2 d8-c7 1-1

V. Novikov – Y. Zhukovsky, round 1, game 1, 1-1

14.cb2 White wants to pin Black’s position with dc3 and win
14… ab4 Black is forced to carry out a combination.
15.axe3 ef6 16.gxc5 bxh4 17.de3

17… hg3? Loses.
This line gave a draw: 17… ab6 18. ef2 bc5 19. bc3 fe7 20. ab2 ed6 21. ba3 ef4 22. e:g5 h:f6 23. fg3 de5 24. cb4 cd4 25. ba5 de3 26. ab6 ed2 27. bc7 de1 28. gh4 ef4 29. cd8 fg3 30. d:g5 ef2 =
18.ef4 gh2 19.fxd6 ab6

20.hg7? The wrong plan.

A different way of giving up the piece won: 20. de7 f:d6 21. hg7 hg1 22. gf8 de5 23. bc3 ge3 24. fh6 ec5 25. hg7 ef4 26. gf8 x

20… fxh6 21.de7 hg1 22.ed8 ba5 23.bc3 gc5 24.df6 cb6 25.fh4 bc5 26.hd8 ce3 27.dc7 ec5 28.cb8 hg5 29.ba7 cd6 30.ae3 gh4 31.ef2 db8 32.cd4 bh2 33.fg1 hb8 34.dc5 hg3 35.ed2 gh2 36.dc3 bg3 37.cd4 gf4 38.ab2 fb8 1-1

A. Kunitsa – A. Tikhonov, round 1, game 1, 1-1

Black won the opening battle against White, and all that was left was to convert the advantage!
12… ed6 The obvious strong move for Black, but no more than that.
13.ba5 ef4 14.gxe5 dxb4 15.axa7 hg5 16.bc3 hg7 17.ab2 gf6 18.ba3 fe7 19.ab4 gf4 20.ef2 fg5 21.fe3 fxd2 22.cxe1 ef6 23.gf2 fe5 24.fe3 ef4 25.ed4 fg3 26.bc5 gh2 27.cb6 gh4 28.ed2 hg1 29.dc3 gxc5 30.bxd4 cd6 31.cb4 hg3 32.ab6 de7 33.bc5 dxb4 34.bc7 bxd6 1-1

A. Tikhonov – A. Kunitsa, round 1, game 2, 1-1
In game 2 the 11-year-old draughts player showed an excellent knowledge of theory.
1.ab4 fe5 2.ef4 ba5 3.ba3 cb6 4.fe3 ef6 5.ed4 dc5 6.bxd6 exc7

As V. A. Sokov pointed out, White can now play either 7. ab4 fg5 8. fe5
and so on, or 7. ab2 bc5 8. d:b6 a:c5 9. de3 fg5 10. ed4 with a complex game.
The young player chooses the strongest plan, with the invasion of square f6, first carried out in the game Y. Arustamov – V. Vaisser, USSR Cup, 1976:

7.cb2! fg5 8.fe5! gh4 9.ef6! hxf2 10.exg3 gxe5 11.dxf6 cd6 12.de3 dc5 13.gf2 bc7 14.gf4 cd6 15.fg3 fg7 16.gh4 gxg3 17.hxf4 hg7 18.ed4 cxg5 19.hxh8 de5 20.hxd4 bc5 21.dxb6 axc7 22.cd4 hg5 23.de5 ab6 24.ab4 1-1

I. Mikhalchenko – O. Chepa, round 1, game 1, 2-0
1.cd4 fe5 2.dxf6 exg5 3.gf4 de7 4.bc3 gh4 ? Mistake 1. 4…gf6 had to be played
5.cd4 dc5 Black transposes to the City game.

This continuation was first introduced into practice by N. Kukuev. Its aim is to prepare active operations by Black on the left flank. The drawback of
the continuation under review is that, by taking the piece off square d8, Black loses the possibility of the exchange b6—a5, and Black’s right flank is tied down for a while.
6.dc3 cd6 7.cb4 ba5 8.dxb6 axc7 9.ab2 gf6

10.cd2!
after 10.bc3 the theory from the 182 draughts books loaded into Edeon-Profi recommends 10…cb6!
10… fg5 11.bc3 cb6? Loses. Edeon offers the following forced drawing line:
11…. ab6 12. ba5 hg7 13. cd4! dc5 14. dc3 gf6 15. ed2 ed6 16. hg3 fe5 17. d:f6 g:e7 18. cd4! ef6 19. dc3 fg5 20. cb4 fe7 21. de5 cd4 22. e:c3 ef6 23. gh2 bc5 24. cd4 de5 25. d:d8 ed4 26. e:c5 g:g1 27. d:g5 g:b6 28. a:c7 h:f4 29. g:e5 b:f4 30. bc5 with a draw
Or this one: 11… dc5 12. b:d6 c:g3 13. h:f4 ed6 14. cd4 ab6 15. dc3 ba5 16. ed2 bc7 17. dc5 d:b4 18. a:c5 cd6 19. c:e7 f:d6 20. cd4 hg7 21. de5 dc5 22. dc3 gf6 23. e:g7 h:f8 24. f:h6 hg3 25. f:h4 cb4 26. cd4 ba3 27. de5 ab2 28. ed6 ba1 29. dc7 ab4 = )

After that the world champion left Black not a single chance and won the game cleanly:

12.ba5! bc5 13.ab6 cb4 14.axc5 dxb4 15.cxa5 axc5 16.dc3 hg7 17.ed4 gxe3 18.dxb6 ed2 19.ba7 dxb4 20.axc3 ed6 21.cb4 gf6 22.ba5 dc5 23.ab6 cb4 24.bc7 bxd6 25.ab8 dc5 26.ed2 ba3 27.ba7 cd4 28.axe3 fe5 29.hg3 hg5 30.exh6 ab2 31.dc3 bxd4 32.hd2 fg7 33.da5 gh6 34.ad2 hg5 35.dxh6 dc3 36.hg7 2-0

O. Chepa – I. Mikhalchenko, round 1, game 2, 0-2

Black won the opening battle, creating a bad piece on g3 and occupying the c5 point
16.cb2?
The first mistake. The centre had to be played: 16. de3! hg7 (on 16… cb6 17. cd4 = )
17. cb2 cb6 (if 17… fe7 18. cd4 =)
(on 17… gf6 — the combination 18. ed4 c:g5 19. fe3 h:d4 20. c:g7 = ) ) 18. cd4 =
16… hg7?
An inaccuracy. The following plan won: 16… fe7! 17. de3 ed6 18. cd4 cb6 19. ed2 hg7 20. dc3 ba7 21. de5 dc7 22. cd4 cb4 23. ba3 dc5 24. gh2 bc3 25. d:b2 cb4 26. a:c5 b:f6 27. fe5 f:d4 28. e:c5 hg5 29. bc3 gf6 x
17.gh2??
Building such a column loses definitively.
17. de3 fe7 18. cd4 = still had to be played

17…fe7 18.de3 ef6 19.fe5 fxd4 20.cxe5 hg5 0-2

M. Semenyuk – M. Lev, round 1, game 1, 2-0

22… ef6?
go left and you lose the game, go right and it is a draw: 22… ed6! 23. fg3 h:f2 24. e:g3 dc7 (even simpler is 24… de7! 25. gh4 dc5 26. fe5 ed6 27. e:c7 b:d6 28. hg5 de5 29. gh6 ef4 = )
25. fg5 de5 26. ab6 c:a5 27. gh6 ed4 28. hg7 dc3 29. gh8 ab2 30. c:a3 cd2 31. hc3 d:b4 32. a:c5 bc7 =

23.ed2! dc7

What followed was a chain of endgame mistakes:
24.dc3?
Strange — why not 24. de3! cd6 25. ed4 bc7 26. dc5 d:b4 27. a:c3 with an easy win
24…cd6?
24… fe5 25. f:d6 c:e5 26. ab6 ef4 27. ba7 fg3 28. fe3 gh2= gave a draw
25.cd4 ba7 26.fg5 de5 27.gxe7 exc3 28.ef8 ab6 29.axc7 cd2 30.cxe3 ab2 31.cb8 ba1 32.fe7 ab2 33.eg5 hxf6 2-0

M. Semenyuk – Y. Kondrachenko, round 2, game 2, 1-1

A standard practical position with a difficult endgame ahead for Black.
19… gh4?
The grandmaster failed to cope with the difficulties of the defence and made a mistake that could have led to defeat.
Only 19… ba5! should have been played: 20. d:b6 a:c5
( a difficult defence after capturing backwards with 20… a:c7 21. cd4 cb6 22. ed2 dc5 23. dc3 ba5 24. d:b6 a:c5 25. cd4 gh4 26. d:b6 a:c7 27. ed4 fg5 28. fe5 hg3 29. dc5 gf4 30. ab4 f:d6 31. c:e7 cd6! only this! 32. e:c5 hg5 = )
21. cd4 gh4 22. d:b6 a:c7 23. ed2 fe5 24. gh2 e:g3 25. h:f4 cb6 26. dc3 ba5 27. ab4 hg5 28. f:h6 hg3 29. hg7 gh2 30. gh8 hg1 31. ef4 ga7 =

20.gf2
20.ed2! won more simply: ba5
White was probably afraid of the sacrifice: 20…hg5 21. f:h6 and hg3. But it loses quickly because of the counter-sacrifice: 22. hg7 f:h8 23. de5 d:f4 24. e:g5 hg7 25. cb4 cd4 26. dc3 d:b2 27. a:c1 x
21. d:b6 a:c5 22. cd4 fg5 23. d:b6 a:c7 24. dc3! cb6 25. cd4! dc5 26. gf2 ba5 27. d:b6 a:c7 28. fe5 x
20…ba5 21.dxb6 axc5 22.cd4 de5 23.dxb6 exg3 24.bc7 gh2 25.cb8 hg1 26.ed2?
26. bh2 !x won
26… hg5! 27.bh2
Too late now!
27…hg3! 1-1

The tournament «Unofficial world championship for Russian computer programs in flying draughts 2018″

The world championship ended with victory for «Tornado» by Mikhail Glizerin;
second place in the tournament went to Edeon Sport by Alexey Odnoklubov, Vasily Naumik and Viktor Naumik,
and third place went to Kallisto by Igor Korshunov. Congratulations to Mikhail Glizerin and to Alexey Odnoklubov, Vasily Naumik, Viktor Naumik and Igor Korshunov. Many thanks to the other participants of the tournament.

Table of the «Unofficial world championship» tournament

28 December 2018 the match for the title of world champion in international draughts began in the Netherlands between
A. Schwarzman and R. Boomstra.

Annotations by master of sports Vasily Naumik with the Edeon-Profi-100 program

Game 1 Boomstra – Schwarzman

1. 32-28 19-23
Schwarzman chooses the Amsterdam system — the most popular and reliable system in this opening. Black’s idea is to bring the forces of the long flank into play as quickly as possible while simultaneously seizing the important strategic square 23.
2. 28×19 14×23

3. 37-32 10-14 4. 41-37 16-21!

Well, well! An interesting psychological duel! Schwarzman is hitting his opponent’s nerves with his opponent’s own weapon! Boomstra himself likes to play 4…16-21, as Edeon’s game database shows — Boomstra has played it that way 8 times against various opponents!

5. 47-41

White seems to be in a psychological knockdown!
White declines the theoretical 5. 33-28! 13-19 6. 35-30 8-13 7. 31-27, and also 5.35-30, which would activate the edge piece on 35 and meet 5… 20-25 with 6. 47-41 21-26 7. 32-28 23×32 8. 37×28 26×37 9. 41×32 reaching a theoretical position — evidently for fear of Black’s home preparation.

5… 21-27!

Here Schwarzman himself declines the theoretical lines and unexpectedly chooses an exchange.

6. 31×22 18×27 7. 32×21 17×26

It has to be said that this exchange is not a novelty: V. Virny played it as Black against A. Chizhov back in the last century, in 1989, at the USSR championship

8. 34-29

A. Chizhov preferred to activate the piece on 35 at once with 8.35-30

8… 23×34 9. 39×30 14-19 10. 44-39 5-10 11. 40-34 10-14!

This move does not appear in Edeon-100′s database of 500,000 games

12. 45-40 12-18 13. 37-32 7-12 14. 32-28 1-7 15. 50-45 11-17

The opponents have brought up their reserves for the coming battle. The moment of truth arrives!

16. 36-31 26×37 17. 41×32

White decided to gain 4 tempi but underestimated Black’s next move. It was better to play simply 16.41-37

17…20-24!
A beauty of a move!
Black has seized the valuable square 24 and begins waiting for the right moment to throw the classic net over the opponent — for example, on 18. 42-37 Black plays 18… 18-23 with the better game. But White knows the danger of the classic approach when over-developed!

18. 34-29! 4-10!
Black strengthens the long flank!
19. 29×20 14x25x34 20. 40×29 19-24 21. 29×20 15×24
Black turns the course of the duel around, occupies square 24, and White can forget for good about attacking Black’s long flank.
On top of that Black is dragging White into the classic set-up, since Black has one tempo fewer.

22. 42-37 9-14 23. 49-44 3-9 24. 46-41

The grandmasters bring up their forces for the coming battle.
24…6-11
White can never occupy the important strategic square 27, because of a simple combination for Black.

25. 45-40

Perhaps it was already time to get rid of the gaping hole on square 42 with 26.48-42, the idea being that Black cannot play 26…17-21 ? because of 26. 33-29! 24x33x22 27. 32-27! A blow between the eyes! And White breaks through to square 6, simplifying the position.
What is interesting is that Edeon and Kingsrow both unanimously show 25. 45-40! It is not for nothing that these two programs like to play matches against each other automatically over the DXP protocol!

25… 14-19 26. 40-34 18-23

Black has drawn White into the classic set-up the way a boa constrictor draws in a rabbit — no wonder, with that reserve of tempi!
27. 37-31
Both Edeon and Kingsrow recommend the exchange 27.34-29. But grandmaster Boomstra has his own understanding of the game!

27…11-16 28. 31-27
At last White has reached the coveted square 27!
28… 17-21 29. 41-37
Boomstra played not as Edeon recommends — the exchange 29.34-29 — but as the Kingsrow program recommends: 29.41-37
29…12-18 30. 34-29! The correct decision, so as to let the white piece on 37 go to square 31 later on

30… 23×34 31. 39×30 7-12 32. 44-39 18-23 !

Black has 3 tempi in reserve and naturally pursues the classic policy!
33. 37-31 13-18!

But not 26…21-26 because of 34. 27-22! 26×37 35. 32×41 23×32 36. 38×27 and White breaks out of the classic vice with an equal position.

34. 31-26 9-13 35. 26×17 12×21 36. 39-34 8-12 37. 48-42 10-14 38. 43-39 21-26 39. 42-37 2-7 40. 30-25 7-11

41. 34-30 11-17 42. 28-22! The simplest and best decision! 42…17×28
43. 33×22 Draw

But not 42. 39-34? 17-21!

The Woldouby position! White has to give birth to a draw by sacrificing several pieces! This position can be looked up in Edeon’s superbase of 60 books! The superbase of 60 books always shows whether the moves played in a game appear in the books!

Game 2 Schwarzman – Boomstra
1. 34-29
The Fabre opening. Play here often reduces to the positions and variations examined in the Roozenburg opening and in the Dutch game.
1… 17-22 2. 32-28
after 2. . .12—17 a position from the Raphael opening can arise, but the Dutch grandmaster goes his own way.
2…19-23 3. 28×19 14×34 4. 39×30 16-21 Black plays aggressively.

5. 31-26
More often Black seizes the outpost square 27 here, as Edeon-100′s game database shows

But Boomstra plays unconventionally 5…11-17

6. 37-32 6-11 7. 41-37
White gives Black the chance to exchange two for two, and Black does not fail to take it.
7…21-27 8. 32×21 22-28 9. 33×22 18×16 10. 37-32 12-18 11. 46-41 7-12 12. 41-37 18-23 13. 44-39 13-18 14. 50-44 8-13 15. 38-33 10-14 16. 37-31 14-19 17. 40-34 5-10 18. 30-25 10-14 19. 34-29 23×34 20. 39×30 19-23 21. 42-38 14-19 22. 25×14 9×20 23. 44-39 20-25 24. 47-42 25×34 25. 39×30 3-9 26. 45-40 9-14 27. 32-28 23×32 28. 38×27 2-8 29. 42-38 1-6 30. 40-34 4-9 31. 30-25 17-21 32. 26×17 12×32 33. 38×27 11-17 34. 31-26 6-11 35. 43-38 17-22 36. 49-43 22×31 37. 36×27 11-17 38. 38-32 18-22 39. 27×18 13×22 40. 32-28 8-13 41. 35-30 Draw

Game 3 Boomstra – Schwarzman

1. 32-28 19-23 2. 28×19 14×23 3. 37-32 10-14 4. 34-30
White exploits the fact that the opponent cannot attack with 4. . .20—25 because of 5. 33—28, and transfers the piece to square 25, reports the Edeon-100 superbase of 60 books

4…17-21 5. 40-34 11-17 6. 42-37 21-26 7. 33-29 17-22 8. 39-33 22-27 9. 32×21 26×17 10. 44-39 6-11 11. 37-32 1-6 12. 50-44 20-25 13. 41-37 16-21 14. 47-41 21-26 15. 44-40 17-22 16. 32-28 23×32 17. 37×17 11×22 18. 49-44 26×37 19. 41×32 7-11 20. 46-41 12-17 21. 32-28 8-12 22. 41-37 3-8 23. 48-42 5-10 24. 37-32 22-27 25. 32×21 17×26 26. 29-23 18×29 27. 34×23 25×34 28. 40×29 15-20 29. 35-30 10-15 30. 45-40 13-19 31. 40-35 8-13 32. 30-24 19×30 33. 35×24 13-19 34. 24×13 9×18 35. 44-40 4-9 36. 39-34 9-13 37. 43-39 13-19 38. 29-24 19×30 39. 34×25 18×29 40. 33×24 20×29 41. 39-33 2-8 42. 33×24 12-18 43. 38-33 11-17 44. 40-34 8-13 45. 34-29 14-19 46. 42-38 19×30 47. 25×34 6-11 48. 28-23 17-21 49. 23×12 11-16 50. 38-32 21-27 51. 32×21 26×8 52. 29-24 16-21 53. 34-29 21-27 54. 24-20 15×24 55. 29×20 13-19 56. 20-15 19-24 57. 15-10 24-29 58. 33×24 27-32 59. 10-5 Draw

Game 4 Schwarzman – Boomstra

1. 32-28 19-23 2. 28×19 14×23 3. 33-28 23×32 4. 37×28
White gives Black a wide choice of favourable continuations: 4. . .10—14, 4. . .16—21, 4. . .9—14,
4.. .17—22 5. 28 : 17 12 : 21.

4…20-24 5. 39-33 10-14 6. 44-39 5-10 7. 41-37 17-22 8. 28×17 12×21 9. 34-30 7-12 10. 30×19 13×24 11. 37-32 21-26 12. 32-27 26×37 13. 42×31 8-13 14. 46-41 11-17 15. 40-34 1-7 16. 47-42 14-19 17. 38-32 10-14 18. 41-37 15-20 19. 43-38 4-10 20. 50-44 10-15 21. 49-43 2-8 22. 33-28 18-23 23. 34-30 17-21 24. 31-26 20-25 25. 26×17 12×21 26. 37-31 25×34 27. 39×30 7-11 28. 43-39 8-12 29. 39-33 21-26 30. 44-39 26×37 31. 42×31 12-17 32. 30-25 17-21 33. 31-26 14-20 34. 26×17 11×31 35. 36×27 6-11 36. 25×14 9×20 37. 45-40 11-17 38. 40-34 24-29 39. 33×24 20×40 40. 35×44 15-20 41. 44-40 Draw

Game 5 Boomstra – Schwarzman

1. 34-30
The French opening.

1… 18-22 2. 30-25 12-18 3. 31-26 19-23 4. 40-34 7-12 5. 45-40 1-7 6. 50-45 14-19 7. 25×14 9×20 8. 32-28 23×32 9. 37×28 10-14 10. 41-37 5-10 11. 37-32 4-9 12. 46-41 19-23 13. 28×19 14×23 14. 33-28 22×33 15. 39×19 13×24 16. 36-31 10-14 17. 41-36 8-13 18. 34-30 14-19 19. 43-39 18-23 20. 31-27 2-8 21. 39-33 13-18 22. 44-39 8-13 23. 47-41 9-14 24. 41-37 3-8 25. 49-43 17-21 26. 26×17 11×31 27. 36×27 6-11 28. 33-28 11-17 29. 30-25 17-22 30. 28×17 12×21 31. 38-33 23-29 32. 42-38 8-12 33. 48-42 12-17 34. 40-34 29×40 35. 35×44 24-29 36. 33×24 20×29 37. 37-31 17-22 38. 44-40 15-20 39. 31-26 22×31 40. 26×17 7-12 41. 17×8 13×2 42. 39-33 29-34 43. 40×29 31-36 44. 42-37 18-22 45. 43-39 19-24 46. 29-23 22-27 47. 32×21 16×27 48. 23-18 Draw

Game 6 Schwarzman – Boomstra

1. 34-29 18-22
White has two replies: 2.32—28 and 2. 40—34. In the first case play can follow the well-known path
2. 32-28 16-21
play can follow the Raphael opening (the Roozenburg system)

3. 40-34 12-18 4. 38-32 11-16 5. 42-38 7-12 6. 31-26 1-7 7. 45-40 19-23 8. 28×19 14×23 9. 35-30 21-27 10. 32×21 16×27 11. 37-31 10-14 12. 30-24 7-11 13. 41-37 23-28 14. 47-41 5-10 15. 40-35 20-25 16. 24-20 15×24 17. 29×20 14-19 18. 20-15 19-23 19. 44-40 10-14 20. 50-45 14-19 21. 37-32 28×37 22. 41×21 11-16 23. 46-41 16×27 24. 41-37 23-28 25. 34-30 25×34 26. 39×30 28×39 27. 43×34 19-23 28. 37-32 6-11 29. 32×21 11-16 30. 30-25 16×27 31. 34-29 23×34 32. 40×29 2-7 33. 29-24 18-23 34. 45-40 23-28 35. 40-34 9-14 36. 34-30 14-19 37. 24-20 17-21 38. 26×17 12×21 39. 30-24 19×30 40. 25×34 3-9 41. 35-30 21-26 42. 48-43 26×37 43. 38-32 27×38 44. 43×41 28-33 45. 30-25 13-19 46. 49-43 22-27 47. 34-29 33×24 48. 20×29 8-12 49. 29-24 19×30 50. 25×34 12-18 51. 34-29 9-14 52. 41-37 14-19 53. 43-39 18-22 54. 37-31 27-32 55. 39-34 32-38 56. 31-27 22×31 57. 36×27 38-43 58. 34-30 7-12 59. 27-21 43-49 60. 29-24 49×16 61. 24×13 16-32 0-2
Game 7 Boomstra – Schwarzman
1. 32-28 19-23 2. 28×19 14×23

A fighting opening!

3. 37-32 10-14 4. 41-37 16-21 5. 33-28 13-19 6. 35-30 8-13 7. 31-27 21-26 8. 30-25 20-24 9. 39-33 2-8 10. 43-39 14-20 11. 25×14 9×20 12. 37-31 26×37 13. 42×31 5-10 14. 49-43 4-9 15. 47-42 10-14 16. 31-26 17-22 17. 28×17 11×31 18. 26×37 24-29 19. 33×24 20×29 20. 46-41 7-11 21. 32-28 23×32 22. 37×28 18-23 23. 42-37 23×32 24. 37×28 12-17 25. 34×23 17-22 26. 28×17 19×28 27. 41-37 11×22 28. 40-34 1-7 29. 34-29 7-12 30. 45-40 6-11 31. 38-32 13-19 32. 32×23 19×28 33. 43-38 9-13 34. 39-33 28×39 35. 44×33 12-18 36. 37-32 14-19 37. 48-42 11-16 38. 32-28 3-9 39. 28×17 18-23 40. 29×18 13×11 Draw

Game 8 Schwarzman – Boomstra
1. 34-29 17-22
A symmetrical reply!
2. 32-28 19-23
A symmetrical reply again! Edeon’s database contains 255 games on this theme.

3. 28×17 12×21 4. 40-34 14-19 5. 45-40 8-12 6. 29-24 19×30 7. 34×14 10×19 8. 33-28 23×32 9. 37×28 2-8 10. 39-33 5-10 11. 44-39 9-14 12. 41-37 12-17 13. 37-32 7-12 14. 40-34 1-7 15. 46-41 21-26 16. 41-37 17-22 17. 28×17 11×22 18. 35-30 4-9 19. 34-29 19-24 20. 30×19 14×34 21. 39×30 12-17 22. 50-44 17-21 23. 44-40 10-14 24. 49-44 7-11 25. 40-35 13-19 26. 44-40 8-13 27. 40-34 11-17 28. 30-25 6-11 29. 32-28 19-24 30. 34-30 14-19 31. 37-32 26×37 32. 32×41 9-14 33. 41-37 21-26 34. 36-31 16-21 35. 37-32 26×37 36. 32×41 21-27 37. 41-37 11-16 38. 47-41 16-21 39. 41-36 3-8 40. 37-31 8-12 41. 28-23 19×39 42. 30×10 15×4 43. 43×34 21-26 44. 34-29 26×37 45. 42×31 17-21 46. 31-26 12-17 47. 25-20 13-19 48. 29-24 19×30 49. 35×24 22-28 50. 20-14 17-22 51. 26×17 22×11 52. 24-20 18-23 53. 20-15 23-29 Draw

Game 9 Boomstra – Schwarzman

1. 32-28 19-23 2. 28×19 14×23
The super-popular opening of this match!
3. 37-32 10-14 4. 35-30 20-25
Black is hoping for the principled 5.33-29, but the old woman waits for her son to come home in vain!
5. 41-37 17-21 6. 33-29 11-17 7. 40-35 6-11
Black begins building the standard fist on the short flank
8. 31-26 5-10 9. 46-41 1-6
The fist is built! Where will it strike?
10. 44-40 14-19 11. 50-44 21-27 12. 32×21 16×27
Black seizes the key square 27. But there is nothing new under the sun about that either.

13. 37-32 17-21 14. 26×17 12×21 15. 38-33 27×38 16. 43×32
Now this really is something new! There is nothing at all on this theme in the game database!

16…21-27 17. 32×21 23-28 18. 33×22 18×16 19. 30-24 19×30 20. 35×24 10-14 21. 39-33 7-12 22. 44-39 11-17 23. 41-37 13-18 24. 37-32 14-20 25. 33-28 9-13 26. 42-37 17-21 27. 37-31 21-27 28. 32×21 16×27 29. 31×22 18×27 30. 47-42 6-11 31. 42-37 11-16 32. 49-43 13-18 33. 28-22 27-32 34. 37×28 18×27 35. 43-38 12-17 36. 39-33 17-21 37. 38-32 27×38 38. 33×42 21-27 39. 42-38 4-9 40. 48-42 9-13 41. 42-37 8-12 42. 40-35 16-21 43. 45-40 3-8 44. 28-23 21-26 45. 35-30 12-17 46. 37-32 17-21 47. 32-28 8-12 48. 40-35 12-17 49. 38-33 13-18 50. 23×12 17×8 51. 28-23 8-12 52. 33-28 2-8 53. 23-19 27-32 54. 28×37 12-18 55. 36-31 8-12 56. 29-23 20×40 57. 35×44 25×34 58. 19-14 18×29 59. 14-9 29-33 60. 9-4 33-38 61. 4-9 38-43 62. 9-14 43-49 63. 14-25 49×35 64. 25×16 35-13 65. 16-32 13×36 66. 32-23 36-18 67. 23-14 18-22 68. 14-25 22-13 69. 25-34 13-18 70. 34-25 18-27 71. 25-34 27-18 72. 34-25 18-22 73. 25-34 12-17 74. 34-48 15-20 75. 37-32 20-25 76. 48-34 22-36 77. 34-39 17-21 78. 39-43 26-31 79. 32-27 Draw

Game 10 Schwarzman – Boomstra

1. 34-29 19-23
Something new in the match!
2. 40-34
This deployment of forces with an advance in the centre was developed in the early 1980s.
2… 14-19 3. 45-40 10-14 4. 32-28
Theory more often gives 4. 50-45. Schwarzman is the first to step off the reinforced-concrete rails of this opening’s theory.
4… 23×32 5. 37×28 5-10 6. 28-23
White departs from theory even further with exchanges.
6… 19×28 7. 33×22 17×28 8. 29-24 20×29 9. 34×32
But none of this is new under the sun! Edeon’s game database contains 35 games after this exchange.

9…18-23 10. 39-33 12-18 11. 44-39 15-20 12. 41-37 20-24 13. 46-41 7-12 14. 32-28 23×32 15. 37×28 16-21 16. 41-37 21-26 17. 38-32 14-19 18. 40-34 18-23 19. 42-38 12-18 20. 49-44 10-14 21. 50-45 4-10 22. 44-40 10-15 23. 47-42 1-7 24. 34-29 23×34 25. 40×20 14×25 26. 28-22 18×27 27. 31×22 19-24 28. 45-40 9-14 29. 40-34 24-30 30. 35×24 13-18 31. 22×13 8×30 32. 36-31 30-35 33. 32-28 7-12 34. 37-32 26×37 35. 42×31 11-17 36. 28-23 3-8 37. 33-28 25-30 38. 34×25 35-40 39. 23-18 12×23 40. 28×10 15×4 41. 39-34 40×29 42. 43-39 8-12 43. 48-43 6-11 44. 39-33 29-34 45. 43-39 34×43 46. 38×49 12-18 47. 25-20 11-16 48. 31-26 17-22 49. 32-28 16-21 50. 26×17 22×11 51. 33-29 11-17 52. 28-23 17-22 53. 23×12 22-27 54. 29-23 27-32 55. 23-19 32-37 56. 19-13 37-42 57. 12-8 42-47 58. 20-14 4-10 Draw

Game 11 Boomstra – Schwarzman
1. 32-28 19-23 2. 28×19 14×23 3. 37-32 10-14 4. 35-30 20-25

All of this is known to theory and is present in the Edeon-100 superbase of 60 books. The superbase of books shows 6 hits.

5. 41-37 17-21 6. 33-29 11-17 7. 39-33 14-19 8. 44-39 15-20 9. 40-35 20-24 10. 29×20 25×14 11. 31-27 5-10 12. 50-44 10-15 13. 30-25 7-11 14. 33-28 21-26 15. 38-33 1-7 16. 43-38 15-20 17. 34-30 20-24

A critical position!
18. 46-41!!
A magnificent piece of home preparation by the Dutchman Boomstra!
18…4-10
Better is 18… 17-22! 19. 28×17 11x22x31 20. 36×27 and the Gestem invasion 23-29!
19. 49-43 10-15 20. 44-40

20… 24-29!
Black did not fall for White’s home preparation and carries out an exchanging combination!
White was hoping for 20… 17-21 21. 36-31! 11-17 22. 41-36! 24-29 23. 33×24 17-22 24. 28×17 23-28 25. 32×23 21x32x41

Black has broken through to the square before the king row, but!!!
26. 24-20! fantastic! To Black’s three captures White adds a fourth. That is what analysis with a computer draughts program does! The Edeon-100 program also sees all these variations in its analysis!
26… 18×29 27. 39-34 15×24 28. 34×23 26×37 29. 42×31 12×21 30. 40-34! 19×28 31. 30x19x10
The final position of the home preparation deserves a diagram!

21. 33×24 26-31 22. 37×26 17-21 23. 26×17 11×44 24. 40×49 23-28 25. 32×23 18×20 26. 41-37 12-18 27. 38-33 7-12 28. 37-32 6-11 29. 36-31 11-17 30. 43-38 19-23 31. 33-28 14-19 32. 25×14 19×10 33. 28×19 13×24 34. 30×19 9-13 35. 45-40 13×24 36. 40-34 8-13 37. 38-33 15-20 38. 42-38 20-25 39. 48-43 3-9 40. 43-39 9-14 41. 49-43 14-19 42. 34-30 25×34 43. 39×30 18-23 44. 43-39 23-29 45. 30-25 10-14 46. 33-28 13-18 47. 31-26 2-8 48. 47-42 17-21 49. 26×17 12×21 50. 42-37 8-12 51. 37-31 21-26 52. 39-34 29×40 53. 35×44 26×37 54. 32×41 24-29 55. 44-40 12-17 56. 41-37 16-21 57. 27×16 18-22 58. 25-20 Draw

Game 12 Schwarzman – Boomstra
1. 34-29 20-25
With this move the Dutchman shows how serious his intentions are and how set he is on a fight!
2. 40-34 14-20 3. 44-40 10-14 4. 32-28 17-21
An accurate move. On 4….5-10 White can simplify the position with 5. 28-23! 19×28 6. 33×22 17×28 7. 29-24 20×29 8. 34×32 with the initiative for White!
5. 31-26 19-24 6. 26×17 11×22 7. 28×17 12×21 8. 37-32 7-12 9. 32-28 21-26
Preparing the exchange 18-22
10. 36-31 26×37 11. 42×31!
Black was evidently hoping for 11.41:32, all the more so because Schwarzman had played that way before!
11… 18-22 12. 28×17 12×21 13. 38-32! An accurate strategic move! There is no point in delaying it, because Black will play 13-18 and make it impossible.

13… 25-30!
Black carries out a combination that not only simplifies the position but leads to a small advantage for Black.
In the game Vatutin – Getmansky Black refrained from the combination: 13-18 14. 32-28 9-13 15. 43-38 4-9 16. 50-44 2-7 17. 47-42 21-27 18. 31:22 18:27 19. 41-36 16-21 20. 46-41 6-11 21. 41-37 7-12 22. 37-31 12-18 23. 31:22 18:27 24. 42-37 21-26 25. 48-43 1-6 26. 28-23 13-18 27. 23:12 8:17 28. 38-32 27:38 29. 33:42 24:33 30. 39:28 and so on, with a draw

14. 34×25 14-19 15. 25×23 21-26 16. 29×20 26×19 17. 40-34 15×24 18. 34-29
White chose a plan of attacking Black’s flank in order to knock out the important piece on 4
18… 5-10 19. 29×20 10-15 20. 39-34 15×24 21. 34-29 4-10
White has achieved the goal and starts bringing the backward piece on 45 out into the world.
22. 29×20 10-15 23. 45-40 15×24 24. 40-34 9-14 25. 34-30
White avoids the simplifying exchanges Black is offering.

25…13-18 26. 41-37 6-11 27. 37-32 11-17 28. 46-41 1-7 29. 41-37 7-12 30. 37-31 17-22 31. 43-38 8-13 32. 32-28 2-8 33. 28×17 12×21 34. 33-28 18-23 35. 38-32 14-20

With a reserve of tempi White tries to «drag» the opponent into the classic set-up, but Black cuts short every one of White’s attempts.
36. 30-25 21-26 37. 25×14 19×10 38. 28×30 26×28 39. 50-44 16-21 40. 44-39 13-18 41. 30-24 21-26 42. 35-30 26-31 43. 24-20 10-14 44. 20×9 3×14 45. 48-42 18-22 Draw

The top league in Russian draughts was held in Minsk from 22 to 31 January 2018

Final table, men

Final table, women

Men’s games

Women’s games

Videos from the 2018 Belarus championship, top league

1. Video 1
2. Video 2
3. Video 3
4. Video 4

The world championship in draughts-64 for men and women is being held in St Petersburg (Russia) from 19 to 29 October 2017.
4 people guessed the names of the blitz and rapid champions correctly and received Edeon-Profi as a gift.

Watch the first day of the championship of the 2017 world championship in Russian draughts in St Petersburg

Watch the video review of round 2 with commentary by master of sports Vasily Naumik and Edeon-Profi

Watch the video review of round 4 without commentary

Watch the video review of round 5 without commentary

Watch the video review of round 8 Aleknavičius vs Mikhalchenko

Watch the video review of round 9 V. Yegorov vs G. Kolesov

Watch the video review of round 10 V. Yegorov vs I. Mikhalchenko

Watch the video review of the final of the 2017 world championship, I. Mikhalchenko vs A. Kibartas

The Belarusian grandmaster I. Mikhalchenko beat the Lithuanian grandmaster A. Kibartas in the blitz and became world champion in Russian draughts!

Congratulations to world champion Igor Mikhalchenko on reaching his cherished goal!

With respect and peace of mind, Vasily Naumik

The 2017 Belarus championship, top league, men. Analysis of interesting fragments and games, made with Edeon

V. Anisko – V. Belyaevsky

White has one tempo in reserve. A tangible advantage for White; Black has to equalise. It coincides, with colours reversed, with class 9. c3g5 h6h4 1.gh6
1. c3-d4 h6-g5 2. g3-h4 e7-f6 ?
A weak move. The theory of flying draughts gives 2. … g7-h6 3. h4:f6 e7:g5 4. h2-g3 h8-g7 5. g3-h4 g7-f6 6. f2-g3 f6-e5 and so on
3. b2-c3 d6-e5?

4. f2-g3?
Considerably stronger is the unusual manoeuvre 4. c3-b4 a3:c5 5. f2-g3 e5:c3 6. d2:b4:d6 c7:e5 7. a5:c7 b8:d6? (7. …d8:b6 gave a draw: 8. g3-f4 e5:g3 9. h2:h6 f6-e5= Y. Kirillov) 8. g3-f4 e5:g3 9. h2:h6 a7-b6 10. a1-b2 b6-a5 11. b2-c3 d6-c5 12. e1-d2 c5-b4 13. g1-h2 winning

M. Semenyuk – A. Plakhin

28. …d6-e5?
Black let the draw slip with a typical device: 28. …d6-c5 29.f8:a3 d4-c3 30.a3-f8 a5-b4 31.f8:a3 c3-b2 = A very popular device!
29. f8-g7 e5-f4 30. g7xc3 f4-g3 31. f2-e3 g3-h2 32. c3-d4 a5-b4 33. c1-d2 h4-g3
34. d4-a7 2-0

S. Misyuta – A. Valyuk

12. e3-f4?
Loses. An equal game came from the plan with 12. a1-b2! b4-a3 13. e3-f4 e5:g3 14. h2:f4 c7-d6 15. f4-e5 f6:d4
( Capturing the other way, 15… d6:f4?, even loses )
16. c3:c7 b6:d8 17. b2-c3 with equality
e5xg3 13. h2xf4 b6-c5 14. e1-f2 c7-d6 15. f2-e3 a7-b6 16. e3-d4 c5xe3 17. a1-b2 b4-a3 0-2

S. Sadovsky – V. Belyaevsky

White has surrounded Black’s position and threatens to win a piece with 22.f2-g3 followed by the exchange 23.gf4.

21. …b8-c7?
Loses. A draw came from the combinational strike on square a1 after: 21. …a7-b6! 22. f2-g3 b6-a5! 23. g3-f4 e5:g3 24. h4:f2 f8-g7 25. h6:b4 b8-c7 26. c3:e5 a5:a1 =
22. c3-b4 e7-d6 23. f2-g3 a7-b6 24. b4-a5 d4-c3
25. b2xf6 d6-e5 26. f6xd4 c5xe3 27. g5-f6 2-0

S. Nosevich – R. Protchenko

The grandmaster in 100-square draughts built a powerful centre as White. Playing Black here is simply frightening.
19. … f8-e7?
Loses. Black cannot withstand the pressure of White’s centre. Edeon’s 10-piece database shows a draw after 19. … f6-g5

with the following line of 9 forced moves for White: 20. b4-c5 g5-h4 21. c3-b4 f8-g7 22. f4-e5 g7-f6 23. e5:g7 h6:f8 24. e3-f4 f8-g7 25. b4-a5 g7-f6 26. f4-e5 f6-g5 27. c5-d6 h4-g3 28. d6:b8 g3-f2 29. e5-d6 g5-f4 30. d4-c5 f4-e3 =
20.b4-c5 c7-b6 21. f4-e5 b6-a5 22. e5xg7 h6xf8 23. d4-e5 f8-g7 24. e5-d6 2-0

Y. Kondrachenko – V. Anisko

A gambit position. White has 1 tempo in reserve.
22. … b6-a5?
Loses. A draw came from: 22… d6-e5 23. f2-g3 d8-c7 24. g5-h6 b6-a5
25. g3-f4 e5:g3 26. h4:f2 c7-d6 27. f2-g3!

Grandmaster M. Fazylov considered this position lost for Black, but the saving move is
27. …d6-c5!
In the book «Selected games of M. Fazylov», in the game Fazylov – Shapiro, the notes by G. Kaganovsky (Black) from the open championship of the Samarkand regional council, 1988, consider only 27. …d6-e5? 28. e3-f4 e7-d6 29. g3-h4 e5:g3 30. h4:f2 d6-c5 31. f2-e3 c5-b4 32. c3-d4 x

28. c3-d4 e7-d6 29. d4:b6 a5:c7 30. e3-f4 c7-b6 31. g3-h4 d6-e5! Only this sacrifice saves the game! 32. f4:d6 b6-c5 33. d6:b4 a3:c5 = A colossal 11-move draw!

23. e3-d4 d8-c7 24. g5-h6 c7-b6
25. f2-e3 b6-c5 26. d4xb6 a5xc7 27. e3-f4 c7-b6 28. c3-d4 d6-c5 29. d4-e5
f6xd4 30. h6-g7 d4-c3 31. g7-h8 a3-b2 32. c1xa3 c3-d2 33. h8-d4 c5xg5 34.
h4xe1 2-0

R. Protchenko – A. Kunitsa

1. c3-d4 b6-a5 2. b2-c3 a7-b6 3. g3-f4 f6-g5 4. f2-g3 g5-h4 5. g1-f2

A well-known position in theory
5…d6-e5 ! A relatively new move in theory.
6. f4xd6 e7xc5 7. g3-f4 g7-f6 8. f4-e5 f8-e7 9. e5xg7 h6xf8 10. d4-e5 e7-f6
11. e5xg7 h8xf6 12. e3-f4 d8-e7 13. f4-g5 c7-d6 14. c3-b4 a5xc3 15. d2xb4

12 November 2016 — the blitz programme in Russian draughts.

Short blitz videos filmed from a camera at board 1:
1. Video 1
2. Video 2 Grandmasters Gulyaev vs S. Belosheev
3. Video 3 Grandmasters S. Belosheev vs Gulyaev
4. Video 4 Grandmasters A. Norvaišas vs S. Belosheev
5. Video 5 Grandmasters S. Belosheev vs A. Norvaišas
6. Video 6 Grandmasters S. Belosheev vs Y. Kondrachenko
7. Video 7 Grandmasters Y. Kondrachenko vs S. Belosheev
8. Video 8 D. Shkatula vs S. Belosheev
9. Video 9 Grandmasters S. Belosheev vs V. Yegorov, I. Mikhalchenko vs V. Skrabov
10. Video 10 Grandmasters V. Skrabov vs I. Mikhalchenko
11. Video 11 Grandmasters S. Belosheev vs I. Mikhalchenko, and V. Yegorov vs G. Kolesov

16–18 November 2016 — the classical programme in Russian draughts.

1. Video 1 Grandmaster N. Struchkov vs master of sports D. Shkatula
2. Video 2 Grandmaster N. Struchkov vs master of sports D. Shkatula. Continued.
3. Video 3 International masters D. Shkatulo vs G. Shapiro.
4. Video 4 Grandmaster N. Struchkov vs master of sports G. Getmansky
5. Video 5 Master of sports G. Getmansky vs grandmaster N. Struchkov
6. Video 6 Amrilaev vs master of sports D. Melnikov
7. Video 7 Participants of the 2016 European championship in Russian draughts

Selected games of the 2016 European championship
Gulyaev N.-Smajdris S.

Black to move
Probably any draughts player would have exchanged with 2 in this position as Black1…gf6 22. e:g7 h:f8 and would have lost because of 23. fe5 fg7 24. ef4 gh6 25. fe3 ef6 26. e:g7 h:f8

Probably nobody would have felt any particular anxiety for Black in this position.
27. fe5! Fantastic! White is forced to let yet another black piece through to king — and still wins!!! Even though White already has 2 kings!!! You rarely meet anything like this in practice! I am still under the impression of White’s idea. I can imagine what it was like for the Lithuanian grandmaster, the very strong Sigitas Smaidris! Something like this is never forgotten!
27… hg3 If Black digs in and does not go for the king with 27… fg7, then 28. ef4! wins: gh6 29. ef6! Only this! hg5 30. f:h6 hg3 31. de5 a:d4 32. e:c3 x
28. ed6 gh2 29. dc7 hg1 30. cb8 fe7 31. bh2 ef6 32. hb8 fg5 33. bh2 x Magnificent! It should be added that a draw was available with 21…ef6 22. ed6 fe5!=

From 9 to 17 July 2016 the 3rd stage of the 2016 draughts-64 World Cup — the White Nights 2016 international competition — was held at the Chigorin chess club in St Petersburg (Russia).
With three rounds to go I finally managed to get to this tournament and watch our grandmasters and masters play. Here are 5 videos filmed by the author in the playing hall:
1. The leaders in action. The start of round 7.
2. The leaders in action. On board 1, S. Belosheev vs Zh. Sarshaeva
3. The leaders in action. Continued
4. The final round 9.
5. The future stars of draughts in action.

Here are the games of this tournament in PDN: White Nights 2016 games in PDN
The most interesting moments of the tournament:

Round 1

O. Belozerov vs N. Abatsiev

A standard position that grandmaster N. A. Abatsiev had already played — for example as White against O. Dashkov in 2011, where the continuation was: 9…f6-g5 10. f2-g3 e7-f6 11. a1-b2 c7-b6 12. a5:c7 b8:d6 13. d2-c3 g5-h4 14. e1-d2 h4:f2 15. e3:g1 d8-c7 16. d4-c5 d6:b4 17. c3:a5 c7-d6 18. b2-c3 f6-e5 19. g1-h2 e5:g3 20. h2:f4 f8-g7 21. c3-d4 d6-c5 22. d4:b6 a7:c5 1/2-1/2

8…fe5 The experienced grandmaster chose a different plan. 9. d:f6 e:g5 10. ab2 fe7 11. bc3 ef6! 12. cd4 cb6 13. a:c7 b:d6 White has to make a draw 14. fg3 ab6 15. gh4 ba5 16. ef2 dc7 17. dc5 d:b4 18. fe5 f:d4 19. e:c5 b:d6 20. h:f6 ab4 21. fe3

21… bc3!
(The grandmaster finds an improvement! The Edeon superbase of 120 books gives this drawing line: 21… cb6 22. ef4 bc5 23. fg5 h:f4 24. dc3 b:d2 25. c:g5 = )
22. d:b4 a:c5 23. ef4 White is having a very hard, very uncomfortable time!
(A beautiful line was available with 23. cd2 cb4 24. ef4 ba3 25. fg5 h:f4 26. fg7 ab2 27. gf8 de5 28. de3 f:d2 29.fg7! = , but for that you have to read the books of grandmaster Y. Kondrachenko, «How to make a draw in Russian draughts»)
23…cb4 24. fg5 h:f4 25. fg7 fg3 26. gf8 dc5 27. fg7 gf2 And what is White to do? The 76-year-old Moscow grandmaster N. A. Abatsiev has put his opponent in a very difficult position.

28. ga1 ?
( According to Edeon (see the small red rectangle) there was only one move left that drew: 28. gh6! with the idea of attacks! Everything else lost for White! Fantastic! 28…fg1
( If 28… fe1 then 29. hf4 cb6 30. fe5 = )
29. hd2 ba3 30. dc3 = )
28… fg1 29. ah8 gf2 30. ha1 cd6 31. ah8 fh4 32. ha1 hd8 33. ah8 dc7 34. hg7 cb8 The trap for catching the king is set! 35. cd2 ba3 36. de3 cb4 with an easy win.