WZ and ICCF TD2, IA and Players Comparison

This post compares the WZ and ICCF number and share of Tournament Directors Level 2 and International Arbiters. For comparison the count and share of players is provided. There is no data available for Level 1 TDs. The comparison shows that the share of WZ TD Level 2 and International Arbiters is comparable to the … Continue Reading

Correspondence Chess as Scientific Contest

This post considers why Correspondence Chess is thought as the scientific side of chess, while Over-The-Board Chess the sportive side of the game, and Chess Problems its artistic side. Over-The-Board Chess is considered a sport since players fight in matches in which they rely on their memory, physical and mental strength, while Chess Problems explore … Continue Reading

WZ Championship Finished Tournaments Statistics

This post describes the statistics of WZ Championship (WZ CH) tournaments that have finished up to date (April 28, 2020). This includes 16 tournaments and 597 games, with 78 candidates games, 330 semifinals games and 189 preliminaries games. To provide a reference, these WZ CH finished games are compared to the Chessbase 2020 Correspondence Database … Continue Reading

Logo design contest

The World Zone is pleased to announce a logo design contest with the following rules: We are a correspondence chess organization part of the ICCF structure involving players from all over the World Our target audience would be chess players, mostly adults We prefer a globe and a chessboard included in the design Also our … Continue Reading

Four new IM’s in the World Zone by Juan Perez

Translated by Gino Figlio Year 2020 has begun with promising news for World Zone players. The ICCF Qualifications Committee has confirmed the IM titles obtained by George Bukowski (CAN), Andrew Leonard (USA), Jesús Osorio Barahona (PAN) and Pedro Vertíz Gutiérrez (CUB). We congratulate them all and wish them more achievements in their ascending careers.

First World Zone Team Championship

I am delighted to announce that registration to the First World Zone Team Championship is open. The following rules apply: Start date: June 30, 2020 One team per federation Four boards per team, at least 13 teams (Max 17) Time control: Triple block 2 years Diplomas to the top 3 placed teams Mode of entry: … Continue Reading

Computers and Understanding in Today’s Correspondence Chess

This post examines the relation of computers and understanding in correspondence chess. “Chess Training for Candidate Masters” is a book by Grandmaster Kalinin aimed at addressing the fact that today’s aspiring chess masters have benefited greatly from working with chess computers.  Altough the book is aimed at over the board players, the book has great insights … Continue Reading

4th Individual Interzonal Preliminaries- tournament announcement

The tournament organizer Everdinand Knol (RSA) has submitted the following tournament announcement: Tournament AnnouncementThe purpose of this event is to develop the spirit of amici sumus among players worldwide (in all ICCF Zones) and to provide opportunities to qualify for title norms.This event will start with a preliminary stage consisting of groups of 9 players … Continue Reading