• 1st GM VerdeNotte Arena ( 1min)

    To branch out and have different content for my stream I’ve decided to host a 1 minute arena tournament on Lichess to celebrate my daughter’s due date on Saturday the 6th of June. She hasn’t arrived yet and I’m hoping I’ll be able to play and stream during the tournament, but obviously if she’s punctual…

  • Titled Tuesday and Match vs Nils Grandelius

    Titled Tuesday and Match vs Nils Grandelius

    I’ll be playing this evening in chess.com’s Titled Tuesday event which starts at 6pm BST. My last few events have gone better and I’ve been challenging for the prizes. I’ll be streaming live on twitch.tv/verdenotte so please come and check me out and don’t forget to follow me. On Wednesday evening, I’ll be playing a…

  • Checkmate Covid 19 and Streaming

    Checkmate Covid 19 and Streaming

    I think I’ve now done six streams on my twitch channel. I still feel very new to it all but I’m gaining more confidence with every stream. Hopefully it’s coming together, particularly thanks to Sue who did both the technical and aesthetic side. From Saturday 5pm there was a 24 hour marathon of 5-minutes games…

  • Checkmate Covid 19

    Checkmate Covid 19

    I’ve volunteered to play and stream for a few hours in the ECF’s 24 hour chess marathon to raise money for the British Red Cross. What is it?A 24-hour chess marathon of 5 minute a side games. All funds raised go to the British Red Cross and their work fighting the effects of the coronavirus.…

  • Streaming: Twitch/verdenotte

    Streaming: Twitch/verdenotte

    Due to coronavirus I’ve been home since the start of March with all leagues and tournaments cancelled. I’ve been spending my time writing my next book and playing online chess. I try to play in the Titled Tuesday events on chess.com each week, and am intending on playing in the online European Chess Championship that…

  • Happy Easter! A long and much overdue update

    Happy Easter! A long and much overdue update

    When we started Gawain’s website we had such bold ideas but life got busy and it was something that we did not prioritize as it’s time-consuming and doesn’t pay at all! But I know that we have some readers and fans who enjoy the content so that was always nice to know. I now see…

  • Weekend in Dundee and Gawain featured in Sueddeutsche Zeitung

    Weekend in Dundee and Gawain featured in Sueddeutsche Zeitung

    After arriving back from St Petersburg, exhausted – I had to go back to work for a few days before we had another weekend away, this time visiting Gawain’s parents in Dundee, Scotland. Gawain’s mum, Tanya, is doing a degree in Environmental Law so they have moved to Dundee from Enniskillen for a year. It…

  • Happy New Year!

    Happy New Year!

    Happy New Years to all our readers (if there are any of you left). We have just flown back from St Petersburg, Russia – where we both participated in the World Rapid and Blitz, Gawain in the Open section and I was able to get a wildcard into the Women’s Section. The tournament itself ran…

  • A busy August

    A busy August

    I’m writing this on a very comfortable train south from Madrid. I’m on my way back to Linares to play in the Spanish League for Sestao. Last year everything went perfectly for us but it’ll be a tough proposition to hold on to the title. I thought my dash from Hull was slightly crazy but…

  • Faroes Open -Part 2

    Faroes Open -Part 2

    There were many Side Events for this tournament. I guess when you go to a tournament in the Faroe Islands or Iceland you want to see something other than the hotel and playing venue. There were visits to the various local tourist spots, a chance to play and watch the football and the blitz tournament!…

  • British Citizen

    British Citizen

    On Tuesday I had my Citizenship Ceremony at Sheffield Town Hall. This has been a long process and there was a period where I thought we would have to leave the UK but thanks to having great friends and family we were able to bear the financial and emotional burden of having an application denied.…

  • Faroes Open 2018 – Part 1

    Faroes Open 2018 – Part 1

    The tournament is now finished and there’s always that weird feeling once you’ve been in a place for a few weeks with the same people and you then leave it all behind until the next time. We had a great time but as usual I’m very glad to be home and that I we have a…

  • Faroes Open

    Faroes Open

    We’ve had the last few months off from playing chess and we are now in the very beautiful Faroe Islands playing in the Faroes Open held in the village of Sandavágur. Many of you might wonder where the Faroe Islands is and I’ll pinpoint it below on the map. I have heard of the Faroes before thanks…

  • Future Tournament Plans

    Future Tournament Plans

    Since I last wrote, I had my 27th Birthday. It was a quiet affair. At first I was planning on going away – maybe a weekend break but actually with the “Beast from the East” and “Storm Emma” it would’ve been a nightmare to be travelling anywhere and we actually remained at home inside for…

  • The 25th Bunratty Masters

    The 25th Bunratty Masters

    So first I have to post this photo I took while in St. Moritz. Since I was away from work I was unable to play in the Celebration In Memoriam Beer and Blitz which was eventually won by GM Matthew Sadler – it seemed like such a fun event and the first of a few…

  • Tata Steel Masters – Round 6-8

    Tata Steel Masters – Round 6-8

    We always knew that rounds 6-8 would be difficult. Having Black against Vladimir and Magnus and White against Peter meant getting any points would be nice. Gawain managed to get 1 out of 3 which is a good score from that field and is now on 3.5/8. In Round 6, Ga faced Vladimir Kramnik and was…

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