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Carla Ruiz takes the Open de Malasaña on tiebreaks
Three players tied on 9.5 points. The title turned on Buchholz — and a wild knight sac on f5 in round 9 that nobody in the room thought was sound.
Read the recapA blog · The Madrid local circuit
Recaps, gossip from the boards, and the next tournament you should turn up to — covering the back-room blitz nights, the Sunday opens and the junior leagues happening across Madrid.
Recaps, notes, and small stories from our most recent local championships
Three players tied on 9.5 points. The title turned on Buchholz — and a wild knight sac on f5 in round 9 that nobody in the room thought was sound.
Read the recapTwenty-something players, a back room, a broken radiator, and one stalemate-from-a-winning-position per evening. Last Friday of every month, no entry fee.
Why you should comeHalf my losses this winter were lost before move one. The unromantic, free fix: arrive early, find the bathroom, drink water, breathe. Your first ten moves get measurably better.
Read the pieceLocal · Walkable · Almost always free to watch
Chess YeahBaby! is a small blog run out of a flat in central Madrid. It exists because the local championship scene — the Sunday opens, the back-room blitz nights, the junior leagues — is generous and weird and lovely, and nobody was writing it down.
So now somebody is. Recaps, the occasional puzzle, a calendar, and once a month an email that sums it all up. That is the whole site.
"Every neighbourhood in Madrid has at least three players you've never heard of who would beat you. The point of this blog is to introduce you to them — before they do." — Mateo, on launch day