9/2/2020 – During the pandemic, in-person chess almost disappeared while golf survived relatively intact. In this article, WIM Alexey Root and her co-author, amateur golfer and US Chess Senior Tournament Director Reka Sztaray, compare golf and chess under COVID-19 restrictions, as well as discuss costs and team competitions in both sports.

7/18/2020 – The National Open in September and four other norm-opportunity Opens between December of 2020 and July of 2021 appear ready for offline chess competition. In this article, WIM Alexey Root and her son William share success stories from past Opens and dreams of norms to come.

3/29/2020 – IM Dorsa Derakhshani is a third year undergraduate at Saint Louis University on a chess scholarship. Being in St. Louis she's a 'regular' at the Saint Louis Chess Club, and has recorded several lectures for their extensive YouTube channel. Continuing from part 1, after arriving in the USA, Derakhshani has been finding her footing academically, and continuing to feed her chess passion, as she looks forward for building a future in the States.

3/14/2020 – The World Senior Team Championships in Prague ended prematurely, Thursday, after 7 rounds due to the looming Coronavirus epidemic. In the 50+ tournament, the favoured USA team lived up to expectations by winning with a full point margin. The top 65+ team, Russia, also took top honours, but only on better board point tiebreak over the second-placed French. GM Evgeny Sveshnikov, who played a fantastic tournament with 5½/6 shortly after his 70th birthday. | Report and photos: ALEX YERMOLINSKY

3/10/2020 – Our regular contributor ALEX YERMOLINSKY unexpectedly finds himself with the U.S. Team at the World Senior Championship in Prague. Battling fellow seniors (and avoiding viruses), he sent us an update on the first four rounds. | Pictured: Spring outside the US Embassy in the Czech capital.

6/21/2019 – Home run: Grandmaster and former U.S. Champion JOEL BENJAMIN muses on the effect of immigration on the US chess scene in an opinion piece reproduced with kind permission from American Chess Magazine #11. Plus ACM's reviewer FM CARSTEN HANSEN gives Yannick Pelletier's latest video series on an Anti-London repertoire the maximum five stars! It's one of "many interesting new titles and many more on the way", writes Hansen.

2/8/2019 – The 53rd Annual Greater New York Scholastic Team and Individual Chess Championships and a similar event in Chicago were held recently, and the Greater Mid-Atlantic Scholastic Championships is coming up in a just over a week. All are in cooperation with the Kasparov Chess Foundation. | Pictured: (Seated) Michael Khodarkovsky and Garry Kasparov (standing) scholastic coach Michael Ellenbogen and New York scholastic players | Photo: Kasparov Chess Foundation

12/2/2018 – Can a master level blitz match be more exciting than an elite level match? Are amateurs or semi-pros able to showcase their creativity, imagination, dazzling combination and sacrifices as well as the big guns? Is over-the-board (OTB) chess more exciting than online chess and streaming? The answer two all these questions a resounding, yes, argues DAVIDE NASTASIO, who presents many positions from a recent match — Meruga vs Mbonu (pictured) — that he finds useful for training. Blitz rules like touching a piece or losing because of an illegal move don't exist in online chess. In OTB chess this makes the difference between life or death! So don't miss the chance to add some tactical ideas or endgame learning to your arsenal!

11/17/2018 – Chess is booming in the USA now with the help of the current challenger for the highest honour in chess, Fabiano Caruana, who was born in Miami, grew up in Brooklyn, NY and lives in St. Louis. Currently, he is in a 3-3 tie with the incumbent, World Champion Magnus Carlsen, after a week of intense play. GM ELSHAN MORADIABADI — seen here either practising his 70s disco skills or calling on one of the kids — reports on his recent travels in South Carolina. | Photos: David Grimaud

10/25/2018 – Weekends are quite busy for chess players, with tournaments of all kinds being organized. DAVIDE NASTASIO was lucky to witness the Georgia State Women's Championship held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Atlanta, and interview the winner, Alisa Scherbakova, who shares her insights along with games from the tournament. | Photo: Davide Nastasio

10/25/2018 – The Boston Sculptors Gallery (in Boston, Massachusetts, USA) has been hosting an interesting competition from October 3rd through to November 4th: the "Match of the Matriarchs". The exhibit is the brainchild of American artist Donna Dodson, who has designed a chess game with exclusively female figures inspired by marine animals. There is a closing reception the evening of November 2nd. | Photo: Boston Sculptors Gallery

10/22/2018 – HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" explores the grassroots movement to reenergize chess in America when a new edition of the show debuts on Tuesday, October 23rd. Soledad O’Brien (pictured) interviews Saint Louis Chess Club founder and patron, Rex Sinquefield who confesses to being a "passionate addict" who has sunk nearly $50 million dollars into the sport.

10/20/2018 – In the United States, there are many weekend tournaments, thanks to the efforts of many independent tournament organizers nationwide. Some of these tournaments provide significant prize money, over USD $12,000, and the chance to play against strong master level players. Georgia-based DAVIDE NASTASIO recently spoke to one such veteran organizer, Walter High, and sent this brief interview along with annotated games from the North Carolina Open.

10/6/2018 – The excitement levels had gone off the charts for the final round of the Batumi Olympiad 2018. The strongest teams were fighting against each other to decide who would take gold. USA and China were pitted against each other in the open section and China and Russia faced off against each other in the women's. The matches ended in 2-2 draws with a lot of drama surrounding them. The tiebreaks favoured China in both the sections and they went home with a double gold! In the Open, the USA took the silver and Russia the bronze while in the Women's Ukraine had to be content with silver, and bronze went to Georgia's first team. Full report from Batumi by Sagar Shah and Amruta Mokal.

9/14/2018 – Another spectacular chess event is ongoing at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Ten world-class players, including Garry Kasparov, compete in rapid and blitz matches in Chess960. Live video and commentary from 20:00 CEST (19:00 UT). | Graphic: Standings after Day 3 / Saint Louis Chess Club

9/14/2018 – The 2019 Bay Area International Chess Tournament which already has many strong players signed up and runs from Jan 1-7, 2019, in Burlingame, California, USA. The early registration deadline is tomorrow, September 15th.

9/3/2018 – GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan (pictured left) outpaced the competition in the Masters Section of the Washington International, held in Rockville, Maryland, adjacent to the US capital city from August 11-15, 2018. A full point behind him in the nine-round Swiss open tournament was a trio of international grandmasters including NICLAS HUSCHENBETH (pictured right) who annotated two games for our report. The top American player was US number ten and the sixth best Junior player in the world, GM Sam Sevian, who finished with 6 points. | Photos: Maryland Chess Association

8/8/2018 – When it comes to unusual venues for chess tournaments, Cabela's in Fort Worth, Texas, might be among the top contenders. A top retail destination for hunters, Cabela’s includes a gun library and extensive taxidermy displays. But among the guns and stuffed wild animals on July 28th were 29 chess players. Perhaps surprisingly, gun enthusiasts and chess players overlapped. ALEXEY ROOT shares her thoughts on chess, education, hunting, and why one might participate in these varied activities. | Pictured: May (as Black) versus Devagharan | Photo: A. Root

8/6/2018 – Thanks to the new chess club in Atlanta there are always lot of tournaments and activities in the city and on July 28th and 29th there was a five-round Open tournament won by U.S. National Master Shanmukha Meruga. DAVIDE NASTASIO took the opportunity to arrange an interview and annotate the winner's games for this tournament, providing a snapshot of the USA Open tournament circuit.

7/23/2018 – Saint Louis hosted the 2018 editions of the U.S. Junior Chess Championship and the U.S. Girls Junior Championship last week. Awonder Liang and Carissa Yip qualified to the national main event by winning in each category. This was Liang's second consecutive win in this event, while Yip improved greatly on her eighth place from last year. | Photos: Austin Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

7/18/2018 – The participants rave about a well-organized Senior World Team Championship of seniors in Radebeul, Germany. In the 65+ section, the Russian team won gold. The 50+ category was more competitive, but in the end, the favourites from the USA pulled ahead. GM ALEX YERMOLINSKY reports. | Photo: Karsten Wieland

7/17/2018 – The United States have become a chess epicentre thanks to the Sinquefield family and the club they created in Saint Louis. It seems like, if they continue to support the younger generations, American chess players have a bright future ahead. This year's U.S. Junior and U.S. Girls Junior Championships are taking place in Missouri's cultural centre, and have clear leaders after five rounds: Advait Patel in the open section and Carissa Yip in the girls section. | Photos: Austin Fuller / Saint Louis Chess Club

7/16/2018 – Live games and commentary by WGM Tatev Abrahamyan and GM Robert Hess at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. After four rounds, Advait Patel leads the Open with 3½ / 4, a full point ahead of four players. Carissa Yip has a half point edge in the Girls also with 3½ / 4.

7/16/2018 – The United States is experiencing a new chess renaissance. There are top tournaments every weekend, with big prizes. Chess centres are also flourishing, and more top players are moving to USA for teaching and playing opportunities. Here, DAVIDE NASTASIO reports on one great tournament already in its third edition, the Carolinas Classic, and interviews one of the organizers, FM Peter Giannatos.