9/5/2020 – Hou Yifan became a grandmaster at 14.5 years old. She is a four-time Women’s World Chess Champion. She earned a Rhodes Scholarship for postgraduate study at the University of Oxford. National Master Mike Walder cooks a recipe that she might like and annotates one of her wins. WIM Alexey Root tells why Hou Yifan is a Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Photo: Pascal Simon

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.

8/15/2020 – Grandmaster Teimour Radjabov is the best chess player in Azerbaijan and ranks ninth in the world. To show appreciation for Radjabov, WGM Sabina Foişor provides a recipe for a dish that Radjabov might like and an analysis of one of his wins. WIM Alexey Root tells why Radjabov is a Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Photo: FIDE

8/8/2020 – Grandmaster Viswanathan “Vishy” Anand was World Chess Champion from 2000-2002 (FIDE) and 2007-2013. To show appreciation for Anand, National Master Mike Walder provides a recipe for a dish that Anand likes and an analysis of one of Anand’s wins. WIM Alexey Root tells why Anand is a Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Photo: Lennart Ootes

7/23/2020 – At her peak rating in 2005, Grandmaster Judit Polgár was ranked number 8 in the world. Although she retired from competing in August of 2014, Judit promotes chess through her Global Chess Festival and serves as Honorary FIDE Vice-President. To show appreciation for Judit on her 44th birthday, this article has a recipe for a dessert, which could serve as her birthday cake. WIM Alexey Root and her co-author WGM Sabina Foisor are former U.S. Women’s Chess Champions. | Pictured: Judit showing Shirov-Polgár (1994) to her children Oliver and Hannah | Photo: Bela Doka, 2012

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.

7/11/2020 – Boris Gelfand is currently the top-ranked chess player in Israel. In the early 1990s, Gelfand was ranked third in the world. To show appreciation for Gelfand, this article has two recipes for dishes that he likes to eat and two of his wins. WIM Alexey Root tells why Gelfand is a Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Photo: Vladimir Jagr

6/28/2020 – Levon Aronian is the best chess player in Armenia and is currently ranked number 7 in the world. To show appreciation for Aronian, this article has a recipe for a dish that he might like to eat. And, also, an analysis of one of his wins. WIM Alexey Root tells why Aronian is a Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Photo: David Llada

6/13/2020 – Anish Giri is the best chess player in the Netherlands and is currently ranked number 10 in the world. To show appreciation for Giri, this article has a recipe for a dish that he might like to eat. And, also, an analysis of one of his wins. WIM Alexey Root tells why Giri is the first Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Photo: Alina l'Ami

6/6/2020 – In 2011, Mike Walder had stage 4 inoperable stomach cancer and less than a 4% chance to survive for one more year. In 2014, he started playing chess again to counteract ‘chemo brain’, a term which describes the thinking and memory problems experienced by many chemotherapy patients. WIM Alexey Root interviews Walder about his two chess master roommates, losing chess rating points, and chemotherapy. | Pictured: Mike Walder (2019) | Photo: Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club

5/19/2020 – The acronym “AMA” stands for “American Medical Association” or “Ask Me Anything.” Another AMA acronym means “Ask Me Another,” a National Public Radio show featuring Puzzle Gurus. National Master Jeff Ashton is an aspiring Puzzle Guru, selecting and creating chess puzzles for his students. WIM Alexey Root shares Ashton’s efforts.

5/2/2020 – US Chess National Master Jerald Times is sheltering-in-place in New York City, the center of the coronavirus pandemic. Times writes about being Director of Chess at Success Academy and describes holistic chess programs that combine music, storytelling, chess and tai chi. WIM Alexey Root interviews Jerald Times. | Photo: Success Academy Charter Schools

4/17/2020 – Thirty years ago, because of health risks, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) banned smoking at its events. Since handshakes spread the coronavirus, should FIDE ban them when in-person chess tournaments resume? WIM Alexey Root considers the history and the future of smoking and handshakes.

4/8/2020 – Whitney Houston sang “I believe that children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.” With frequent news stories about adult chess cheaters, chess coaches and parents may take a “Do as I say, not as they do” approach to promoting chess honesty in children. WIM ALEXEY ROOT reports. | Photo: Przemek P, via Wikimedia Commons

4/1/2020 – Although ChessBase is the international standard for top players, it also facilitates teaching chess to groups of children. For the past 15 years, for 10-20 hours per week, US Chess Master Jeff Ashton has taught using ChessBase. Ashton’s Panda Chess Academy transitioned from in-person classes to online instruction, due to his city’s closure of non-essential businesses. WIM ALEXEY ROOT interviews Jeff Ashton.

3/24/2020 – IM Dagne Ciuksyte has represented Lithuania and England in Chess Olympiads. Her peak FIDE rating was 2450. Now she coaches chess, in the shadow of COVID-19. Inspired by a ChessBase article, she is adding “chess writing” to her career. WIM ALEXEY ROOT interviews Dagne Ciuksyte.

3/12/2020 – With the Coronavirus in the news, chess players may avoid in-person tournaments and seek stay-at-home chess outlets. While some may livestream or coach, chess writing appeals to others. Writing may be more egalitarian than streaming or coaching, as both titled and non-titled players are published and paid at similar rates. WIM ALEXEY ROOT share four tips for chess writing.

2/8/2020 – Lauren Goodkind took some special education classes in high school and has had a speech impediment since she was two years old. Now, at age 36, her US Chess rating is 1878. Her twin sister Barbara's rating is 1818, putting both in the top 8% of all US Chess-rated players. As WIM ALEXEY ROOT reports, Lauren is also an author; her third book, Queen for a Day: The Girl’s Guide to Chess Mastery, was just published. | Pictured: Judit Polgar and Goodkind in London, December 2019