Andrew Soltis

Andrew Soltis (born 1947 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, is an International Grandmaster and is author or co-author of more than 100 books. Since 1972 he has written a weekly column for the New York Post and since 1979 he has written "Chess to Enjoy", a monthly column for Chess Life. He was named "Chess Journalist of the Year" in 1988 and 2002 by the Chess Journalists of America. In 1971 he was number 74 on the world's ranking list and in September 2011 he was inducted into the United States Chess Hall of Fame. He must be the only person who (a) played chess with Bobby Fischer and also (b) interviewed Donald Trump. Neither was a major achievement. 

He is author of The United States Chess Championship, 1845-2011 and several other titles like "re-thinking the chess pieces", the highly recommended "Bobby Fischer re-discovered", "Your Kingdom for my Horse" (on exchanging pieces), the Botvinnik monograph "The life and games of a World Chess Champion", "Why Lasker matters" and "How to choose a chess move" - amongst many others. 

Your Kingdom for my Horse - Batsford 

“Just a moment of insanity,” Magnus Carlsen said. “I don’t know what happened. It was a moment of insanity.” The world champion was clearly angry with himself. And it wasn’t because of a losing move, like blundering away a rook. It was because he allowed an exchange of rooks. (Batsford)

His most recent book is "David Versus Goliath Chess: How to Beat a Stronger Player", published by Batsford.

David vs. Goliath Chess - How to beat a stronger player, Batsford 

Recent news

Britannica: The Evolution of Chess Theory (Part 3)

10/26/2019 – A Britannica Special Feature: ChessBase has received special permission from Encyclopaedia Britannica to highlight several sections from the classic article by Grandmaster ANDREW SOLTIS on chess, aimed at newcomers to the game. In Part 3: Hypermodernism, the Soviet school, and the pragmatists. | Read Part 1 | Part 2 | Chess theory consists of opening knowledge, tactics (or combinations), positional analysis (particularly pawn structures), strategy (the making of long-range plans and goals), and endgame technique (including basic mates against the lone king).

Britannica: The Evolution of Chess Theory (Part 2)

10/19/2019 – A Britannica Special Feature: ChessBase has received special permission from Encyclopaedia Britannica to highlight several sections from the classic article by Grandmaster ANDREW SOLTIS on chess, aimed at newcomers to the game. | Read part 1 | Here, he continues with an overview of Wilhelm Steinitz and the classical era.

Britannica: The Evolution of Chess Theory (Part 1)

10/10/2019 – A Britannica Special Feature: ChessBase has received special permission from Encyclopaedia Britannica to highlight several sections from the classic article by Grandmaster ANDREW SOLTIS on chess, aimed at newcomers to the game. Chess theory consists of opening knowledge, tactics (or combinations), positional analysis (particularly pawn structures), strategy (the making of long-range plans and goals), and endgame technique (including basic mates against the lone king).

The Pendulum is Swinging Towards Defense

12/9/2016 – The recent World Chess Championship match in New York was a different match than the ones we have come to know before because defense – a modern style of defense – played such a dominant role. Our author Andy Soltis contemplates modern defense.

US Championship 2016 - The strongest ever?

4/21/2016 – Three top ten players start in the US Championship 2016 and nominally it is the strongest US Championship of all times. But can you really compare today's tournaments with those of the past? Andy Soltis takes a look at previous Championships that were surprisingly strong and concludes that in a historical context 2016 might not be "the strongest ever".
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