9/23/2025 – The legendary world champion and political activist has issued a warning regarding the current media crackdown in the US, comparing it to the early days of Putin's rule in Russia. Kasparov appeared for an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, and on MSNBC with Jen Psaki. You can read his article and watch the videos of his eloquent admonitions here.

9/15/2025 – Seventy years ago, on September 8, 1955, a column appeared in the Manchester Guardian, about a Russian teenager, Boris Spassky. It was written by a budding young chess master from Croydon. Leonard Barden went on to become one of Britain's strongest chess players – and a columnist who has set a Guinness World Record. | Photo John Saunders

9/5/2025 – On Tuesday 22-year-old Ukrainian GM Kirill Shevchenko was stripped of his title and banned from competitive chess for three years. He was caught cheating during the Spanish Team Championship last year – and admitted to his wrongdoing. The case renewed our interest in the subject, and we take a look back at the evolution of cheating in chess – and the very tricky way it can be exercised.

8/25/2025 – Emil Joseph Diemer was a notable German chess player and author, best remembered for his fervent advocacy of the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3. Today the gambit is not common in elite play, but is well worth trying in inconsequential games. Today's article tells about the turmoils in the life of the initiator of the gambit.

8/6/2025 – It was the ever observant Leonard Barden who pointed it out to me: for the first time since FIDE began publishing its rating lists, 1971, there are no Russians in the top ten. The Guardian's weekly chess columnist turns 96 this month, and still keeps providing us with interesting reports.

7/23/2025 – Over the past 20 years Larry List has curated exhibitions, and written primarily about the interrelationships between chess and visual art. To coincide with a Man Ray exhibition of photos at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this September, Hirmer Verlag of Munich is publishing his new book On Man Ray, the closest artist friend of the famous 20th century artist Marcel Duchamp. It is lavishly illustrated with color photos, with a solid and attractive layout. | Man Ray self-portrait 1926 Centre Pompidou

7/21/2025 – Last week Problem expert Werner Keym gave us some remarkable chess problems to solve. They were from his latest eBook, Problem Chess Art, which is available to everyone, free of charge. Here today are the solutions of the problems he selected for us. Were you able to solve them?

7/9/2025 – "Chess problems demand from the composer the same virtues that characterize all worthwhile art: originality, invention, conciseness, harmony, complexity and splendid insincerity," wrote Vladimir Nabokov. Problem expert Werner Keym illustrates this in a new book which he makes available, as an eBook, to everyone, free of charge. Here are some excerpts to give you a taste.

7/1/2025 – Last week we gave you four pawn endings to solve – on the diagrams, without engine support. Like the one on our thumbnail. White has six legal moves, all with his king. What should you play? Did you find the astonishing and subtle 1.Kf5!, the only move that ensures the win. Today we bring you the solutions to all four endgames, lucidly explained in YouTube Shorts by Volclus. Watch, listen and learn.

6/30/2025 – In 1986 the award-winning musical Chess, written by lyricist Tim Rice, with the music composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (both formerly of ABBA), premiered in London's West End. This autumn, we are told, it is going to revived on Broadway, with a new updated book. Ready for a truly great musical treat? Then take an hour and a half to watch videos of a previous production. You will not regret it.

6/27/2025 – They are absolutely vital. Gukesh won the World Championship with one – or we could say Ding Liren lost his title because he misplayed it. So can you understand and play pawn endings proficiently? Take a look at this position: White has six legal moves, all with his king. But only one of them ensures the win. Which one? We have four instructive and entertaining positions that will test your skills. And hopefully leave you a better, more effective player.

6/25/2025 – He is one of the best-known commentators for international chess events. Maurice Ashley has covered high-profile events such as the Kasparov vs. Nigel Short World Championship (1993), Kasparov vs. Deep Blue matches (1996 and 1997), and Kasparov vs. X3D Fritz (2003). He has also commentated for the Grand Chess Tour, Sinquefield Cups, and US Chess Championships. Turns out he has other strengths. Read on to find out.

6/15/2025 – Do you remember the pioneering chess film "Searching for Bobby Fischer"? It told the story of a seven-year-old US chess prodigy – with stars like Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley and Laurence Fishburne playing his father and trainers. Josh Waitzkin retired from active chess at 23, moved to Costa Rica and became an expert in the art of learning. Recently, he became a consultant of the Boston Celtics basketball team.

6/12/2025 – In our previous article on historical chess statistics we showed you the number of rated players there were in 1993, their ages, ratings, and where they came from. Today we compare them with the current FIDE statistics, showing how things have developed in the three decades that have passed. Our report also contains a little puzzle for you to mull over – why does the chess superpower China have so few rated players?

6/10/2025 – The ChessBase Premium Account is a powerful all-in-one chess improvement tool that provides extensive online resources, training, playing opportunities, and cloud services to help players of all levels enhance their game effectively. And the service runs on anything: Windows, Macs, notebooks, tablets, your mobile phone. Watch this video by Sagar Shah explaining the services you get and how to best use it. And best of all: it will only cost you €4.99 per month!

6/5/2025 – What was the chess world like, 32 years ago? How many players were there, how strong were they, how many were grandmasters? In 1993 the newly founded Professional Chess Association, seeking to win Intel as its main sponsor, commissioned the collection of statistics. Today we look at the results, and ask you to comment on the numbers you see. The follow-up article will compare them with those of the current chess world.

6/4/2025 – Last year FIDE celebrated its 100th anniversary. The book "100 Years of FIDE" is an illustrated history of the World Chess Federation. From it we excerpt passages, with kind permission, this time from the first World Championships in the post-war era – after the sudden death of World Champion Alexander Alekhine. It is a great chance to brush up your knowledge of chess history.

5/12/2025 – Legendary American Grandmaster Alex Yermolinsky, "Yermo", remains hospitalized in Tekirdag, Turkey after undergoing a four-way heart bypass. He was being crushed by medical bills and needed help. That was given by a GoFundMe appeal started just over a week ago. The goal of the required $64,000 has almost been met. You can help push it over the finish line.