3/17/2022 – Studying "Black to play and defend positions" teaches chess students how to recognize and stop threats. For example, coaches may ask beginners to find ways to stop a back rank mate or the Scholar’s Mate. Flipping the board may also help with high-level analysis. National Master Jeffrey Ashton explains how to create positions where the Black chessmen are on the bottom of the diagram, which gives Black’s perspective.

2/22/2022 – The Master Section of the 13th Annual Southwest Class Championships, February 17–21, ended in a tie for first between International Masters Christopher Yoo and Zurab Javakhadze, with 7.5 out of 9. Woman International Master Alice Lee made an International Master norm. Alexey Root reports from Fort Worth, Texas. | Photo: Courtesy of the Lee family

1/26/2022 – With Omicron on the rise and social gatherings discouraged, leasing 2,000 square feet for in-person chess seems risky. Yet the gamble paid off for the Texas Chess Center, which attracted 67 players to its grand opening on January 22, 2022. WIM Alexey Root reports.| Photo: Christopher Tetzlaff

1/21/2022 – Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. are the drivers of the legendary Scuderia Ferrari in Formula One. Lewis Hamilton is not the only self-confessed chess fan among Formula One racing drivers. The two Ferrari drivers also love the royal game and even engaged in a rapid chess challenge.

12/13/2021 – When Beth Harmon defeated a series of top male grandmasters, and then went on to wrest the title from Russian world champion Vasily Borgov, it was not real life. It happened in the Queen’s Gambit, a Netflix series that did more for chess than anything else in 2020. In reality, today there is not a single active female player in the top 100. But FIDE wants to change that, as the Guardian reports.

10/18/2021 – The 62nd Annual US Armed Forces Open Chess Championship was held in Grapevine, Texas, from October 8–11, 2021. Charles D. "Chuck" Unruh and Charles M. Unruh won the Veterans Open Championship and the Armed Forces Open, respectively. Chuck, the father, scored 4½ of 5 rounds to top a 22-player field. Charles, the son, went 5-0 in a 51-player field. | Photo: Danny Fallon

8/26/2021 – What is it that separates chess from a game like baseball? One answer is “the statistics”. While baseball fans have a dazzling variety of stats to pore over, chess reporting has tended to focus on the individual games and events rather than overall numbers. With a new book on the U.S. Women’s Champions on the horizon, it’s a good time to look at the records of this tournament series. | Pictured: Mona May Karff playing White against Mary Bain at the 1956 Pan American Championship. | Photo: Nancy Roos / Collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame

8/17/2021 – The John G. White Collection of Chess and Checkers is the largest and most comprehensive collection of printed material on chess. While its physical location is Cleveland, Ohio, chess researchers and aficionados may also view parts of the collection online. On July 21, 2021, Woman International Master Alexey Root visited the Cleveland Public Library, which houses the collection. | Photos: Alexey Root

8/10/2021 – Grandmaster Aleksandr Lenderman won the U.S. Open with 8½ points out of 9 rounds. Mike Walder annotates Lenderman’s wins over Grandmasters Hans Niemann and John Michael Burke. Alexey Root reports on the awards presentations, book signings, and meetings held at the U.S. Open’s Cherry Hill, New Jersey site. | Photos: Alexey Root

8/6/2021 – By a score of 23–22, Northern California triumphed over Texas at the national tournaments of state chess champions held July 31–August 3. Each state could send five representatives, and each representative played six games. Individual champions were also crowned. Woman International Master Alexey Root reports from the Cherry Hill, New Jersey site, which also hosts the U.S. Open. | Photos: Alexey Root

7/30/2021 – Alongside the U.S. Open are five tournaments of state chess champions, for different age and grade categories. Each state affiliate may nominate one player for each tournament. Participants in the five tournaments compete together in blitz. Woman International Master Alexey Root previews the state champions tournaments from a Texas perspective. | Photos: Niki Riga / Texas Chess Association

5/23/2021 – Today, on 23 May, Anatoly Karpov turns 70! The 12th World Champion is still very active and on 31 May 2021, he will give a simul at the Karpov Children’s Cup, an event supported by FIDE. Which made Alexey Root remember a remarkable Karpov simul in Austin, Texas, back in 1994. | Photo: V. Savostianov, Novosti Press (via D. Griffin)

4/18/2021 – Comparing the average ratings of the U.S. Championships and U.S. Women’s Championships from 1972–2000 shows a 300+ point difference between the former and the latter, as detailed in part one of this two-part series. In this part two, Ashley Yan and Alexey Root offer a possible explanation for this gender-based ratings gap.

4/10/2021 – In this article, part one of a two-part series, Ashley Yan and Alexey Root compare average ratings in the U.S. Championships and the U.S. Women’s Championships held between 1972 and 2000. The United States Chess Federation’s 20th-century ratings and the gender distribution of its membership is also discussed. | Photo: Chess Life Magazine, November 1984 (from the Chess Life and Chess Review Archives)

4/2/2021 – Australia’s Gold Coast metropolitan region is known for sandy beaches and surfing. And a simul. International Master Alex Wohl took on 20 chess players in an outdoor simultaneous exhibition. Woman International Master Alexey Root and Wohl report on chess activity at the Gold Coast’s Burleigh Market. | Photo: Kgbo [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons

3/20/2021 – High school student Ashley Yan started a chess nonprofit organization, The Piece Project, where she and her friends teach free chess lessons to children through Zoom. Anyone can get involved, as a student, instructor, or partner. Woman International Master Alexey Root interviews Yan. | Pictured: Ashley Yan

2/18/2021 – The history of the U.S. Women's Chess Championship contains a wealth of information about chess in America and countless fascinating stories about champions from all walks of life. Alexey Root, who is currently writing a book about the history of the U.S. Women's Championship, takes a look at some recent research about women's chess in the U.S. | Photo: Reigning and eight-time U.S. Women's Champion Irina Krush winning the title 2015 | Photo: Lennart Ootes

1/10/2021 – Grandmaster Kirill Alekseenko is the youngest participant in the 2020 Candidates Tournament. National Master Mike Walder prepares a dish that Alekseenko might like and annotates one of Alekseenko’s draws from the Candidates. WIM Alexey Root tells why Kirill Alekseenko is a Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Photo: Lennart Ootes / FIDE

1/1/2021 – When Damion Coppedge was in prison for manslaughter, he played chess, wrote poetry, and practiced Buddhism. From prison, he sent $25 to Ugandan chess player Phiona Mutesi, which enabled her coach to open Mutesi’s first bank account. Free since 2019, Coppedge creates videos about chess, the game that he loves.

12/17/2020 – Wang Hao is ranked second in China, behind Ding Liren. In round 1 of the 2020 Candidates Tournament, Hao defeated Liren, a game that National Master Mike Walder annotates. Walder also creates a recipe for a dish that Hao might like. WIM Alexey Root tells why Wang Hao is a Grandmaster Chef honoree. | Photo: Maria Emelianova / FIDE

12/14/2020 – In the 1993 film “Searching for Bobby Fischer”, disruptive parents are locked out of the playing hall. After the lockout, their children play chess games following fair play guidelines. When children play online, however, maybe parents should be looking over their shoulders. National Master Jeff Ashton and WIM Alexey Root tell why.

12/9/2020 – St. Augustine, Florida, is America’s oldest continuously inhabited, European-established city. At its center is a pavilion, now called the Plaza de la Constitución but historically known as the slave market. Estelle Thibodeau reintroduced chess to that plaza and to a pizzeria, as told to Woman International Master Alexey Root. | Pictured: Estelle Thibodeau | Photo: Jennifer Jordan

12/4/2020 – This weekend, ChessTech organizes a major international online conference on chess and technology. Numerous speakers will give online lectures on a variety of topics. In addition to the English lectures, there are contributions in Spanish, French and German. ChessBase is represented by Matthias Wüllenweber and Albert Silver.

12/1/2020 – December 1st is the first day of summer in the Southern Hemisphere, bringing daytime temperatures in the low 80s (Fahrenheit) to Canberra, the capital city of Australia. FIDE Master and International Arbiter Shaun Press provides photos and a history of outdoor chess in Canberra, with additional text by WIM Alexey Root.