4/27/2020 – Last month Edward Winter announced his decision, due to other commitments, to curtail his Chess Notes column, which began in 1982. Additions are now made only occasionally, but thousands of C.N. items and hundreds of feature articles remain online. It is a body of work unlike any other, covering a vast array of topics and spawning four anthologies. Edward Winter is also the author of one of the most acclaimed books in chess history: his monograph on Capablanca.

3/27/2020 – As many predicted, the Coronavirus outbreak has interrupted the one strong sporting event that was taking place amid the worldwide crisis, the FIDE Candidates Tournament. This is not a first, however. During the twentieth century, strong chess tournaments were taking place when war declarations — that would eventually turn global — put a stop or gravely affected chess competitions. | Image: World War I cartoon by Sava Zlachkin

9/2/2013 – The British chess writer Justin Horton has been publishing a fully documented series of articles to show that the output of the chess columnist of The Times and The Spectator relies heavily on plagiarism. The Editor of Chess Notes steps back from the details of the case to reflect on how the game’s media outlets cover controversies and what constitutes chess news.

6/21/2013 – Did Gibaud lose an ultra-brief game to Lazard in the Paris championship of 1924? The Editor of Chess Notes points out that the moves 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nd2 e5 3 dxe5 Ng4 4 h3 Ne3 5 White resigns have regularly been given in chess literature (with, as usual, writers copying from each other without verification), but did they ever occur over the board? Another investigation.

4/28/2013 – The Editor of Chess Notes shows a position featuring what was described as ‘undoubtedly the most brilliant move ever made by a computer’. Also included is information about early, lesser-known attempts to build chessplaying machines, as well as a miscellany of predictions made decades ago as to whether computers would ever achieve supremacy over human beings.

3/27/2013 – London, one hundred years ago. Facing Edward Lasker in a seven-board simultaneous display, Capablanca produced an entertaining and instructive game that received analytical attention from Alekhine and Spielmann. The Editor of Chess Notes provides extensive information on the game, reproducing material from Austria, Cuba, England, Germany, the Netherlands and the US. A remarkable encounter.

2/18/2013 – It is one hundred years since the term ‘hypermodern’ began appearing in chess literature, but who exactly were the precursors and inventors of this so-called revolution? The Editor of Chess Notes puts forward a cast that includes A. Alekhine, J.H. Blackburne, E. Bogoljubow, G. Breyer, A. Flamberg, E. Grünfeld, R. Réti, A. Nimzowitsch, H. Staunton, S. Tartakower, E. Williams and ... M. Wolfson.

2/1/2013 – The problem simply won't go away. The latest incident involves the former mayor of an Italian town who has been banned for allegedly using a hidden micro camera and earpiece to receive electronic assistance in tournament games. The ACP has launched a petition for players to get FIDE to address the general cheating issue. So far 517 players have signed, including 190 GMs.

1/21/2013 – Patriotism, nationalism, jingoism and racism in the chess world have generated many literary horrors, some of which might be comical if they were not so alarming. The Editor of Chess Notes shows a range of little-known cases where the public record has been mutilated through, in particular, the expurgation of masters’ names for political reasons. A look back to some dark days.

12/30/2012 – In a wild game against Johannes Hermann Zukertort in Breslau in 1862, Adolf Anderssen salvaged a draw by means of an ingenious queen sacrifice. His play was highly praised, but 70 years later Alexander Alekhine discovered, without sight of the board, an even more brilliant line which would have won the game for Anderssen. The Editor of Chess Notes presents a spectacular labyrinth of tactics.

12/16/2012 – A great deal of poetry has been written on the subject of chess, some of it wonderful but some of it atrocious. The Editor of Chess Notes has gathered together a wide-ranging selection which embraces various genres: lyric poetry, doggerel, acrostics, comic verse and satire. There is even the case of a poem which wittily lampooned members of a London club and was subjected to ‘censorship’.

12/3/2012 – The Editor of Chess Notes returns to 'My 61 Memorable Games'. Is it a genuine work by Bobby Fischer or a fake/hoax? The focus this time is on the sole new game in the book, the first battle in the 1992 re-match between Fischer and Spassky. Potential clues abound, but what exactly do the annotations reveal about the authenticity or otherwise of this mysterious 753-page book?

11/4/2012 – 'My 61 Memorable Games' claims to be Fischer's update of his masterpiece first published in 1969, but is it genuine? Although the 753-page volume is almost impossible to find on sale, the Editor of Chess Notes recently acquired it. He advocates careful, rigorous scrutiny of the contents, and enables readers to enjoy a riveting literary, historical and analytical conundrum with a multitude of clues.

10/24/2012 – Many of the finest masters have been the subject of busts, statues and other models. The Editor of Chess Notes has gathered together depictions of such legendary figures as Labourdonnais, Morphy, Lasker, Capablanca, Euwe and Keres. The photographs, which come from, among other cities, Amsterdam, Havana, Tallinn and Tel Aviv, help bring the greats to life. A rich collection.

9/16/2012 – Chess boards and pieces are so photogenic that they are frequently used to advertise and promote a wide range of products, services and events. From the many specimens known to exist, the Editor of Chess Notes has picked out a few of the less common ones, showing how the Royal Game has been employed in the past to produce advertising for alcohol, tobacco and razor blades.

8/12/2012 – ‘Unspecific accusations of dishonesty concerning chess players will result in an international news story. Specific proof of dishonesty concerning chess writers will result in international silence.’ The Editor of Chess Notes made that observation in an article here last year. Now, he ponders why so many people keep quiet even when the facts are clear-cut in some truly shocking cases.

7/27/2012 – An exceptional visual treat is in store for readers in the form of archive moving pictures of many of the great masters of the past, including Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Euwe, Bogoljubow and Nimzowitsch. The Editor of Chess Notes provides links to a rich selection of footage, much of which has been found over the years by his correspondents throughout the world. Unmissable.

7/9/2012 – The Editor of Chess Notes looks at some of the lesser-known claims that hypnosis has been, or could be, used at the chess board. Even more than is customarily the case in the chess world, hard facts and scientific knowledge seem almost impossible to disentangle from flimsy claims and vague suspicions when it comes to the murky world of hypnotism. Concentrate hard ...

6/27/2012 – In his latest prize quiz the Editor of Chess Notes offered readers the challenge of identifying the authors of eight autobiographical works related to chess, on the basis of front covers from which relevant textual information had been blocked out. There was quite a strong entry, and now the answers are revealed. So too are the identities of the three prize-winners.

6/14/2012 – The front covers of eight autobiographical works by chess writers are placed on display here, but with the authors' names and the titles all blocked out. In this latest quiz from the Editor of Chess Notes readers are asked to identify the eight authors. Some attractive prizes await the winners, including items which have been signed by Anand, Carlsen and Kramnik.

5/13/2012 – The fascinating history of the world chess championship has long been plagued by a lack of proper documentation, and many myths and controversies have arisen. The Editor of Chess Notes has written a range of detailed articles covering everything from early occurrences of the title ‘world chess champion’ to a catalogue of books about many of today’s leading players, including Anand and Gelfand.

4/22/2012 – Historical chess photographs are not always treated as sacrosanct, and the Editor of Chess Notes shows examples of how they have been fabricated, doctored and airbrushed. He examines, in particular, the odd case of a group photograph taken during the Carlsbad, 1907 tournament. Three different versions have been found, with various individuals eradicated for no discernible reason.

3/26/2012 – We have more on the fascinating topic of the Fischer v Gligorić training match played in 1992. The previous Chess Explorations article gave a reader's inspired reconstruction of one of the games from Fischer's almost illegible score-sheet. Now the Editor of Chess Notes shows further archive material and also quotes some disclosures which he has received from Gligorić about the secret match.

3/21/2012 – Whatever some people may say, the subject is not going away anytime soon. Even the New York Times has picked it up, telling about the work of Kenneth Regan, a computer scientist who is also an International Master. He has been researching the problem for five years and was an expert witness in the French cheating scandal. Tell us what you think of his anti-cheating work.