4/30/2022 – Two world champions, Steinitz and Euwe; a chess family, the Cramlings; and plenty of 1.d4 practitioners, Moiseenko, Gaprindashvili, and Miles are born under the zodiac sign of Taurus. Their power lies in their calmness. A proper Taurus acts thoughtfully, prudently, deliberately. They calculate what they do, everything else is considered unreasonable. They may allow their opponent a refreshing nap while they think about the next move. It would be fatal to consider them limited for that reason. | Photo: Pixabay

4/3/2022 – It can be confusing when the opponent’s pieces don’t go where you were expecting them to go. After looking at a couple of games from the recent Grand Prix by Amin Tabatabaei, Jon Speelman decided to write about unexpected defensive moves! | Pictured: Murray Chandler, Jonathan Speelman and Jonathan Mestel at the British Zonal in February 1987

3/8/2022 – The acronym "LPDO" was probably coined by the English player Mike Cook, who used it to explain the majority of his losses in a 100-game blitz match against John Nunn. But it was Nunn who made the term popular by talking about this blitz match in his book "Secrets of Practical Chess". Keeping "LPDO" in mind might help to reduce blundering pieces, even in the endgame. In the diagrammed position Black's rook and bishop are both "loose". How did White manage to let them "drop off"?

1/4/2022 – On Christmas Day, the James Webb Telescope began its long journey into space, as it is expected to provide new insights into the early history of the universe. The infinite expanses have inspired many artists. Music, the stars and chess are magically connected — says Jason Kouchak. | Photo: “Starlight” by Julian Paix

11/4/2021 – At the end of October, the 139th "Varsity Match" Oxford vs Cambridge was played at the Royal Automobile Club in London. All in all, Cambridge is slightly ahead in matches, but this year Oxford won 5.5-2.5. The match was a real event, with dinner and music by the famous pianist, composer and chess fan Jason Kouchak. | Photo: Jason Kouchak and Victor Vasiesiu, captain of the Oxford team | Photo: John Saunders

8/9/2021 – The game Adolf Anderssen against Lionel Kieseritzky, the "Immortal Game", played in London 1851, is arguably the most famous game in the history of chess. Anderssen won with a brilliant mating combination after sacrificing huge parts of his army. But his opponent Lionel Kieseritzky also played an "Immortal Game". Stephan Oliver Platz discovered this game and uses it as a starting point to take a close look at Kieseritzky's contribution to the King's Gambit.

6/15/2021 – There are sacs, and there are sacs. This turn of phrase that suggests not all are the same could not be more true of piece sacs in chess. Some are just flat out blitzkrieg tactics to gain material or reach for the jugular, but this one was a long-term attacking sac by Fat Fritz 2 that took no fewer than 20 moves to convert, with many a deep idea as demonstrated in this article. Not to be missed!

5/21/2021 – It was a two-part task: from the reactions of students to a Zen master's whispered hints, they try to deduce which piece he is thinking of. In the second part you have to solve a chess study with a uniquely different drawing strategy. Very strong players all over the world joined in our experiment – most failed to solve the Logical. Here at last are the solutions – both of them.

5/17/2021 – For many chess players, chess problems just look bizarre: the pieces on the board often seem to be randomly placed and the positions appear to to be utterly removed from anything that can happen in a practical game. However, solving chess problems can be fun - if you know how to approach them. Vlaicu Crisan has some advice.

5/16/2021 – Looking at the games from the recent Russian Team Championship, played in Sochi, prompted Jon Speelman to reminisce on a tournament he played nearly four decades ago in the same Russian city near the Black Sea. “In those distant Soviet times, the seven foreigners were put up in the Zhemchuzhina (Pearl) Hotel while the nine Soviets were dispersed among other lesser establishments”. | Photo: John Saunders / John Nunn 60th Birthday Blitz Chess Tournament

5/5/2021 – Two students are studying a chess position. A Zen master watches and tells them that one of the pieces will play a very deep move. "Which one?" the students want to know. The Zen master whispers the piece type to one student and the colour to the other. From their reactions they are able to deduce which piece it is. You can help us in a book project by solving the problem. And hopefully have some fun in the process.

2/7/2021 – “The 8x8 board allied with the rules of chess is an amazing canvas. Much of the time the pictures it paints are fairly mundane, but occasionally it creates something extraordinary”, writes Jon Speelman to conclude this week’s article. In it, you will find helpmates, cooks and a surprising move out of a Catalan. | Photo: Anna Barnett website

2/1/2021 – There was no lack of excitement on the last day of action at this year’s Tata Steel Masters tournament. Jorden van Foreest defeated Nils Grandelius from the white side of a Najdorf to catch up with Anish Giri, who drew David Anton with the black pieces — these results meant an all-Dutch playoff would decide the winner. Two draws in the blitz tiebreakers were followed by an Armageddon decider, in which Giri got a major advantage but ended up losing in a wild time scramble. | Photo: Jurriaan Hoefsmit – Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2021

1/28/2021 – The Covid-19 pandemic has been devastating for many families and has brought many changes to the way billions of people live. It has also wrought a transformation of the chess world. This is described by John Nunn, who is playing vigorously in online tournaments. He has kindly annotated a game for us – one in which for the first time in his career he mated his opponent with a double check.

1/4/2021 – In our December 31 puzzle page we showed you problems ranging from mate in one to mate in 203 – expecting this record from decades ago to have been broken. And indeed it was: there is now a direct mate problem in which you have to play 226 accurate moves to mate the opponent (i.e. it is dual-free). In our second solutions page we also provide the answer to the ominous train problem, which has eluded some of the brightest minds in the world.

12/31/2020 – We end 2020, not the greatest year ever, with part four of our yearly Christmas puzzles. You must forgive us for using unorthodox problems – it was an attempt to give you something that requires more than a press of the Alt-F2 key or clicking a fan icon to find the solution. Most of today's problems are fairly computer-resistant, including one that has nothing to do with chess. Enjoy and keep safe during the New Year transition.

12/26/2020 – Columnist Siegfried Hornecker wonders, What is it that which motivates me, and others? What is this mysterious thing that is called ‘beauty’? Why do we perceive something as beautiful? He then goes on to share the opinions of people who have delved into these thought-provoking questions. | Photo: Bas Beekhuizen / Batavia Tournament 2016

11/23/2020 – How did ChessBase begin? It's been nearly 35 years now! When co-founder of ChessBase Frederic Friedel was in India, IM Sagar Shah decided to record the story of how it all began. In this article Frederic speaks about the humble beginnings of the big chess technology company and how the 13th World Champion Garry Kasparov played a big role in its success!

10/9/2020 – The Global Chess Festival, initiated and organised by Judit Polgar, is a treat for chess players all over the world. Traditionally, the festival takes place on the second Saturday of October, which this year falls on October 10, and this year the festival goes online - with a fantastic program and an amazing choice of events, all for free! "Chess Connects Us" is the slogan of the Global Chess Festival, and chess fans all over the world are invited to join the fun!

9/7/2020 – In a review published in Chess Life, John Watson looks at two titles that seek to reestablish the Benoni as an elite opening, Rustam Kasimdzhanov’s “The Benoni Is Back In Business” and John Doknjas’ “Opening Repertoire - The Modern Benoni”. According to the renowned American author, coach and critic, both authors “share a number of original novelties that are essential to making the case for the lines they are advocating”.

8/8/2020 – In this third part about the life and work of the prominent study composer Steffen Slumstrup Nielsen, we will get to know the person. So what follows next will give you an insightful peek into the mind of a composer, how he thinks and works. It will also give you a perspective of different styles of composing and how they evolve. We know our chess players well, it's time that we get to know our chess composers too! | Photo: Niels Jørgen Jacobsen, Silkeborg

7/19/2020 – Remembrances of his first chess books, analysis of a World Championship game, backstories from a Candidates Match and a ‘squashed’ Caro-Kann are all part of the latest column by Jonathan Speelman. The former world number four confesses: “Opening theory has never been my thing, and I was perhaps lucky to be active at a time when it was much less essential”. | Photo: David Llada

5/2/2020 – A “Mars opposition” occurs when planet Earth passes in between the Sun and planet Mars. It happens every 2 years and 2 months – 779.94 Earth days to be precise. Then Mars becomes a beautiful red jewel in the night sky, full of mystery. On the one hand a Martian invasion may be imminent. On the other we are able to discern human images carved on the Mars surface. In 2003 one was discovered that looked eerily familiar.

4/13/2020 – Today's his 57th, and we wish him a very happy birthday. Fifteen years ago it looked like the world might have just over two decades left to continue as we know it. An asteroid was calculated to fly by the earth – or in fact hit it – on Friday the 13th of April 2029. That would be Garry's 66th birthday. In the meantime more precise calculation by NASA revealed that the chances of a Kasparov birthday armageddon were between 2.7% to virtually zero. Warning: the following article has very little chess content. It is also not for the faint-hearted...