4/1/2022 – Two years ago, to the day, we reported that Garry Kasparov had launched a project called "Corochess", introducing a new chess table that would enforce full social distancing during the pandemic. Now a Russian leader has taken it a step further. His table is designed to ensure that he cannot be physically attacked during a game. Take a look at what his future mastches will look like.

4/1/2019 – Last year we decided to abandon our decades-long tradition of tricking our readers with fake stories on April 1st. Instead, we said, we are going to stick to straight and truthful news. For those who are disappointed by this decision we bring you a really fun (and fully genuine) task proposed by Pal Benko for this auspicious day, and also take a look back at an historic prank we perpetrated in the past — just to prove we have not lost our sense of humour.

4/2/2018 – Did you think that the "Drunken Master" story we published 24 hours ago was an April 1st jest? No, it wasn't. It was funny but perfectly true (so far as we know). So is the made-up report coming? No, it isn't. We have decided to abandon the twenty-year tradition (this time really!) and stick to straight and truthful news. But we will look back at some of the pranks we have perpetrated in the past — just to prove we have not lost our sense of humour.

4/1/2018 – How would you react if your opponent just moved all their pawns to the third rank of the board in the opening and still managed to hold ground? Wesley Falcao, a National Master living in New York, did exactly this in some of his blitz games. The result: this seemingly drunken manner of opening the game actually caught some strong players off guard, provoked errors and produced some really entertaining games. In this article, Wesley Falcao shares some of his games (a whopping 17 of them!) and discusses some key ideas behind his opening, urging readers to kick back and have a drink with the Drunken Master!

4/3/2017 – It was an April Fools' prank, as most of our readers quickly recognized. Pein, a harsh critic of the current FIDE leadership, had no role in the power struggle that is taking place in Athens. And no intention of running for FIDE President, as was claimed in the wholly invented interview we published on April 1st. Although: the idea is not completely out of hand. With his connections and organisational skill... But that is just a dream.

4/3/2016 – Our two fake April Fool's stories – Benko's bafflers and Karjakin's BMW – were perfectly legit and true in every respect. And most of the Hillary report: she did appear on a show seeking to identify the real Irina Krush; Bernie Saunders did play in a simul; and Ted Cruz did send the picture of a badly set up chessboard to Senator Mike Lee. Only Trumps four-move composition – that was made up.

4/3/2015 – Yep, the Google X lab project to replace human molars with electronic devices (and use them to play 3000+ level chess) was the April 1st hoax. Pure invention – well, as far as we know. So we are left with having to believe in a possible refutation to the English Opening and that the minor planet Vishyanand is circling the sun. Perfectly true – in fact you can name a planet yourself!

4/1/2015 – Everyone is doing it: after the iPhone and Android we are now confronted with Google Glass, Apple Watch, the Pebble. Computers are getting smaller and can be built to accompany you wherever you go. Now Google X, the semi-secret facility run by the search giant, is working on a dental computer. Why do we tell you this? Because Google Tooth comes bundled with a chess app.

4/4/2014 – Indeed we were, in the traditional spirit of April Fool (or "April Fish", as the French call it). The announcement that the Carlsen-Anand 2014 World Championship match would be held in the middle of the North Sea was a carefully faked hoax by a ChessBase editor. We've been perpetrating April pranks for at least thirteen years now, and provide you with links to all of them. Prepare to waste a lot of time.

4/4/2013 – In the age of Google and social communities on the Internet it has become increasingly difficult to perpetrate April Fools' jokes that can deceive people for more than a few minutes. This year, again, we gave it our best shot, with one – some thought two – fake April Fools' reports appearing during the day, and then the real one, hidden as well as we could manage. Did you spot it?

4/10/2012 – Our report on the busting of the King's Gambit was well received. Normally we get between a few dozen 50 Facebook "likes", but this one recorded almost two thousand. And Alexa listed us as one of the top 10,000 web sites in the world for the first time since the London Chess Classic last December. Today we bring you more feedback from our readers, as a humorous interlude.

4/4/2012 – Over the years – over a decade, actually – it has become progressively more difficult for us to hide our traditional (and very popular) April Fool's stories. And keep them entertaining in the process. Armed insurgents with advanced Google searches and forum discussions are waiting to hunt them down. This year we used a particularly devious tactic involving the South Pacific town of Pago Pago.

4/4/2010 – On the first day of this month our readers expect us to produce a fake news report. We published three stories on April 1st, one about the Large Hadron Collider and the concern it has raised in some grandmasters; the possible exhumation of Fischer's remains; and the discovery that Magnus Carlsen was the second cousin of Hollywood actor Matt Damon. Did you guess right?