11/10/2024 – The FIDE Trainers' Commission (TRG) is now accepting nominations for the prestigious Yuri Averbakh / Isaac Boleslavsky Book Awards 2024. Open to chess books published in 2023, authors and publishers may submit up to three titles, with nominations closing on 21 November 2024. Judged by a panel of three prominent chess experts, the awards will recognise instructional excellence in chess literature, with the winner and two runners-up announced in mid-December.

11/4/2024 – Depending on how you approach the question, what you prioritize and what matters to you, the answer might seem clear-cut, but is it? Even comparing just plain ol' books to digital texts can be a divisive topic, but chess e-books also carry their own differences to make the question and arguments fresh, with considerations that are unique to them. Enjoy this article and video.

7/25/2022 – It is probable that no chess player in the history of the game has had more written about him or of his games than Bobby Fischer. The fascination stems not only from his sheer chess genius, but also his magnetism, and the debt professional chess owes him for paving the way with appearance fees and prize money. Here is a book that brings together all his writings, articles, and even unpublished notes to “60 Memorable Games”.

5/27/2022 – With the accelerated shift from the written word to video content, some might feel that classic books are noteworthy only as historic footnotes in the evolution of chess. However, to do so is to not only deny yourself a deeper and richer culture, but also to overlook the invaluable lessons of the past. Here is a look at one of the great chess books and what makes it special.

12/16/2020 – Countless chess books are published every year, some better than others. With the year coming to an end, we take a brief look into five noteworthy works that were put in circulation in 2020.

4/16/2020 – Mir Sultan Khan was born in 1905 in India and worked as a servant when he came to England in 1929. In England Sultan Khan quickly established himself as one of the world's best players, beating Capablanca, Tartakower, Flohr and others, but in 1933 he returned to India and vanished from the chess scene. In his new book "Sultan Khan: The Indian Servant Who Became Chess Champion of the British Empire" Daniel King tells the story of this amazingly talented player. Sagar Shah spoke with King about his book and the fate of Sultan Khan.

2/8/2020 – Lauren Goodkind took some special education classes in high school and has had a speech impediment since she was two years old. Now, at age 36, her US Chess rating is 1878. Her twin sister Barbara's rating is 1818, putting both in the top 8% of all US Chess-rated players. As WIM ALEXEY ROOT reports, Lauren is also an author; her third book, Queen for a Day: The Girl’s Guide to Chess Mastery, was just published. | Pictured: Judit Polgar and Goodkind in London, December 2019

11/28/2019 – In his latest opinion piece, published in the December issue of CHESS Magazine, associate editor John Saunders reflects on the changing face of top-level competition chess as we enter the third decade of the 21st century, with particular emphasis on the way world champions such as Botvinnik, Kasparov and Carlsen have influenced competition formats. Official recognition of the Fischer-Random chess variant and the demographic of the next Wijk ann Zee A tournament — with not a single player aged in their 30s or 40s — show that this evolutionary process has never been stronger.

8/8/2019 – A meteorite can pass through the atmosphere burning — a fulgent light in the darkness. Igor Kurnosov, who died six years ago today, passed through the chess world like a meteorite, leaving many interesting games in his wake. DAVIDE NASTASIO reviews the book which celebrates a life cut too short. | Photos provided by the publisher, Elk and Ruby

7/15/2019 – As Jacob Aagaard writes in his foreword to Understanding Minor Piece Endgames (Müller and Konoval, 2019), “every new book written by Karsten is an event for me”. Reviewer GUY HAWORTH brings you an in-depth look at this essential endgame extravaganza replete with illuminating examples.

4/6/2019 – Recently a new book on endgame studies was published, written by IM Yochanan Afek. He belongs to that very rare breed of composition grandmasters, with more studies to his name than we have seen elsewhere. His book is a treasure trove that provides insights into how, on occasion, the games Afek or others have played gave him the ideas for his study compositions. Review by Frederic Friedel.

3/19/2019 – Amateurs hope to learn the secret to magically becoming good at chess. But the secret is already known: learn endgames! The benefits can become obvious, even from a superficial study. One learns how to coordinate different pieces and this can lead to stunning victories. But there's much more — improvements in calculation and visualization come from endgame study which are essential qualities that differentiate the great players from the mediocre ones. Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO thinks GM Karsten Mueller's last book on understanding endgames with minor pieces is one everyone should read in order to improve at chess.

12/24/2018 – On December 24th, 1868 Emanuel Lasker, World Champion from 1894 to 1921, was born. To celebrate this 150-year jubilee the first volume of a monumental trilogy about Lasker recently appeared. In an interview with HARTMUT METZ, Dr Michael Negele, one of the editors and driving forces behind this trilogy, talked about Lasker, the trilogy, and the motivation to carry out such a monumental project. | Pictured: Dr Michael Negele and Dr Richard Forster signing the first volume | Photo: Archive Michael Negele

12/11/2018 – V. Saravanan is a strong chess player, an eloquent speaker and also a fine chess coach. He was also the commentator at the World Junior Championship 2014 and a journalist for many eminent tournaments like the World Championship 2012 and the Sinquefield Cup 2017 and 2018. However, there is one video which made the world see a completely different side of him. Last January, we released a video of Saravanan entitled "Must read books to become a better chess player". It was a one-hour video where the Chennai IM spoke about some of his favourite books of chess. The video became very popular and had over 32,000 views on our YouTube Channel. Now Saravanan is back, this time with part II of his "Must read books to become a better chess player" and this will be premiered LIVE on 11th of December 2018 at 15:00 UTC.

9/21/2018 – One of the most important tasks at the board, during a game, is to evaluate candidate moves and calculate the correct sequence. GM Christian Bauer, a famous expert on the Scandinavian Defence, has a new book out from Thinkers Publishing, which uses his own games as examples. Many different middlegame topics and ideas are explained in this innovative book, notes reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO who looks at two fully annotated games.

7/19/2018 – 40 years ago this week, Karpov and Korchnoi started their fight for the world title in Baguio City on the Philippines. Yesterday we published a lengthy interview with Karpov, who won the match 6 : 5, but Korchnoi almost became world champion. A good occasion to take a look at Genna Sosonko's new book "Evil-Doer: Half a Century with Viktor Korchnoi", a fine memoir of one of the most interesting chess players of the 20th century. | Pictured: Korchnoi and Sosonko | Photo courtesy Elk and Ruby

6/21/2018 – International Master Robert Ris, well known for his Chessbase DVDs, has now published his first print book. In it he gives special attention to three essential elements of practical play, all key elements for every ambitious player seeking to improve. The first part of the book explores essential knowledge of rook endgames, offering a clear method to learn them. Then focus on tactical play and the way one should think, and how to cultivate one's own ability to sense the opportunity for a tactical strike. Ris also examines important aspects of positional play which will lead to a deeper understanding of the game. Reviewer DAVIDE NASTASIO looks at how Ris' teaching approach can help serious chess students master all the facets of the game.

12/4/2017 – A biography on the first Women's World Champion Vera Menchik offers the chance to know more about the chess world of nearly 100 years ago. Women in chess have a rich history, and this book paints a great historical portrait, showing us beautiful games played by Miss Menchik against top chess players of her day. Davide Nastasio has the review. | Photo: Menchik (centre) at a simul at the Bury and West Suffolk Chess Club in 1936 | suffolkchess.org.uk

9/15/2017 – Like to earn some extra rating points? Or progress one more round in the World Cup? Last Friday in Tbilisi the young Hungarian GM Richard rapport drew our admiration by flawlessly winning a difficult endgame against Chinese GM Wei Yi. We reported on that fateful game, and now thankfully a top international chess trainer provides systematic instruction on how to play the rook vs bishop ending. First installment from Efstratios Grivas: Modern Endgame Manual.

2/8/2017 – What's your favourite book of chess? This question is asked many a time, and every chess player has a book that is close to his heart. Usually it's a book that one has read in childhood and has ignited the love for the game. In case of IM Sagar Shah it was a book by Irving Chernev. In this article he speaks about what he loved about the book and also annotates his favourite game, which, to be frank, is some sort of a fairy tale!

9/24/2016 – Fide Master James (Jim) Eade has been a chess player, chess organizer, chess politician, and chess publisher. In 2016 he was honored by The University of Texas at Dallas as “Chess Educator of the Year.” Still, while certainly laudable, he is perhaps best known as an author, particularly for his best-selling Chess for Dummies, now in its fourth edition. His book has sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide, and has been translated even into Russian. Alexey Root interviewed the best-selling author.

11/15/2014 – Jesse Kraai, 42, has a PhD in philosophy and is also a strong, active chess player who got his GM title in 2007. Jesse took three years off of the game to write his first novel about a female chess enthusiast with Asperger Syndrome and her Russian émigré chess coach. The book has been greeted very enthusiastically by American GMs and IMs. Review by Glenn Mitchell.