8/29/2023 – Readers may remember when the Hans Niemann controversy broke out that the world's richest man, Elon Musk, decided to dip into his vast fount of wisdom and offer his own explanation. But this was neither the first nor last time he would proffer opinions for the chess world, and has suggested ideas to revolutionize the millenary game.

1/22/2023 – Thanks to dedicated individuals who follow their own heart’s pursuits, ancient chess variants are still alive today. An overwhelming number of enthusiasts and associations throughout the world cultivate old variants and other board games. Among them is Greg Myers, founder of the ‘Tamerlane Chess Club’ in Jamestown, New York.

12/12/2020 – What is a good gift for a passionate chess player? ChessBase has a huge variety of nice digital presents, which make even more sense in these weird times, no doubt! But there might be something else as an option - something physical. Chessplus has been on the market since a couple of years, but this time it is easier than ever to get a hold of it. | Photos: from Chessplus

10/9/2020 – Modifying the existing rules for chess to make it more dynamic or decisive, needs years of experience and a large numbers of games if we are to assess the quality and appeal of any new variant. The company DeepMind has used their AI technology to evaluate nine variants proposed by former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik in a much shorter period of time. Here are their findings for "Torpedo Chess", where pawns can move two squares forward from anywhere.

9/30/2020 – Modifying the existing rules for chess to make it more dynamic or decisive, is a non-trivial task: you need years of experience and large numbers of people playing new versions in order to assess the quality and appeal of any new variant. Former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik has proposed new variants, and DeepMind has used their AI technology to evaluate them in a much shorter period of time. Here are their findings for No-castling, Pawn one square and Stalemate=win chess.

9/23/2020 – An 8x8 board with black & white pieces is water under the bridge. We take a step further and play on a 16x16 board with twelve different colours now - thanks to the beautiful "Sovereign Chess" by Mark Bates. Pretty much all the normal chess rules apply, which makes this game even easier to understand for chess lovers. But the most interesting difference is that you can take control of other colours by conquering the same coloured square! | Photos: Mark Bates

7/31/2020 – Just last week a new chess game launched on the Steam client — 5D chess. The term 3D stands for third dimension, while 4D includes “time” plus the three spatial dimensions. 5D chess boldly claims to go even beyond that as it mixes chess, as we know it, with a multiverse time-travel function. And this is where my mind starts to go a bit crazy! | Photos: 5D Chess press kit

5/7/2020 – Pippin Barr and Jonathan Lessard are the makers of the unique chess variant "Chogue". It combines the normal chess game with a rogue-like theme. After you have played your first move with the white pieces, the black king escapes into a deep dungeon, where you have to follow and check-mate him. We had a chance to interview the makers about their game idea, intention and future projects.

4/14/2020 – Classical chess is fine and fun. However, variety might add some spice to your chess life. Which is why Dagne Ciuksyte enjoys chess variants. They are fun, they are surprinsingly instructive and they help your classical chess. Here are some chess variants you might want to try.