12/25/2023 – "The Queens Gambit" has been one of the most successful series in recent years, and now chess has also made it onto the bestseller book lists. Thanks to author Ali Hazelwood and her book "Check & Mate", a modern romantic fairytale set in the world of chess.

11/10/2023 – Albin's Counter Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5) has been, and still is, a rare guest at top level tournaments, and is hardly ever seen in the practice of the world champions. The variation is considered theoretically dubious and as an overly aggressive attempt to gain counterplay in the rather solid Queen's Gambit. However, the opening has found its way into literature - in the novel "Gambit" by American crime writer Rex Stout.

10/12/2021 – Stefan Zweig's "The Royal Game" and Vladimir Nabokov's "Lushin's Defence" are the best-known novels about the destructive power chess can have. In "Chess Fever", a fine novel about youth, growing up, creativity and lots of chess, the English author Mark Ozanne describes the passion for the game in less sinister fashion, but much funnier and much closer to the mind of a chess player.

6/22/2021 – 170 years ago, on 21 June 1851, Adolf Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritzky played one of the most famous games of all time: the so-called "Immortal Game", in which Anderssen sacrificed a large part of his army to mate the enemy king. Since then this game has been included in countless anthologies, it continues to be a popular choice for live exhibition games, it has been quoted in films, and the decisive position has been printed on T-shirts. It also played a role in the novel "Writers & Lovers" by American author Lily King.

1/13/2021 – You do not need to know the rules of chess to understand the metaphors of the game. In one of his many letters to his confidante and platonic friend Milena Jesenská (1896-1944), Franz Kafka made an excursion into the realm of chess to bare his soul and heart. Sergio Negri had a closer look.

1/12/2021 – Dante Alighieri's work "The Divine Comedy" (written 1307-1321) is a classic of world literature and was the basis for today's Italian written language. Dante died in Ravenna in 1321 - this year marks the 700th anniversary of his death. Dante was a passionate chess player and owned a personal chess set. But what happened to it?, asks Adolivio Capece. | Picture: Fresco of Domenico di Michelino in Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence 1465