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July 19, 2015 No Comments

Volatile Egos

‘For decades the world championships had been run by FIDE, the International Chess Federation; but increasingly there were collisions between this entrenched bureaucracy and volatile egos with high financial expectations. Relations between FIDE and the top players deteriorated sharply under the Presidency of Florencio…

May 23, 2015 No Comments

Beauty and Power

‘the best chess contains a striving not just for victory but for something beyond: for an ideal harmonious state that produces a perfect mixture of creativity, beauty and power.’ Julian Barnes, ‘TDF: The World Chess Championship’ The New Yorker (December 1993) reproduced in Letters…

May 9, 2015 No Comments

Bad Men

‘Garry Kasparov may loathe him, but the grandmaster in him surely has to recognise that Putin operates more like a chess player than most of his fellow world leaders. He has a long-term objective – to rebuild Russian power. His core strategy is the…

May 4, 2015 No Comments

The British General Election: Guide to Constituency Candidates – Part 2

GIGGLESWICK Arkell, K.C. Avni, A. Fry, S. Hartston, W.R. Lane, G.W. Miles, A.J. Seirawan, Y. Tartakower, S. GORING Giddins, S. Horton, E.J. Hurst, S. Urcan, O.G. Winter, E.G. GREAT HAM Ashley, M. HOPE END Kasparov, G.K. Leong, I. Mooi, C.J….

May 2, 2015 No Comments

The British General Election: Guide to Constituency Candidates – Part 1

BARKING Dadd, R. Fischer, R.J. Mecking, H. Vaughan, S. Weinstein, R.A. BARNET Abrahamyan, T. Reinderman, D. BERKS Giri, A. Nakamura, H. Short, ‘Dr’ N.D. BICKERING Forum, E.C.F. BLANDFORD Geuzendam, D.J.t. Marsh, S….

April 29, 2015 2 Comments

Confessions of a Crooked Chess Master – Part 2

Michael Basman International Intrigue It was Hastings 1967-8 at the annual congress run by Frank Rhoden. I had not been doing particularly well after having bullied Frank into giving me a place in the tournament. ‘I’ve got to invite Keene, Hartston and Penrose,…

April 25, 2015 1 Comment

Confessions of a Crooked Chess Master – Part 1

Michael Basman The Slippery Slope My first step along the road to perdition came in the London Under-14 Boys Championship in 1959 (in those days girls didn’t or couldn’t play chess). It was round 5 and I was playing J.N. Eyres of Colfe’s School…

April 20, 2015 No Comments

Luck

‘Surely in chess there is just you, your opponent, the pieces, and – in Kasparovian terms – an examination of the truth of the position. I put the matter to Colin Crouch, a bearded and amiable International Master who holds one of the strangest…

April 11, 2015 No Comments

Arrogance

‘Self-admiration is as a tape-worm of the brain. It particularly infests Chess-players and is rarely eradicated.’ William Norwood Potter British Chess Magazine (July 1883), p.244 ‘I was at a very high peak and felt invincible. Not only did this make me complacent, but it…

March 29, 2015 No Comments

Kirsan in London

With thanks to Sarah Hurst and Justin Horton. See FIDE’s website for more details.

No Regrets: Boris Spassky at 60

November 27, 2007· 9 Comments

Lev Khariton The attractive countryside of Meudon is a 15-minute train ride from Paris. Here I came to interview Boris Spassky just three days before his 60th birthday. He reminiscences about his life, his chess career, his rivals and friends. Dear Grandmaster, I should…

Arimaa, Computers and the Future of Chess

February 6, 2015· 7 Comments

Andy Lewis A common Arimaa starting position Anyone for a variation on chess? Is chess played out? This concern has been voiced periodically over the history of the game, and the challenges has never been more profound: over-refinement of opening-theory; perfection of endgame technique;…

Sarah Hurst: 20 Questions

January 8, 2015· 7 Comments

Sarah Hurst was a regular contributor to CHESS magazine in the 1990s and also edited the British Chess Federation’s newsletter, ChessMoves. Her fine book Curse of Kirsan: Adventures in the Chess Underworld is now available on Kindle at a bargain price. Since 2002 she has been translating…

Buy all the back issues

March 4, 2020· 6 Comments

“a must-read for everyone who doesn’t take chess too seriously; it’s especially a must-read for everyone who does take chess seriously!” ChessVibes “. . . very, very entertaining . . . some of the back issues were classics and I have some of them at home ….

Boy George

April 9, 2024· No Comments

© Thomas family collection This is the earliest known photograph of George Thomas (later Sir George). It was taken in Southsea in September 1895 when George was 14 years old. A few weeks earlier he had been a spectator at the great Hastings tournament where…

The Mystery of the Chilled Chess Champ

September 11, 2023· No Comments

Ron Katz* The Carlsen/Niemann/Chess.com dust-up has recently been resolved, but not explained. This fictional explanation fills that gap… “According to this article,” Barb Silver said to her husband, Bernie, “Baby Boomers like us are responsible for inflation.” She was peering over the newspaper she held,…

It’s Really Him

April 23, 2023· No Comments

Nearly fifty years ago CHESS published this irate letter: CHESS (October 1973) It provoked a lively response: CHESS (November 1973) One reader sprang to Mr Lorley’s defence with knowing verve: CHESS (December 1973) Having made his point, Mr Lorley kept a dignified silence. No…

Steinitz the Great and Grumpy

April 10, 2023· No Comments

Adrian Harvey Steinitz in London A Chess Biography with 623 Games Tim Harding 421 pages | 84 photos | hardback | $75.00 Jefferson: McFarland, 2020 For three reasons this reviewer regards Steinitz as the greatest chess player of all time. In the first…

Reyk

November 30, 2023

H, has anyone tried this? I'm a bit irritated to land on a paypal site directly without having a chance…
→ Commenting on: Buy all the back issues

S.B. Cohen

July 19, 2023

An incredibly long article about nothing.
→ Commenting on: Chess and Sex – The Survey

Blair

April 13, 2023

Then you simply don't know Mike Basman RIP
→ Commenting on: Confessions of a Crooked Chess Master – Part 2

Moyra Ashford

November 17, 2022

Dear David, What an interesting read and I agree with everything you say about Biggs. I was a journalist in…
→ Commenting on: The Chess Player and the Train Robber

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