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September 15, 2019 No Comments

‘This book is definitely for chess players who enjoy reading crime—by a chess player who really knows his underworld.’ Jim Phelan (1895–1966) led an eventful life, but what is known of his chess life?

June 9, 2019 No Comments

The Sultan of Swash: Part 3

In a recent Perpetual Chess Podcast the chess writer and translator Douglas Griffin pointed out how much fine chess literature is waiting to be translated into English; most of it is in Russian, as you might expect. Griffin has been mining Soviet chess archives for…

May 21, 2019 No Comments

Music

‘Music seems to me one of the few things (like chess) which really last through life, and gives one almost as much pleasure towards the end as in the early days.’ H.E. Atkins quoted in R.N. Coles, H.E. Atkins: Doyen of British Chess Champions (London:…

May 3, 2019 No Comments

For the Ladies

Second prize Bobby Fischer oven gloves See also Two Brains Women Prefer Bridge

April 27, 2019 No Comments

Samuel Beckett’s Chess Library

Playwright Samuel Beckett’s interest in chess is well known, but what did he read about the game? There are several chess books among the 757 works in Beckett’s online library. ‘He also studied the chess columns regularly in Le Monde and spent hours playing chess…

February 24, 2019 No Comments

The Executioner from Berlin

Hans Renette Kurt Richter A Chess Biography with 499 Games Alan McGowan 380 pages | 93 photos | hardback | $75.00 Jefferson: McFarland, 2018 A few months ago McFarland’s new-born chess book saw the light of day. After working for over four decades…

December 3, 2018 No Comments

‘Disgusted with the Chamber of Horrors’

Chess and Early Cold War Propaganda Chess, like many sports, has been used as a political instrument. Files recently released by the National Archives reveal how the Soviet Union exploited chess for propaganda during the early years of the Cold War (1953–1960). In December 1953,…

November 7, 2018 No Comments

Tiger v Anaconda

‘But Kasparov is not a man to limit his goals or his spheres of action. Stocky and strong, with black hair already streaked with grey by the pressure of his life-style, Kasparov lives in perpetual whirlwind of activity. Naturally this is reflected in his speech,…

September 7, 2018 No Comments

Searching for André Philidor

Interest in François-André Danican Philidor revived in 1926, the 200th anniversary of his birth. Celebrations were planned at his birthplace, Drieux in the Champagne region of France, and Biarritz. In England too chess players were keen to mark the occasion. Bust of Philidor (Cleveland Public Library…

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…

We Need to Talk about Garry, Part 3

November 16, 2015· 5 Comments

Why Life Does Not Imitate Chess Part 3: The Visionary Followers of Garry Kasparov on Facebook will have noted that he has taken to styling himself as a ‘politician’. What’s his track record? All chess players will know about his campaign for FIDE president…

Michael Basman’s Questionnaire

November 3, 2022· No Comments

What is your earliest memory of playing chess? I went up to Selfridges with my dad and we bought a wooden set for 10s. 6d. He taught us to play chess that evening. I remember him showing us the knight move. What is…

Basman at the British

October 29, 2022· No Comments

Michael Basman Editor’s note: What is striking about these games is how each highlights different aspects of Mike’s playing style. As you might expect, there is his calling card – the outlandish opening 1 e4 g5 (‘totally bonkers’ –Nigel Short), but next is an epic…

B is for Basman

October 27, 2022· No Comments

In 1968, the American magazine Chess Review introduced Michael Basman as ‘another bright B’ in the tradition of famous British chess players represented by Bird, Blackburne and Burn. That’s some billing for a 21-year-old. Basman would never be the brightest chess star in this firmament…

Dvorkovich Wins Second Term as FIDE President

August 7, 2022· No Comments

That victory speech in full: See also Dvorkovich re-elected FIDE president by landslide A New Dawn for Chess The Election of Arkady Dvorkovich The Perfect Combination We Are Family

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…
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Danny Nakamura

October 23, 2022

I have all your back issues. Sometimes I can even find them. But when is the next one coming out??…
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