Kingpin Chess Magazine » Michael Franklin

Latest in Michael Franklin

April 29, 2015 No 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,…

No Regrets: Boris Spassky at 60

November 27, 2007· 7 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· 6 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…

CHESS

November 23, 2019· No Comments

by Raymondo I have been totally and utterly besieged, inundated, deluged, submerged, flooded, swamped, overwhelmed and snowed under by amazingly fascinating readers’ comments on the fascinatingly amazing game I presented as a tribute in The Times of 25 February, in which I paid homage to…

The Hypermodern Dessert

November 8, 2019· No Comments

Hapless Miguel

October 19, 2019· No Comments

‘Najdorf is harping on his constant “bad luck”. . . We are not sharing this impression. We think differently and to better explain the why and wherefore, we cite the insurance companies which have statistics for everything. When a person has an accident and everything…

Alekhine’s Kindness

October 6, 2019· No Comments

CORRESPONDENCE B.H. WOOD, Esq., CHESS. Dear Wood, There is one aspect of Dr. Alekhine’s character which may come as a surprise to chess players generally, for in that respect he has not been very widely advertised, that of kindness and readiness to help. In 1938…

Grunty

October 18, 2019

"impish smile" Just look at that face - isn't it that of a gnome? He had such magic inside, you…
→ Commenting on: A Draw Offer

Toby Spiders

September 7, 2019

Excellent article. This must have felt so good to win for white.
→ Commenting on: The Underdog

Beat Zueger

May 20, 2019

29 March 2019 First official invoice Dear Bachar A chess Pope career in Switzerland is not cheap. Can you send…
→ Commenting on: Vladimir Putin Doesn’t Play Chess

Nagesh Havanur

December 18, 2018

For all his apparent candour in this book Tal often hid his real self from the rest of the world.…
→ Commenting on: Misha’s Vodka

10 Seconds with 7
About Us 1
Archive 224
- April 11
- August 14
- December 5
- February 7
- January 10
- July 14
- June 9
- March 8
- May 12
- November 16
- October 7
- September 7
Articles 94
Back issues 49
Cheating 25
Creative chess 85
Features 197
FIDE 49
Front Page 97
Games 83
Hack Attack 51
History scrapbook 124
Homepage 102
Interviews 40
Kirsan 43
Letters 9
Nosher 10
Private Eye 4
Quotes 122
Reviews 80
Shop 29
The Penguin Files 38
- Books, journalism, plagiarism 23
- Brain Games 5
- Penguin profiles 10
The Poisoned Pawn 6
Uncategorized 4

“Chess, like gunfire, like love, has the power to keep men quiet.” The words of which novelist? t.co/eXQkQKE0H9 • 11 Hours via Hootsuite Inc.
RT @lordbonkers: BBC News - Spassky vs Fischer: How the chess battle became a theatre event t.co/9kwkZthq1T • 2 Days via Twitter for iPad
RT @KingpinEd: 'A chess player's career isn't plain sailing. I've had difficult periods, I've had occasional doubts, the idea of packing it… • 2 Days via Twitter Web App
Very glad to have spent a memorable evening with the great man in 2012. t.co/qXWOyto3nO • 2 Days via Twitter Web App
William Lombardy would have been 82 today. t.co/cXwstSILTF t.co/I3Ga7yVSp0 • 3 Days via Hootsuite Inc.

Follow @kingpined on twitter.