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June 21, 2022 1 Comment

Poetry Corner

In Memoriam Brian Eley (1946–2022) British Chess Champion, Suspected paedophile So. Farewell Then, Brian Eley, Fugitive chess master, Touch and move suspect, Reported to the BCF for alleged misconduct in 1979. Fifty years ago You were the British Chess Champion In Brighton. Thirty years…

December 18, 2017 No Comments

Stocking Fillers

More non-essential reading inspired by Tony Miles’ infamous two-word book review. More #crapchessbooks here

February 27, 2016 1 Comment

Ex Acton ad Astra: The Golden Age of a Chancer

A candid portrait of England’s second GM

January 9, 2014 No Comments

Eye Told You So

‘John Witherow and Fraser Nelson, editors of the Times and Spectator respectively, are happy to employ a hack who regularly steals other writers’ work and passes it off as its own … This isn’t the first time the Penguin has been caught red-handed.’ Private Eye…

December 1, 2013 No Comments

Another One in the Eye

‘How many more daylight robberies can he get away with before the editors of the Times and Spectator call a halt to his criminal spree?’ Private Eye No.1354 29 November-12 Dec. 2013, p.8 Have you noticed that each time Raymond Keene appears in Private Eye these…

August 24, 2013 1 Comment

It’s Only Chess

Chess is barely visible in mainstream media. Chessplayers have only themselves to blame, argues Justin Horton I have a foreign name. Not foreign to me, of course, nor to most people reading. But it is foreign in the country where I live. Foreign in origin…

February 25, 2010 1 Comment

David Levy on the Brain Games Scandal, 2000-2003

How Could You Do This Raymond? An open letter to Raymond Keene 4 April 2000 Raymond Keene and a Matter of £50,000 – The Full Truth Emerges 8 August 2001 Is Fraud a Brain Game? 6 January 2002 A ‘Pump-and-Dump’ Fraud from Brain Games 21…

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 ….

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…

A History of Chess Theory

February 22, 2023· No Comments

Adrian Harvey Chess Theory From Stamma to Steinitz, 1735–1894 Frank Hoffmeister Foreword by Peter Heine Nielsen 492 pages | 83 illustrations | 407 diagrams | softback | $99.00 Jefferson: McFarland, 2022 This is a very substantial work that embraces all the major developments…

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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