The Oxford Companion to Chess, 1984. Hooper, Wyld eds. The idea of classifying players by the handicap offered them by master class players was first recorded by Pietro Carrera in 1617 (Il Gioco degli Scacchi). Since there was no possibili...
Not many people know this, but a few centuries ago, chess had a piece so strong that it had to be replaced by a weaker one—the queen. It's hard to believe, but the age-old game of chess wasn't always like the one we know and love today. Th...
Last week my student told me that his internet opponent played a weird opening. I wasn't surprised a bit since any opening that doesn't allow the Scholar's Mate is labeled as "weird" by this little kid. Yet, I was intrigued when he mentioned that ...
The grandmaster title is the highest title awarded in chess. Chess titles are awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). As of the September 2020 FIDE rating list, there are 1721 grandmasters in the world. One question that often comes ...
The Speed Chess Championship Invitational is a 16-player knockout tournament from which the winner will qualify for the 2020 Speed Chess Championship Main Event. It will be held Sunday, October 25, 2020 and has a $8,000 prize fund. How to...
The news that the player formerly known as Igors Rausis returned to the chess arena under a new name has shocked the chess world. Chess.com spoke to the former grandmaster, who now uses the name Isa Kasimi, in an attempt to understand more of the ...
Dear friends, today I'd like to talk about the Karpov vs. Korchnoi World Chess Championship match (Baguio, 1978) and to analyze one moment from the most controversial game of the match. As is well known, Viktor Korchnoi wrote the book "Anti-chess"...
Endgames are difficult to learn for most of players who have recently begun their chess journey. Indeed, the endgame has many sets of rules that contradict well-known opening and middle game axioms. For example, an outside passed pawn, which is us...
The chess media has used a lot of ink and pixels to lavish praise on the greatest chess players of all time. We've got articles for the best world champion ever, the five most dangerous players ever, the 10 best players of all time, the best che...
The 2020 Speed Chess Championship has been expanded with a brand new, multi-event qualification system and a significantly increased total prize fund of $250,000 (a $150,000 increase over the 2019 event). The main 16-player SCC Ma...
What's your chess puzzle rating? No, no, not puzzle rush! Today, we're talking crossword puzzles! Try your hand at this crossword puzzle, and show your mastery of chess trivia and crosswords! Chess Miscellanies by Don McKim Chess takes sha...
The number of chess moves made in the history of the royal game is incalculable. Data taken from the study of the 2015 MegaBase (a database that contains over 4.5 million games) indicates that the average number of moves per game is roughly 38. In...
There are many well-known world champions, challengers, candidates, world-class players, national champions, and grandmasters in chess circles. The best players our game has ever seen are constantly celebrated and for good reason! However, there a...
The PRO Chess League finals start on Friday, so it's high time to take a closer look at the four teams that will be fighting for the title. Today, in our final preview: the Saint Louis Arch Bishops. The PRO Chess League finals will take pla...
Even people who are not interested in baseball remember Yogi Berra as the author of so called "Yogi-isms." Indeed, his catchy phrases which mix humor and wisdom will make you smile and think. Pretty frequently they contradict to themselves. Who ca...
The PRO Chess League finals start on Friday, so it's high time to take a closer look at the four teams that will be fighting for the title. Today: the China Pandas. The PRO Chess League finals will take place on September 25-27 on Chess.com...
The PRO Chess League finals are six days away, so it's high time to take a closer look at the four teams that will be fighting for the title. Today: the Armenia Eagles. The PRO Chess League finals will take place on September 25-27 on Chess.com/...
The PRO Chess League finals are a week away and so it's high time to take a closer look at the four teams that will be fighting for the title. Today: the Canada Chessbrahs. The PRO Chess League finals, the culmination of the fourth season of the...
What happens when you bring together a powerful pairing software and one of the world's leading online chess platforms? In this article, I (International Arbiter Tania Karali) discuss how you can use Swiss-Manager to create your own tournaments of...
Chess is a “theoretical” game, and books on chess theory are plentiful. It is also a very “practical” game because chess theory has to be worked out in practice—on the chess board! This splendid book builds on the suc...
With 15 days to go until the finals of the PRO Chess League, let's look back at some of the best moments of the 2020 season so far. Great chess, heart-breaking drama, and fun moments: the PCL had it all. Endgame Technique Gets The Croatia Bull...
The 2020 Chess.com Junior Speed Chess Championships sponsored by ChessKid was a 16-player knockout tournament among the top junior players in the world. In this second edition, there was a total prize fund of $25,000 on the line. Bracket ...
GM Alexander Kotov is one of the most underappreciated figures in chess history. Ask average club players what they know about Kotov and at best they will recall his most famous game versus GM Averbakh. Personally, I don't think that it was such...
Are you a champion of the black and white squares? No, not the chessboard—the crossword puzzle! In today's article, you can prove yourself a champion of both by completing the following crossword puzzle and demonstrating your knowledge of ...
