Chess
Great sacrifices
Impelled by his engineer’s mindset, the former world champion Mikhail Botvinnik wrote a short essay to answer a simple question:…
Atmospheric pressures
‘Poor indoor air quality hampers cognitive performance significantly’, concluded a recent study in the IZA (Institute of Labour Economics). Of…
Plates in the sink
‘Chess is a constant struggle between my desire not to lose and my desire not to think.’ I’m fond of…
Visky business
‘Visky,’ said the man driving the taxi. ‘Risky?’ ‘Visky.’ ‘Ah… whisky! Or vodka.’ I grinned as I…
Double fianchetto
In my pantheon of heroes a particular place of honour is occupied by the hypermodern grandmaster Richard Réti, the first…
Adopt a hero
I am often asked which players I admire most and which grandmasters, writers and champions exerted the most influence on…
Benko’s endgame
The Hungarian/American grandmaster Pal Benko has died at the age of 91. Among his numerous distinguished achievements was his double qualification…
Ding an sich
Ding Liren, the Chinese grandmaster, has scored a career best in the Classical time limit section of the Grand Tour…
Peace conference
The classical section of the elite Grand Tour event in St Louis, which ended earlier this week, resembled a peace…
No garlands
At St Louis, world champion Magnus Carlsen met with unexpected setbacks in both the rapid and blitz sections. In both…
Zugger zugged
The German expression zugzwang means ‘compulsion to move’ and is most often seen in the endgame. Consider the following position…
Adams Avalanche
Mickey Adams won the British Championship, which finished last week in Torquay, for the seventh time. Leading scores (out of…
Game plan
What distinguishes the expert from the amateur in chess is partly tactical fluency, but also the ability to map out long-term…
Black Death
There are comparisons to be made between tennis and chess. Player X (aka White) serves. Player Y (Black) responds. The…
Tal story
Sixty years ago, the great Mikhail Tal won the Candidates tournament by a massive margin to qualify for a world…
Howard Staunton
Staunton was the most successful British player of all time, winning three matches against European masters in the 1840s which…
Tigran, Tigran, burning bright
This year Tigran Petrosian would have celebrated his 90th birthday. The Armenian grandmaster and world champion was noted for the…
King’s Indian
The King’s Indian Defence is one of Black’s most dynamic reactions to closed openings such as d4/c4 and Nf3. Black…
Fortune’s wheel
The elite tournament at Stavanger in Norway has resulted in yet another victory for the world champion Magnus Carlsen. The…
Morse and Lewis
The Isle of Lewis chess pieces are one of the proudest possessions of the British Museum and also the National Museum…
Spirited
An unusual tournament has taken place at the Lindores Abbey Whisky Distillery in Scotland, namely a double-round competition between four…
Holy Grail
Gawain Jones has fought his way to the no. 1 position on the UK ranking list by a series of recent…
Goring the gambit
One of the most irritating defences to meet when playing 1 d4 as White is the Benko Gambit (1 d4…
Ivory gates
This year’s Grand Chess Tour kicked off in the Ivory Coast with a significant innovation, the first ever tournament in…
Revolutionary
The French Defence appears to be somewhat cautious in nature but can in fact lead to disruptive middlegame clashes. It…
