Looking for a Candidates Chess aftershow this weekend? We got you. On Saturday, March 21st, USChess Women will continue our partnership with Alexandra Botez with an even bigger and better event to celebrate all the female chessplayers hanging out ...
"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today."
-Robert McKee
Stories can entertain, inspire, and offer experiences to relate to.
Through the many mediums of storytelling available today (books, videos, spok...
Defending U.S. Champion, Fabiano Caruana, at the Opening Ceremony. Photo: Eric Rosen
The US Chess Championships began yesterday with an opening ceremony at the Boo Cat Club that also honored new inductees into the US Chess Hall of Fame, Edward L...
Check out the articles in our latest issue, including the cover story, featuring Jeffery Xiong's impressive World Junior victory!
Don't subscribe to the print version? US Chess members can access the digital edition of Chess Life Magazine.
Tabl...
Powerful US Teams Head to Olympiad in Baku
By IM John Donaldson, Team Captain
Fabiano Caruana at the U.S. Championships. Photo: Spectrum Studios
Two powerful American teams will soon be heading to Baku, Azerbaijan, for the 42nd Chess Olympiad ...
Organizer Janelle Losoff, Ruifeng Li, and Daniel Fridman. Photo: Tim Hanks
While the prestigious National Open is usually dominated by experienced grandmasters, this year 14-year-old International Master Ruifeng Li took home the Edmondson Cu...
Don't subscribe to the print issue? US Chess members can access the digital edition of Chess Life Magazine.
COVER STORY
Karjakin Set to Challenge Carlsen
by GM Alejandro Ramirez
Grandmaster Alejandro Ramirez recaps the highlights of the Candi...
Photo courtesy of World Chess
Just days after winning the right to challenger Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship, Sergey Karjakin has found himself in the middle of a controversy due to his last minute withdrawal from Norway Chess, a tourn...
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The Return of Handicap Chess
Everything old is new again
by GM Larry Kaufman
"Just as around 1860 Paul Morphy proved so dominant over his rivals...
GM Alejandro Ramirez offers a first-hand report on the Reykjavik Open.
Photo Lennart Ootes, Official website
The Reykjavik Open is one of the best tournaments in the World, no doubt about that. Held every year in the capital of Iceland, this op...
Photo courtesy of World Chess
THE Challenger
Sergey Karjakin
Final Score: 8.5 / 14Performance Rating: 2855
Karjakin was severely underestimated before the tournament began. It seemed that no one really imagined him winning the event—with the ex...
So far, the Candidates Tournament has been full of fight and excitement. Over the course of 11 rounds, there have been 8 lead changes.
As we enter the home-stretch, let’s take a look at the current front-runners to challenge Carlsen.
THE LEADER...
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Master Max:
The Latest Prodigy to Break the Record for Youngest US Chess Master
by Jamaal Abdul-Alim
"Out of all my students, Max has show the most ...
GM Gata Kamsky, Photo Alexandre Feyrin
Last month, Gata Kamsky became the only American in history to win the Cappelle la Grande Open, going undefeated the entire event and claiming clear first.
Test your tactical skills with these puzzles fr...
In honor of tonight's Oscars, let's take a look the best chess films of the year. The nominees are...
The King's Pawn
A short film featuring "a fictional take on the Man vs. Machine matches from the 90s, and it is rather unique among chess-the...
In a recent episode of the Steve Harvey talk show, Hillary Clinton and Steve Harvey play a game of "Two Lies and a Truth", attempting to guess which of these 3 women is the real U.S. Women's Champion, Grandmaster Irina Krush.
Can you g...
In Best of US Chess (formerly Best of Chess Life Online), we countdown the top ten uschess.org articles of 2015.
Here are the top 5!
1st Place: Shankland on His Rise from GM to Top Hundred:
Part I & Part 2
Sam Shankland at the St. Louis...
Josh Colas at 2015 North American Open in his game vs. Ruifeng Li. He would earn a GM norm with 6.5/9. Photo by Alan Losoff
Joshua Colas is a talented junior who recently earned his first GM Norm. In his article, Daaim Shadazz shares Josh's stor...
Photo Credit: Cathy Rogers
We all have certain tournaments where we consistently perform well: something about the environment puts us in a better mood, improves our focus, or gives us an ideal rhythm.
For Magnus, that tournament is Tata S...
In Best of US Chess (formerly Best of Chess Life Online), we countdown the top ten uschess.org articles of 2015, some of which you may have missed.
Here are the 6th-10th place winners. Stay tuned for the top 5, which will be posted in a couple d...
Preview: Captivating Matchups: The Halfway Point at Tata Steel
Wei Yi and Magnus Carlsen shake hands, Photo official website.
Tournament cross tables can be deceptive, giving the impression that each round is of equal importance. When you're im...
Although located nearly 5000 miles away in a small town in the Netherlands, the Tata Steel tournament has a valuable place in American chess.
In 2011, US #1 Hikaru Nakamura won clear first over World Champion Magnus Carlsen and former World Cha...
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COVER STORY
Millionaire Chess 2: High Stakesby FM Alisa Melekhina
"The U.S. number-1 overcame controversy and brutal competition to win the second edition o...
In the latest Porsche commercial, Carlsen joins boxing legend Muhammad Ali and tennis champion Maria Sharapova, in competitive matches... against themselves.
"Greatness comes from within, from pitting you against you... until the greatest versi...
It’s hard to imagine a player as strong as Magnus Carlsen in a slump. Yet, a portion of 2015 was very turbulent the World Champion:
At Norway Chess, after starting the event with a loss due to an unfortunate time control misunderstanding, he fi...