What makes a photo "iconic" and not simply interesting or even outstanding? If you find that a difficult question to answer, you are not alone. The two leading dictionaries in the world can't exactly agree either. Merriam-Webster: iconic, ...
“Liar, liar, pants on fire!” The seams of world number one GM Magnus Carlsen’s cream khakis set ablaze. He and chess commentator GM David Howell are brought together to rekindle the flame of this fun lie detector series. Last t...
The games begin on Thursday, April 4, 2024, for the FIDE Candidates Tournament and FIDE Women's Candidates Tournament! They are being held simultaneously in Toronto, Canada. This article has all the information you need to watch, follow, a...
As eight of the world's very best grandmasters—GMs Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Alireza Firouzja, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Gukesh Dommaraju, Vidit Gujrathi, and Nijat Abasov—descend on Toronto, Canada for the...
NM Ben Johnson is the mastermind behind Perpetual Chess, one of the world's most-loved chess podcasts. He has spoken to grandmasters, world champions, adult improvers, content creators, and other luminaries of the chess world every week since star...
If you haven't heard of Guinness World Records, either you're a time traveler who departed sometime before the idea was developed in 1955, or you're even less aware of popular culture than I am. And I don't know which of those possibilities is mor...
"On the chessboard, lies and hypocrisy do not survive long" — Emanuel Lasker, 2nd World Chess G.O.A.T. IMs Danny Rensch and Levy Rozman come together for the interrogation of their lives! Tied to a polygraph, the two exchange questions abo...
On this day, 33 years ago, a champion was born. Between then and now, GM Magnus Carlsen grew into the greatest player of all time, and one of the most recognizable chess faces in the world. From chess magazines to football matches, Carlsen has bee...
Any experienced tournament player knows that playing for a win with the black pieces can be quite challenging, especially against a well-prepared opponent. Indeed, in most openings, White gets some initiative right from the start of the game due t...
In 2018, Perpetual Podcast host Ben Johnson interviewed CM Andrzej Krzywda, a Polish chess player in his late 30s who, after decades stuck at a FIDE rating in the 2100s, had a remarkable breakthrough. Over the course of a year, Krzywda gained 150 ...
Do you still remember when you were bitten by the chess bug? Followed by that feverish desire to improve in the game? Only to realize that you started “too late” to amount to anything? In this era of prodigies and 12-year-old grandma...
Chess Played Quick (CPQ) is Chess.com's series of events where top chess streamers complete bounties for prizes. Chess Played Quick-Duolingo Bot Battles happens on November 16 at 12 p.m. ET/18:00 CET/22:30 p.m. IST. Top streamers have two hours ...
The Judit Polgar Global Chess Festival 2023 (JPGCF) is a series of chess events and activities hosted by the legendary GM Judit Polgar. The festival runs across two days, October 14 and 15, with the first day happening live in Hungary and the seco...
Chess transcends boundaries that might otherwise divide us. As we celebrate Disability Awareness Month, it's worth highlighting how chess is not just a worldwide pastime but a powerful tool for inclusion. At its core, chess is a game of the mind. ...
The Collegiate Chess League (CCL) began in 2020 and allowed top college chess teams to compete while over-the-board chess was inactive during the pandemic. It has quickly become a premier event in the space, joining the much longer-standing Pan Am...
There have been many attempts to estimate ratings of chess players, both past and present, by looking at their game scores and comparing the moves with a top engine's choices, including one notable study here on Chess.com in 2017. These at...
When I was 11, my home city hosted the First League of the Soviet Championship. For chess players who weren't alive at that time, it is absolutely impossible to understand the importance of such an event for local players. These days you can wat...
Who is the best? It's a question we ask about almost every competitive endeavor, and chess is no exception. For many years, we here at Chess.com have bestowed the Chess.com Awards at the end of every year. But it's time to think with longer timesc...
The months of July and August both received their names from Roman emperors (Julius and Augustus) and we never really got around to changing them. There have been plenty of changes across Chess.com and the chess world over the last month, howeve...
June's Coach of the Month is GM Gregory Kaidanov. One of the most decorated Soviet-born American chess players, he has won many international tournaments including the World Open (1992), U.S. Open (1992), and Aeroflot Open (2002). More recently, h...
The month of May brings with it the Pro Chess League playoffs! An exciting regular season that began with 16 teams is down to eight playoff squads. It is now time to crown a champion, who will receive a $25,000 first-place prize. Of the original $...
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi is making his second attempt at winning the FIDE World Championship and is just three draws away from becoming champion. During last year's Sinquefield Cup, Nepomniachtchi sat down with Chess.com's GM Daniel "Danya" Narodit...
GM Ian Nepomniachtchi entered the 2023 FIDE World Championship as the number-two player in the world. You don't get to that position or win two Candidates Tournaments in two years (2021 and 2022) by only playing mundane moves. Sometimes you have t...
April may have been the cruelest month as far as T.S. Eliot was concerned, but in the chess world it's shaping up to be pretty great. Find out what happened in March and get some sneak previews and insights into April's highlights! Hint: we're goi...
If you use a social media platform to follow chess content, there’s a chance you’ve seen a name come up on your screen: thechessnerd. With deep dives into chess history, instructive short clips, and action-packed games, this 21-year-ol...
