Chess has often been described as a mix of sport, art and science. This laconic definition long ago became an axiom for many generations of chess players. However, in the last 20 years or so, things changed dramatically. Yes, it is still sport; ju...
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...
I still remember my childhood evenings, watching Searching for Bobby Fischer over and over, the script becoming nearly a manual for my chess pursuits. Even in the mornings before venturing to my earliest scholastic tournaments, I found inspiration...
WIM Dorothy “Dolly” Teasley is a chess player with a unique place in the history of chess. She was a former champion for her home state Florida but entered a Fischer-esque disappearance before reemerging in the chess world during the 1...
Dylan Quercia is a multi-faceted creator, chess player, and coach who has helped students improve their game for over 20 years. Dylan—a.k.a. Coach Q— is also one of the driving forces behind the film King Chess, an award-winning docume...
A fan-favorite Chessable course creator, GM Erwin l’Ami has quite literally written the book on some of the most popular ways to start a game with the black pieces. Thousands of people have benefited from his work as one of the chess world...
When I was just starting in chess, our chess club's team went to participate in one of the national competitions. Here I need to mention that unlike the U.S. Nationals, open to anyone who knows how to move pieces, the Soviet Nationals were highly ...
At just 33 years old, GM Magnus Carlsen has conquered pretty much every peak in the world of chess. On his journey to achieving G.O.A.T. status, he has also made his mark in history setting some incredible records. Some of these records seem des...
Every chess player wants to play a brilliant move. But how do you know if a move is brilliant, and how can you find it in your own games? This article will tell you exactly what Game Review looks for in determining brilliant moves and offers some ...
Eighty-five years ago GM Mikhail Botvinnik won the premier tournament of the year, the Soviet Chess Championship, with a very impressive score 12.5/17 (+8−0=9). Later, in his book about the tournament, Botvinnik shared his methods of chess p...
For more than 50 years now, chess players have been statistically rated and ranked based on their record of wins, losses, and draws. These ratings give us a nice set of historical statistical data to use for various purposes. Sometimes, that purpo...
WGM Ticia Gara is a three-time Hungarian women's chess champion who has represented her country on an international level. Among the finest players in her nation, she has scored impressive draws against legendary grandmasters including GMs Nigel S...
In 2023, GM Magnus Carlsen became the first chess player to eclipse $10,000,000 in lifetime winnings just from major tournaments alone—never mind from sponsorships or royalties or helping to run a business. After winning more than $700,000 i...
Your favorite annual chess quiz tradition is back for the 2023 holidays . Play the puzzler by clicking here, scrolling down to the bottom of the page, or going here. Enjoy this year's quiz, and see if you can win one of our prizes for a top score!...
Who is good chess player? It sounds so simple, but this question from Neal Bruce, the founder of ChessPunks, generated a lot of discussion on Twitter recently. Lots of people offered their thoughts and conflicting opinions. At what USCF/FIDE r...
From wrestling with boa constrictors to battling wolves in deep, dark forests… Playing a chess grandmaster can feel like being hunted by an animal much deadlier than yourself. It's no wonder many of the world's best players have nic...
Chess drama this, chess drama that… If you’ve been on Twitter/X in the last couple of months, you’ve probably been inundated with discussions over whatever the latest scandal is that day. It can get tiring… maybe you&rsqu...
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...
Whether you're a fearless attacker or a calm defender, I promise there's a chess legend who shares similarities to your playing style. That is unless your playing style is memorizing 10 moves of theory and then blundering your queen. But I'm sure ...
Some chess games played by legendary players featured such impressive new concepts that they instantly became iconic. As time passed, these concepts turned into chess axioms. According to Wikipedia, "In classic philosophy, an axiom is a statement ...
I have no doubt that you've heard the saying, "Chess is 90% tactics" many times. It is so overused that it is impossible to trace who said it first. While in general I agree with this statement, I would still slightly modify it. So, channeling my ...
All chess players can remember the games that had ultimate importance for them. The level of the competition is irrelevant: it can be your local chess club's championship, national tournaments, or even the FIDE World Championship. What mat...
September is here, much to the delight of Earth, Wind & Fire fans around the world. Find out what happened in August and what major events and activities you can watch (or even take part in) over the coming weeks. Here's what this mo...
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...
