One of the most shocking games in the history of the U.S. chess championship was played in 2015. Can you imagine one of the world's strongest players losing his game in just six moves playing White? This is exactly what happened! I was really pu...
Frank Marshall played quite a bit in 1915, but all his games were in the U.S. There were two reasons for this: First, World War I. Second: Marshall opened the Marshall Chess Club in New York! With new responsibilities and an inability to go to E...
In an old article, I expressed the opinion that some games played by really strong grandmasters shouldn't be studied by inexperienced players. Therefore I suggested to assign chess games ratings similar to movies. The article claimed that acc...
In part 3 we left Frank Marshall playing in one tournament or match after another. Nothing changed in 1912. The guy seemed to live for chess and he continued to compete all over Europe, Russia, and the U.S. Since he couldn’t fly to all those...
In the end of October 2000, I played a traditional chess tournament: Cap d'Agde. It was a memorable event for me. First, it is not every day you mingle with such legends as Anatoly Karpov. Also, the way we entered the stage was quite remarkable....
What do you do when you've failed to win the world chess championship and, more important, you've realized that the biggest title will never be yours? Well, you play chess of course! Yes, the top players dream of the world championship, but ...
Do you want to be a part of chess history? Well, we all can't win seven in a row at the Sinquefield Cup, like Fabiano Caruana. Or have the highest chess rating of all time, like Magnus Carlsen. But if you want to be a part of something truly h...
Chinese philosophy brought us the concept of "yin and yang." So too does their national treasure, the panda bear. Pandas look soft and cuddly, but as you may also know, they can also be "death-loving oxygen thieves." As for the Chengdu Pandas,...
The bald eagle is the official bird of the United States, and this weekend, the Eagles are flying home. By virtue of becoming the Eastern Divisional playoff champions, the Armenia Eagles are soaring to San Francisco for the PRO Chess League's semi...
They already span the Mississippi River, and now they're trying to have their championship success cross over into this season. Unlike some of the other teams that qualified for the PRO Chess League's semifinals and finals, many of the Saint Lou...
"Can't stop these radical dudes/The secret of the ooze made the chosen few/Emerge from the shadows to make their move/The good guys win and the bad guys lose!" Children of the 80s will immediately recognize the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' them...
With the upcoming semifinals and finals of the 2018 Professional Rapid Online (PRO) Chess League also marshaling in the era of chess as an esport, many exciting changes are afoot. One of them will be musical -- not usually something that play...
The tournament of the year is over and we have a deserved winner. The quality of Fabiano Caruana's games was higher than anyone else's in the Candidates' Tournament and he kept his cool throughout the whole competition. Now we all are waiting fo...
Reporting the death of Adolf Anderssen, on April 12, 1879, "The Saturday Magazine" wrote: Paul Morphy has a world-wide reputation, and he deserves to have it, because he simply mowed down every one he came ac...
Fortnite (particularly its Battle Royale mode) has become one of the most popular games in the world, exploding in gaming culture seemingly faster than any video game in recent memory. Even though I am definitely a beginner at chess, I am much m...
Don't worry, I haven't lost my mind when insist that you are stronger than Magnus Carlsen even if your rating is just 1400. Also, it is not a April Fool's Day joke. It is pure math and logic, so let me explain. If you forgot what transitivity ...
We left part one with Frank Marshall on top of the world due to his total domination of the Cambridge Springs 1904 tournament. The world wanted to know if he was really that good. Marshall, a fearless competitor, leaped into battle. 1905 Marsh...
Headed to the PRO Chess League's in-person semi-finals and finals in San Francisco April 7-8? You've probably read over the schedule of official events, but that may still leave you worried about how to tailgate before the event and where to host ...
Let’s talk about Frank Marshall. This man was U.S. Chess Champion from 1909 to 1936. He was a man who beat Emanuel Lasker once and Capablanca twice, a player who feared no one. He won many tournaments against world class competition. He was ...
The recent Chess960 unofficial world championship match between GMs Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura created quite a buzz. The early viewership numbers seem to prove that there's pent-up interest from chess fans to see a unique game that tr...
The 2018 PRO Chess League Playoffs start at 9:00 a.m. Pacific tomorrow with 16 extremely talented teams including eight super-grandmasters vying for a trip to the finals weekend in San Francisco. Here are some things to look for in each of these t...
PCL Finals FAQ WHEN? WHAT? WHERE? WHO? HOW? OTHER Q's? Member: Hey Chess.com, I just read your article and I want to see this myself!...
Yes, you've caught me! Whenever I see a checkmate, I cannot help but re-phrase the well-known joke of Steve Martin. You see, Wikipedia has a page about different mating patterns, and it turns out that the checkmates I knew since childhood all have...
What is the strongest chess country in the world? There are many ways to measure the strongest chess nations. By sheer volume, Russia dominates, with 2,559 titled players, including a remarkable 243 grandmasters. In fact, Russia has more grand...
A popular saying insists that there are no bad questions: there are only bad answers. Well, I have a confession to make. There is a sort of question that is really difficult to answer. It usually goes like this: A student rated around USCF 1200 co...