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 that he was able to give "pawn and move" (the f7-pawn) handicap to some of the top European players and even knight odds (b1) to the third-ranked U.S. player and come out ahead, top engines can now give f7 offs to very strong grandmasters successfully, despite the vastly higher standard of play now."
Carlsen Wins 2016 Wijk aa Zee Super-Tournament
Caruana second at his Candidates warm-up, So fourth
by GM Ian Rogers
"A mixture of brilliance, luck and consistency took World Champion Magnus Carlsen to a record-equalling fifth title at Tata Steel..."
COVER STORY
Devoted:
Remembering Harold Dondis (1922-2016)
by Al Lawrence
"His final game took place an hour's drive and a half a century away from what was certainly one of the high points of Dondis' life, his 19-move defeat of Bobby Fischer in a Fitchburg simultaneous exhibition given by the future chess world champion."
April Fools' Day Problems
by GM Pal Benko
"In a helpmate, both sides cooperate in order to achieve the goal of mating Black. In a serial helpmate, only Black moves until the final move, when White finally moves and checkmates."
Black to move. Serial Helpmate in 9 moves.