12/14/2024 – On Monday the 2024 Nobel Prizes were awarded in a Stockholm, Sweden. The prize for chemistry went to three scientists, one of whom has an illustrious background in chess. Demis Hassabis was a chess prodigy with a 2300 rating at the age of 13. He founded DeepMind, a subsidiary of Google, and went on to develop the groundbreaking artificial intelligence program AlphaZero. Frederic Friedel has known Demis since he was 17. | Photo European Biotechology/Nanaka Adachi

11/24/2024 – Just in time for the great event, a new chess puzzle game, inspired by the incredibly popular 'Wordle', is being released. It was developed by a young lad from Singapore, a problem expert, together with a member of the ChessBase family. Today we will show you how it works, on Monday, November 25, you will get a daily puzzle to solve.

11/13/2024 – Chess was invented in India, and brought to Europe in the 9th Century by the Arabs – who also introduced the first “mansuba” – middle or endgame puzzles with well-defined tasks, with stories and legends surrounding them. Today we give you three of the oldest mansuba to solve – in your head or against our live chess diagrams.

11/4/2024 – England’s record-breaking crop of chess talents scored another incredible milestone this week when nine-year-old north London schoolboy, Ethan Pang, became the youngest-ever to pass the 2300 rating mark in an official list and earn the FIDE Master (FM) title. At an event last month, Ethan beat no less than three grandmasters. They come younger every year!

10/31/2024 – ARTE Culture, the French-German film production and TV channel, recently made a full six-part dramatic re-enactment of the epic 1997 match between Garry Kasparov and the super-computer Deep Blue. At the same time they broadcast a 50-minute portrait that traces the extraordinary life and career of the global icon. The film contains many historically interviews by personalities from the time. It is well worth watching.

10/17/2024 – We told you about the six-part dramatic re-enactment of the epic 1997 match between Garry Kasparov and the super-computer Deep Blue. The movie, due for broadcast today, and can also be viewed in full on the ARTE web site or on Youtube. As someone who experienced practically every minute of the drama in real life, back in 1985-86, I could track all the discrepancies. But on the whole the movie was well told and enjoyable.

10/7/2024 – ARTE, the French-German film production and TV channel, has made a six-part dramatic re-enactment of the epic 1997 match between Garry Kasparov and the super-computer Deep Blue. The movie, due for broadcast on October 17, can already be viewed in full on the ARTE Internet web site. Mind you, it will take almost five hours to watch, but it is definitely worth the invested time.

9/23/2024 – Can you mate with two bishops? And how about with bishop and knight? Really, can you do it, if it comes up in a tournament game? Before that happens, it would be well to check. You can do it easily by playing it against our diagrams. And if you have trouble, let Gauri Shankar, chess trainer from Chicago, give you instructions. In addition try and solve our puzzle by finding the long-range strategic solution.

8/27/2024 – Take a look at this position. Looks simple enough – just five pieces on the board. But we are asked to find a clear and forced win for White. That requires some unusually subtle strategic moves. Try and solve it, and two other similarly clever problems, which you are sure to find pleasing. Full video explanations will follow in a week.

8/20/2024 – He has been writing his weekly chess column in The Guardian uninterrupted for, believe us, 69 years – breaking all records for this area of publication. Leonard's observations on the contemporary chess scene are well written and meticulously researched. Each column contains a game and, very enticingly, an instructive chess puzzle. Visit the Guardian chess page on Friday – you will never regret it. | Photo by Linda Nylind in 2016 for the Guardian

7/20/2024 – Today, on July 20, 2024, FIDE has scheduled a celebration in Paris to mark 100 years since it was officially formed in the French capital. FIDE is marking its centenary with many different programs aimed at existing and new chess fans around the globe – be they schoolchildren, refugees, people in prisons, charities, club players, or newcomers to the game! The highlights: an Olympic-style torch relay and a Guinness Book record attempt.

6/28/2024 – When FIDE created the inaugural list of grandmasters, in 1950, there were 27 of them. Today, there are more than 1,850. “There are too many grandmasters,” said GM Nigel Short, FIDE director for chess development. “To call me grandmaster adds nothing. They are two a penny.” Dylan Loeb McClain writes about the situation in this interesting New York Times article.

5/3/2024 – It's all over the news: Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder will be teaming up for a new cutthroat film, based on a book proposal by author Ben Mezrich (“The Social Network” and “Dumb Money”). A24, the independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, won the rights to the feature package, striking a seven-figure deal that left competitors' head-spinning. Subject of the film: take a deep breath and proceed to the main body of our article to find out.

4/23/2024 – A couple of weeks ago Leon Mendonca turned 18. After many spectacular successes — like a 9.0/9 score in a very strong GM Open a year ago and winning the Challegers group in Wijk aan Zee — Leon just won the Spring Chess Classic 2024 at the Saint Louis Chess Club – outright. The round robin event had ten grandmasters with an average rating of 2625. This remarkable young player has recorded a very interesting FritzTrainer for us. | Photos by Austin Fuller

4/15/2024 – In this New In Chess podcast episode, after the first half of the Candidates, Super-grandmaster Anish Giri gives his take. In an hour-long interview by Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam, he candidly shares his assessment of the players so far. Anish sees Ian Nepomniachtchi as one of the top favourites to win the Candidates and qualify for the World Championship match. But he also speaks at great length about the other players.

4/10/2024 – It was all so nicely planned: during the Candidates Tournament a total eclipse of the sun was scheduled to pass over the venue in Canada, and FIDE scheduled the tournament to have a free day exactly when this happened. And they arranged a yacht cruise for players and visitors to witness this rare occurrence. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens, clouds got in the way. Still, it was a lifetime experience for so many. | All images by Michal Walusza for FIDE

4/9/2024 – He was born on 3 June 2011 in Bursa, Turkey. On April 1st (no April Fool's joke) the twelve-year-old, playing in the very strong GRENKE Chess Open, Yagiz Kaan Erdpgmus scored 7.0/9 points with a 2646 performance. With that he had fulfilled his final GM norm and become the youngest grandmaster in the world – the fourth youngest in chess history. We will be watching this young boy carefully. | Photo Ugur Medya

3/11/2024 – Chess is a fun game – ask the countless millions who play it. But apart from the contest at the board, there are additional forms for you to enjoy, like chess puzzles and studies. Many of them defy the imagination. Today we start a new column, and have three deceptively simple – but enchanting – examples for you to solve. The sources and solutions will be provided in a week. Until then, have fun working things out all by yourself.