WIM Alexey Root, PhD

Alexey Root is a Woman International Master and the 1989 U.S. Women's chess champion. Her peak US Chess rating was 2260. She has a PhD in education from UCLA. You can find her books on chess on Amazon.com.

Walder,Michael vs Melville,Cailen J

Heart in San Francisco

The song “I left my heart in San Francisco” fits the Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club. Chess players who have visited the Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club once yearn to return to it; those lucky enough to live in San Francisco visit it often. In this article, I reminisce about my first visit to San Francisco and then share an exciting game from the third round of the Max Wilkerson Memorial Tuesday Night Marathon. More 🡢
Simultaneous Chess Exhibition

Simultaneous Chess Exhibition

On January 11, 2020, I gave my annual simultaneous chess exhibition at the Flower Mound Public Library. 77 people attended in this fourth year of the event, with 32 lined up and waiting at the door for the 2 p.m. start of the exhibition. I began by playing against 10 players. As players finished, they were replaced with the next names on the waiting list. Two hours later, I had played 20 games, finishing with 18 wins, one draw, and one loss. More 🡢
Magnus Carlsen

Better than Others

Before his convincing display of Rapid chess against challenger Fabiano Caruana in the tie-breaks of the 2018 World Championship Match, Magnus Carlsen had won the World Rapid Championship two times (2014, 2015). On December 28, 2019, Carlsen won his third World Rapid Championship title. In this article, I will briefly discuss Carlsen being “better than the others” and then segue into what to do, according to one chess author, if you out-rate your opponent in a chess game. More 🡢
Nigel Short

From Chess Player to Chess Advocate

Having achieved notable chess-playing results, many prominent chess players switch from chess playing to advocating for chess. In this article, WIM Alexey Root shares her own journey from chess player to chess advocate. More 🡢
Emi Stefanov and Razvan Preotu

Svetozar Gligorić Transatlantic Cup: UT Dallas wins for second year in a row

Just this month, FIDE, the World Chess Federation, announced the creation of the Svetozar Gligorić Fair Play Trophy Award. According to the FIDE announcement, Svetozar Gligorić was known for respecting his opponents, famously stating that he played against the chess pieces, not the man. The Svetozar Gligorić Fair Play Trophy Award recognizes a chess player who exhibits fairness, respect, friendship, team spirit, equality, tolerance, and care. More 🡢
Judit Polgar

London Chess Conference

Participants from more than 50 countries are expected for the 2019 London Chess Conference, coming up November 30-December 1. There is still time to register. The day after the conference ends, the London Chess Classic begins. The London Chess Classic features some of the best chess players in the world, headlined by the current World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen. More 🡢
IM Jack Peters

Day of the Dead: Post-Mortems and Newspaper Chess Columns

Two traditions that were part of my formative years in chess now seem to be dying or dead. When I was an active tournament player (from around 1975 through 1996), post-mortems and newspaper chess columns were common. In this SparkChess article, published close to the Day of the Dead, I reminisce about post-mortems and my […] More 🡢
Leo Dobson red shirt William Root green shirt May 31 2008

Reimagining Chess

The closing of the Good Moves art exhibition at The Power Station, featured a presentation called “Chess Re-Imagined.” It introduces sonification, which means the data-dependent generation of sound. Wikipedia’s page on sonification gives the example of a Geiger counter, where the rate of clicking indicates how much radiation is nearby. More 🡢