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.

Alexey Root and Jeffery Xiong

Grandmasters compete at Coppell Chess Club

Grandmaster Jeffery Xiong is ranked 43rd in the world by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). On May 20, 2023, Xiong played two rounds in the Coppell Chess Club First Year Anniversary Grand Celebration. More 🡢

Xie Jun

Chess Champion from China

Ding Liren winning the FIDE World Championship 2023 reminds fans that China is a chess powerhouse. Perhaps the first time a Chinese player captured the world’s attention was October 29, 1991. That’s when Xie Jun (family name Xie) won the Women’s World Chess Championship. More 🡢

Ding Liren

FIDE World Championship 2023: Decisive Chess Games

he FIDE World Championship match between Ding Liren from China and Ian Nepomniachtchi from Russia is from April 7 to May 1 in Astana, Kazakhstan. While previous 21st century world championship matches featured many draws, the first half of the Ding Liren versus Ian Nepomniachtchi match had five decisive games and two draws. Decisive games include moves that are less than perfect. More 🡢

London Chess Conference

Free Chess Content, Spring 2023

The London Chess Conference was March 17-19. Videos of its sessions are available for free on YouTube. On April 10, the Mechanics’ Institute will hold a free Zoom session about the 2023 World Chess Championship match between Ding Liren from China and Ian Nepomniachtchi from Russia. More 🡢

Review of The Chess Bible by Vishnu Warrier

Thinkers Publishing’s The Chess Bible – Most Instructive Tips, Axioms, One-Liners & Mantras by Vishnu Warrier was published in 2022. Warrier is a tech consultant who loves chess. More 🡢

Albert W. Fox: A Chess Life On and Off the Board

Albert W. Fox: A Chess Life On and Off the Board

Chess historians adore Albert W. Fox: A Chess Life On and Off the Board and respect its author, John S. Hilbert. International Master John Donaldson describes Hilbert as “America’s premier chess historian.” Along with Donaldson, several chess historians provided blurbs for Hilbert’s Fox book. More 🡢

cute rabbit

A Chess Boom and a Viral Video

Chess is booming in the Oklahoma City (OKC) metropolitan area. Coffeeshops, bookstores, recreation and community centers, and universities host chess clubs every day of the week. ChessMates OKC posted a chess video that, in less than two months, has over 90,000 views. More 🡢

Hans Niemann

Interviewing Chess Grandmasters Hans Niemann and Vasyl Ivanchuk

At the FIDE World Team Championship 2022, in 43 one- or two-minute-long videos, I interviewed players, captains, organizers, and FIDE officials. Two of the most famous players I interviewed were Grandmasters Hans Moke Niemann and Vasyl Ivanchuk. The winning team was China,  followed by Uzbekistan, Spain, and India. More 🡢