Book Review

1001 Deadly Chess Puzzles

Deadly Chess Puzzles: One from the 2024 Olympiad, 1001 from Rizzitano

The 2024 Olympiad included many chess games that might be turned into chess puzzles. Grandmaster Vasyl Ivanchuk’s win over Grandmaster Wesley So, which contributed to team Ukraine defeating team United States, is one example. More 🡢

The Sponsor book cover

Sex, Murder, and Chess: Fiction Predicts Truth?

According to news stories in the mainstream media, including NBC, ABC, Newsweek, and USA Today, Amina Abakarova allegedly smeared poison on chessmen that would be touched by her rival, Umayganat Osmanova. Security cameras captured the August 2 incident, which occurred about 20 minutes before a round of the Russian Republic of Dagestan Chess Championship. That same month, New in Chess published The Sponsor: Murder at the North Sea Chess Tournament. More 🡢

Maurice Ashley

The Saint Louis Chess Conference: Grandmaster Maurice Ashley

The Saint Louis Chess Conference will be October 24–26. If you are interested in presenting, the proposal submission deadline is April 5. Early bird pricing ends on April 30. Keynote speakers are Grandmasters Maurice Ashley and Judit Polgár and former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov. More 🡢

Accusations by World Chess Champions Bobby Fischer and Vladimir Kramnik

Fischer was convinced that some chess players were prearranging games. For example, the ninth game of the 1984/1985 Karpov versus Kasparov World Chess Championship match included a knight retreat in a knight and six pawns versus bishop and six pawns endgame. More 🡢

Secrets of Queen Endgames

Advanced Chess Instruction: Secrets of Queen Endgames

The focus of Secrets of Queen Endgames is just queens, kings, and pawns. Starting diagrams may also show rooks or minor pieces but those are traded off before analysis begins. More 🡢

David Smerdon: The Complete Chess Swindler

David Smerdon: The Complete Chess Swindler

The Complete Chess Swindler: How to Save Points from Lost Positions won the 2020 English Chess Federation Book of the Year Award. The book is by Grandmaster David Smerdon, who later created a Chessable course based on the book. More 🡢

Jennifer Shahade

Jennifer Shahade: Play Like a Champion

Two-time U.S. Women’s Champion Jennifer Shahade’s latest chess book is Play Like a Champion: Chess Tactics from the Greats. Its 700 chess positions have answers that range from checkmate in one move to checkmate in 13 moves. More 🡢

Grind like a grandmaster

Grind Like a Grandmaster: Magnus Carlsen

The Champions Chess Tour Finals (CCT Finals) was the closing event of the 2023 Champions Chess Tour, run by Chess.com. Eight players met in Toronto from December 9 to December 16. They played for a $500,000 prize fund. The pre-tournament favorite was former World Chess Champion GM Magnus Carlsen. In the finals, Carlsen defeated GM Wesley So to win the 2023 Champions Chess Tour. More 🡢