Chess News

General chess-related articles and information about SparkChess development; this section is for everyone interested in chess.

2021 World Chess Championship: Playing for Two Results

The expression “playing for two results” means that one player may win or draw. The third result, a loss, is not likely to happen to that player. In both Game 6 and Game 8, Carlsen was playing for two results. Carlsen won the endgame in Game 6 strategically and used a tactic to get a winning advantage in Game 8. More 🡢

Chess Christmas Gifts

What chess gifts do you want under your Christmas tree? Maybe a sweater that makes you look like the World Chess Champion? What about a subscription to a chess magazine or an upgraded chess app experience? More 🡢

Family Day Chess

Like many colleges and universities, The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) has a “Family Day” in the fall. Relatives come to campus to spend time with their college students and do fun activities. On October 16, 2021, the chess team was part of UT Dallas Family Day fun. More 🡢

Kateřina Němcová, photo by Lennart Ootes, Courtesy of the Saint Louis Chess Club

Gift Horse or Trojan Horse in Chess

If your chess opponent gives you a knight, check for teeth. The sacrificed knight may be a Trojan horse planning to bite you. More 🡢

Winning! At chess, with Nigel Short

Former World Chess Championship Challenger Nigel Short has written his first book, Winning. The English Chess Federation selected Winning as one of four books under consideration for its 2021 “Book of the Year.” Although Winning did not win, it got a special mention. Like Nigel Short the chess commentator, Nigel Short the chess writer is educational and entertaining. More 🡢

Tolstoy playing chess with the son of Vladimir Chertkov

Leo Tolstoy, Anish Giri, and Chess

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) named Anish Giri its “Person of the Day” for September 13, 2021. Giri had just won the Tolstoy Cup, a nine-round, all-play-all rapid chess event with a time control of 15 minutes plus a 10-second increment per move. Games won by Leo Tolstoy (in 1906) and by Anish Giri (in 2021) are explored. More 🡢

Chess and Weight Loss: In-Between Moves

Unlike checkers, where captures are compulsory, in chess one may delay a capture by playing an in-between move, also known as an intermezzo or a zwischenzug. When losing weight, there are likewise plateaus in between big changes. More 🡢

Bulmaga-Stefanova Round 3, photo by David Llada, FIDE

Women’s FIDE Grand Prix Series: Gibraltar

The Women’s FIDE Grand Prix Series concludes in Gibraltar. The last chess tournament in the series, a 12-player round robin, runs from May 22 to June 2, 2021. The two players who score the most cumulative points in the Grand Prix series qualify for the FIDE Women’s Candidates Tournament, which determines the next Challenger to the Women’s World Chess Champion. More 🡢