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.

Chess-Themed Book Deemed Inappropriate by Texas Politician

Mid-term elections are on November 3, 2026. In Texas, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is running for re-election. He doesn’t want taxpayer dollars, allocated to school libraries, to be spent on certain books. This article is about a chess-themed book that Patrick does not want in school libraries. More 🡢

The Sponsor Returns for More Chess and Mayhem

Fred Das and Jeroen Terlingen, authors of The Sponsor: Murder at the North Sea Chess Tournament, teamed up again for The Sponsor Part II: The Marostica Chess Festival Under Attack. The first Sponsor book was published in 2024 and the second was published in 2026. I hope for a third Sponsor book in 2028. More 🡢

Dala Horses and Chess Championships

In 2004 and 2005, the President’s Cup, aka the Final Four of College Chess, was held in Lindsborg, Kansas. Instead of trophies, the teams received Dala horses. More than 20 years later, participant GM Alexander Onischuk is the highest-rated player (aged 50 years and older), according to US Chess. More 🡢

Celebrity Deaths: ChessEver Memorial

Some deceased titled players, such as world champions, were chess celebrities and their games are still replayed today. Other titled players’ games may be overlooked, even if they were famous during their lifetimes. One example of a player who is less well-known today is WIM Lisa Lane, even though she was the first chess player on the cover of Sports Illustrated. More 🡢

Women in Open Olympiads and Juga’s Queen Trap

At the 45th Chess Olympiad, held in Hungary in 2024, 975 players participated in the open event and 909 in the women’s event. Not every woman played in the women’s event. The 46th Chess Olympiad will be in Uzbekistan, from September 15–27, 2026. How many women will play in its open event? More 🡢

Nita Patel, Alex Relyea, and Alexey Root (August 7, 2021, photo by Wendy Reed)

Support Blind and Visually Impaired Chess Players

Alex Relyea died on August 16, 2025, almost one year ago. He served for multiple years as chief tournament director for the U.S. Blind Open Championship. His wife Nita Patel arranged for donations to US Chess in his memory to support that annual championship. More 🡢

The Chess World of Ben Mezrich

Mezrich invented a world championship match and gave a well-known arbiter a new last name. His book is not an accurate portrayal of the chess world. But it is a rollicking read which is slated to become a Hollywood motion picture. More 🡢

Should Chess International Master Rose Atwell Attend College?

In an interview with National Master Ben Johnson on the Perpetual Chess Podcast, IM Rose Atwell said, “The way I think about college is like, what’s in it for me?” More 🡢