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.

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 🡢

Learning from the Texas Chess Association

In this article, I will focus on the official state affiliate for Texas, the Texas Chess Association (TCA). Maybe other state chess affiliates will learn from my impressions of TCA; or perhaps even chess organizations outside of the United States could benefit from my observations. More 🡢

All the Wrong Moves

A just-published chess memoir and a chess position from my recently-played game are both pleasing. All the Wrong Moves: A Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything is by Sasha Chapin, who attained a US Chess rating of 1417 (based on 22 games). The diagrammed position at the end of this article is from round 3 of my latest tournament, the 2019 Texas Women’s Chess Championship (August 17-18, 2019). More 🡢

Teaching Chess in Africa

For the second year in a row, National Master Evan Rabin of Premier Chess has taught chess in Africa. In this article, you will learn about his trip to Africa in the summer of 2019. And you will get information on how to join Rabin on his next trip to Africa, in the summer of 2020. Photos in this article are courtesy of Evan Rabin. More 🡢

Chess Historical Literacy

For chess historical literacy, becoming familiar with the World Chess Champions is essential. Their games and writings influenced both their contemporaries and those that came after them. Therefore, one should be able to name, in order, the World Chess Champions. More 🡢

International Chess Day

Saturday, July 20th, is International Chess Day. Share why you love chess or what chess means to you. International Chess Day 2019 is also the 95th anniversary of FIDE, the World Chess Federation. FIDE has an agreement with Nielsen to research the marketability of chess. If you complete the survey, you can enter into a drawing to win a two-hour online masterclass with former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. More 🡢

July Chess Championships in Saint Louis

The Saint Louis Chess Club is hosting three championships from July 10-21: The U.S. Senior Championship, the U.S. Junior Championship, and the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. The senior tournament is for players ages 50 and older. The junior tournaments are restricted to players under age 20 as of January 1, 2019. More 🡢