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 book review: Defending Under Pressure

Dr. Steve Hrop, a psychologist, achieved a peak US Chess rating of 2192 in 1988. His book Defending Under Pressure: Managing Your Emotions at the Chessboard was published in 2021 by Mongoose Press. This article is a review of Hrop’s book. More 🡢

Like Cats and Dogs: A Chess Fight

Some chess games resemble fighting like cats and dogs, with each side’s chessmen engaging in attacks and counterattacks. This article presents one such chess game, played in the first leg of the FIDE Grand Prix 2022 Series. More 🡢

Chess Fundamentals on Forward Chess

José Raúl Capablanca was the World Chess Champion from 1921 to 1927. In 1921, his book Chess Fundamentals was published. It is now in the public domain, so you have many choices for where to read it. Your best reading experience is likely with Forward Chess. More 🡢

Ian Nepomniachtchi, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Magnus Carlsen

Chess, the number 1,000, and Carlsen’s social media

Although the chess board has 64 squares, the number 1,000 relates to two recent chess milestones. World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has made 1,000 tweets, including tweets about the FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships. His 1,000th tweet linked to a “brand new social media platform.” On New Year’s Day, the Mechanics’ Institute posted its 1,000th Chess Room Newsletter. More 🡢

FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships: A Christmas Miracle

The FIDE World Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships were originally scheduled for Kazakhstan. When that country’s government mandated a seven-day quarantine for many potential participants, FIDE found the championships a new home. More 🡢

Magnus Carlsen, FIDE World Chess Championship, Dubai, 2021. Photo by FIDE/Niki Riga

Carlsen wins 2021 World Chess Championship

The 2021 World Chess Championship match was scheduled for 14 games, meaning that the first player to reach 7.5 points became the champion. Within the match, each win was worth one point and each draw was worth a half-point. By scoring his fourth win in Game 11, Carlsen reached 7.5 points and remained the World Chess Champion. More 🡢

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 🡢