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.

GM Alex Shabalov versus GM Jesse Kraai, 2024 U.S. Senior Championship

U.S. Senior and Junior Chess Championships: Qualify in July

Chess players 50 or older, and under age 21, will travel to Chicago in late July 2025 to earn spots in the 2026 U.S. Senior Championship, 2026 U.S. Senior Women’s Championship, and 2026 U.S. Junior Championship. Chess players between the ages of 21 and 50 will travel to Chicago too, as excellent prize money is offered for that age group! More 🡢

Cheese Life or Chess Life?

The U.S. Open, an annual tournament run by US Chess, returns to Middleton, Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s nickname is “America’s Dairyland” and state residents are sometimes referred to as “Cheeseheads.” More 🡢

Alexandra and Andrea Botez: Chess Content Creators

Alexandra and Andrea Botez are best known as chess players and chess content creators. Their YouTube channel, which has 1.81 million followers, is described as “two sisters who like chess and chaos.” Their BotezLive Twitch channel has 1.3 million followers. Its description is “Welcome to BotezLive, a chess show hosted by two sisters…. Both grew up playing chess competitively and represented Team Canada in many international events.” More 🡢

A Paul Morphy book and the 2025 Chess Journalists of America Awards

The Real Paul Morphy: His Life and Chess Games by FIDE Master Charles Hertan relies on past Morphy scholarship, especially David Lawson’s Paul Morphy: The Pride and Sorrow of Chess. Hertan promises three innovations in his book. First, Hertan takes a fresh look at Paul Morphy’s games, thanks to Fritz 18. The Elo rating of […] More 🡢

The Second Chess Grandmaster

When Maurice Ashley became a grandmaster, he was the first USA federation Black player to achieve that title. Brewington Hardaway, whose father is African American, is the second USA federation Black player to become a grandmaster. At SuperNationals VIII, Hardaway finished with 6 points out of seven games. That score placed Hardaway in a seven-way […] More 🡢

Grandmaster Susan Polgar at US Chess SuperNationals VIII (May 2025)

The SuperNationals VIII tournament run by US Chess has the Susan Polgar Foundation as one of its sponsors. It is an unexpected collaboration. Previously, Grandmaster (GM) Susan Polgar and her husband FIDE Master Paul Truong faced US Chess, then known as USCF, in court. More 🡢

President’s Cup Chess: Texas versus Missouri and YOU could be a winner!

From April 4–6, 2025, The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) will host chess teams from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), Webster University, and Saint Louis University on its campus. The occasion is the 2025 President’s Cup, the national championship of college chess. With two teams from Texas and two from Missouri, college chess bragging rights will go to one of those states. Predict the winner and YOU could be a winner too! More 🡢

Open and Women’s (and Men’s) in chess

The Varsity Chess Match is in London on March 8. International Women’s Day is observed each year on March 8, making this a good day to discuss gendered terminology. More 🡢