Alexey Root

Currently, Root serves as a Senior Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas. She has authored seven insightful books exploring the connection between chess and education.

Additionally, Root is the Research Awards Coordinator at Chessable and contributes articles to .

Lauren Goodkind

Win a chess book from Lauren Goodkind

Read an excerpt from a book-in-progress and then vote on a name for that book. The author of the book-in-progress, Lauren Goodkind, will pick one winner from the comments. That winner will receive a copy of her previous book 50 Poison Pieces: Solve 50 Puzzles Where the Unprotected Piece is Toxic. More 🡢
Magnus Carlsen vs Fabiano Caruana

World Chess Championship 2018: Magnus Carlsen vs Fabiano Caruana – Game 6

Magnus Carlsen avoided defeat after a dramatic 6-hour game. More 🡢
Elliott Neff teaching Boys & Girls Club children how to play chess- Fall 2016. Photo by Sarah Smoots

Chess coach Elliott Neff answers your questions

Thirty-two SparkChess readers had questions for chess coach Elliott Neff. Alexey Root chose the best ones and Elliott has the answers. All five readers received one-year Premium Live SparkChess memberships. Read on to find out which of the five also won a one-year Chess4Life Online Premium membership. More 🡢
Elliott and Phiona on the Red Carpet in Hollywood, CA, September 2016

Prizes for your questions for chess coach Elliott Neff

Want to win a one-year SparkChess Premium Live membership and a one-year Chess4Life Online Premium membership (valued at $99) at online.chess4life.com? In the comments to this article, ask National Master Elliott Neff a question. On May 25, SparkChess writer Alexey Root will select the five best questions from the comments. The commenters who asked the “five best” questions will each win a one-year Premium Live membership to SparkChess. More 🡢
National Master Elliott Neff

Learn a basic endgame checkmate from Elliott Neff

When facing a lone king, you should know how to checkmate if you have king, a knight, and bishop. Most videos only show the checkmate when the king is already on the edge of the board. But it is important to learn what to do when the defending king starts in the center. NM Elliott Neff shows how to drive the defender’s king from the center to the edge of the board and then follow it up with checkmate. More 🡢
John Bartholomew

The “ask a chess celebrity” winners are…

SparkChess readers had questions for chess IM John Bartholomew. We decided which questions were the best ones. All five readers received one-year Premium Live SparkChess memberships. Read on to find out which of the five also won a three-month PRO membership to Chessable and for John Bartholomew’s answers. More 🡢
John Bartholomew

Prizes for your questions for chess celebrity John Bartholomew

Want to win a three-month PRO membership to Chessable or a one-year SparkChess Premium Live membership? In the comments to this article, ask International Master John Bartholomew a question. On April 22, I will select the five best questions from the comments. Those “five best” will each win a one-year Premium Live membership to SparkChess. Then John will choose the very best question from my top five. The person who asked that “best question” will receive both a one-year Premium Live membership to SparkChess and a three-month PRO membership to Chessable. John will answer all five questions in my next article for Spark Chess. Read on to win (and to learn the Lucena position). More 🡢