Chess News

General chess-related articles and information about SparkChess development; this section is for everyone interested in chess.

Sherlock Holmes and Chess

There was a triple dose of Sherlock Holmes and chess at US Chess in December of 2020. On December 10, 2020, the 2017 U.S. Women’s Chess Champion Sabina Foisor appeared in the Girls Club to discuss Sherlock’s Method: The Working Tool for the Club Player, written with Grandmaster Elshan Moradiabadi. The December Ladies Knight podcast featured Maria Konnikova, author of Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes. On December 18, The Madwoman’s Book Club discussed Konnikova’s book, with Konnikova herself appearing in the first 10 minutes, and retrograde analysis. More 🡢

Online Chess: ChessTech and BotezLive

Up through November 30, you can get a free ticket to attend ChessTech2020, which happens December 5-6. From December 1, 2020 onwards, ChessTech2020 tickets will cost money. BotezLive is free to watch, 24/7, as the Twitch channel is either live or provides videos of past broadcasts. This article discusses how chess players around the world can connect via ChessTech2020 and BotezLive. More 🡢

COVID-19 survivor Irina Krush wins U.S. Women’s Championship

The U.S. Women’s Championship was held online October 21-24, 2020. Organized by the Saint Louis Chess Club, the time control for the 12-player round robin was Game in 25 with a 5-second increment. Grandmaster Irina Krush won the tournament with 8.5 points scored in 11 rounds. It was Krush’s eighth time to win the U.S. Women’s Championship. More 🡢

The Queen’s Gambit and Critical Thinking

I first read The Queen’s Gambit when I was a teenage chess expert, a lesser prodigy than the book’s main character, Beth Harmon. I noticed that what happened to Beth had happened to me too. Like Beth, I had been told that “Girls don’t play chess.” More 🡢

Air Hockey and Chess

Chess is like boxing without brain damage, combative, and a fierce battle. Top chess players used to assemble notebooks—and now create databases—about their opponents’ openings and strategies. More 🡢

GM Nigel and IM Sophie Milliet in a round of Chess Thai Boxing

Chess Prizes in 2020: Who leads?

Who do you think are the top two chess prize money winners so far in 2020? I guessed World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen and Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. I was wrong. Two women lead the list. Read this article to learn who leads, and for a winning chess move by a former World Chess Championship Challenger and current FIDE Vice President. More 🡢

In-person Chess Teaching in the Time of Pandemic

One casualty of the pandemic has been in-person chess classes. With schools closed, on-site chess programs are closed too and many instructors lost their jobs. More 🡢

Chess Respect

As reported by FIDE, former US Chess President Don Schultz died on April 19, 2020. Although I saw Schultz at several chess events, I spent the most time with him during the 1991 U.S. Women’s Chess Championship. The US Chess Federation had asked Schultz to organize the tournament when another bid for it fell through. More 🡢