At the 2025 U.S. Senior Women’s Championship, three people told me that I lack fighting spirit. And that I have a peaceful nature. They are right. I like to offer draws, and I like to accept draw offers. Therefore, the best tournaments for me to play in would be those that prohibit offering draws. Then I would be forced to fight in my chess games, and my chess skills would likely improve. More 🡢
Grandmaster (GM) Titas Stremavicius (Lithuania) eliminated GM Wesley So (USA), one of the top 10 players in the world, from the FIDE World Cup 2025. In their first game, Stremavicius, an alumnus of The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), had drawn as Black. As White on November 5, 2025, he had a time advantage in a complicated endgame. With less than a minute and a half left on his clock, So resigned. Stremavicius moved on to round 3 of the World Cup. More 🡢
Driving to the second day of the Texas State Women’s Championship, I was in a car accident. I was fine; my car was damaged. I let the organizer know that I would be late. The director paused my clock, and my opponent patiently waited for me. I won that game, but lost my second game, which was the last round. In this article, I discuss the championship, car accidents, and chess. More 🡢
IM Danny Rensch’s memoir Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life is, as suggested by its title, dark. He suffered from hunger, parental abandonment, and lack of health care, with the last almost costing him his hearing. Playing chess as one of the top young masters in the United States gave him opportunities to travel and to see families living normal lives. More 🡢
The FIDE Grand Swiss 2025 has 116 players, and there are 56 players in the concurrent FIDE Women’s Grand Swiss. The top two finishers in both the Open and the Women’s will earn places in the 2026 Candidates and the 2026 Women’s Candidates, respectively. The two Grand Swisses are being contested in Samarkand, with the first round on September 4. More 🡢
The 2025 U.S. Open offered a variety of schedules and Mixed Doubles prizes. Last century, the U.S. Open was usually 12 rounds. This century, the event has generally been nine rounds. The 2025 U.S. Open was held in Wisconsin, a state famous for its cheese. More 🡢
You see, positional chess requires you to have a somewhat long-term plan that involves understanding what pawn structure you want, figuring out the potential weaknesses are in your opponent’s position, and what the right destination squares for your pieces are. Then you have to come up with a concrete implementation of the plan, with a sequence of moves that helps you achieve your goals. More 🡢
In Openings for Amateurs: Theory vs. Practice (Mongoose Press, 2024), Pete Tamburro’s annotations on one game included negative remarks about a Nebraskan’s chess moves. My state pride took offense! More 🡢
Learning the rules of chess can be accomplished in one day. There are six different chessmen. Master how each moves and captures, and use them to checkmate your opponents, to succeed in your chess games.
The best way to learn is by playing! Right here on SparkChess you can play against different computer personas (start with Cody if you never played before). The game will highlight all valid moves for a piece, so it's easy to understand and learn the rules. Then you can move to learning strategies and openings with SparkChess Premium, which features an Opening Explorer with over 100 opening variations, 30 interactive lessons and even an AI coach.
While learning chess online is efficient, since software corrects illegal moves, playing chess with others in person can be satisfying. You and a friend or family member could tackle chess together, perhaps reading the rules in a book. Playing on a three-dimensional chess set can be a fun break from our online lives. When in-person chess is not available, SparkChess has online multiplayer for playing with friends (and making new ones).
While learning chess rules takes one day, becoming good at chess takes longer. One proverb states, “Chess is a sea in which a gnat may drink and an elephant may bathe.” With intense efforts, chess greatness can be achieved.