Chess
Royal road
The mathematician Euclid once boldly informed King Ptolemy Soter I of Egypt that there was no royal road to geometry.…
Luke’s gospel
Perhaps the outstanding clash of the recently concluded British championship in Hull, supported by Capital Developments Waterloo Ltd, was the…
Royal shame
Nine-year-old Shreyas Royal, widely regarded as the UK’s best hope to become a future world chess champion, is being deported…
Rice gambit
The recent successful revival of the musical Chess, by Sir Tim Rice and the men of Abba, featured some genuine extracts…
Fiend from Hull
This year’s British Championship commences today in Hull. Among a powerful field, which includes Michael Adams and defending champion Gawain…
Mental sport
Sporting commentators frequently resort to chess metaphors to convey the flavour of a particular contest. In the case of football, chess tends…
Leningrad Lip
This description of Viktor Korchnoi was coined (an oblique reference to Muhammad Ali’s nickname of Louisville Lip) by Ian Ward…
We still have Paris
The second leg of this year’s Grand Tour was contested in Paris, almost immediately after Leuven. For Paris, Anish Giri…
The Caruana conundrum
Over the course of this year Fabiano Caruana has scored splendidly in tournaments with classical time limits, notching up first…
Altibox
Fabiano Caruana has won the elite Altibox tournament ahead of world champion Magnus Carlsen. This result might appear to give…
Viktor the Terrible
Viktor Korchnoi is the subject of a poignant new book from the distinguished pen of the Dutch grandmaster and former Soviet…
Title background
Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana will be contesting their World Championship match in London in November. As I mentioned last…
Sherpa
My Great Predecessors is an indispensable guide to the achievements, style and best games of the former world chess champions.…
Short shrift
On 10 May, Britain’s most famous grandmaster, Nigel Short, chose the pages of the Times to announce his surprise candidacy…
Musical chairs
Chess, the musical by Sir Tim Rice and the male half of ABBA, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, runs at…
Biblical
Matthew Sadler was the star of the evening on the night of the Royal Automobile Club annual dinner which I…
Grenke
The Grenke Chess Classic, played in Karlsruhe and Baden Baden, has been won by Fabiano Caruana, who also won the…
Viennese Waltz
The Vienna variation of the Queen’s Gambit is notable for a line in which the pieces conduct an elaborate dance…
Fischer redivivus
The Berlin qualifying tournament to determine the challenger to world champion Magnus Carlsen has ended in victory for the American…
Class club
The annual Hamilton-Russell competition for London Clubs has been won by the Royal Automobile Club, with the Marylebone Cricket Club…
Space travel
No, not the type of space travel allegedly enjoyed by the World Chess Federation president, Kirsan Ilumzinov, during his self-confessed…
Victor Ludorum
A match which has attracted less attention than it deserves was Luke McShane’s victory over David Howell in the final…
Kramnik’s Immortal
Every so often a game is played which is worthy of joining the immortals in the pantheon of chessboard masterpieces.…
First round nerves
The three most important events in the World Chess Federation calendar are the World Championship match, the Olympiad and the…
Berlin
This weekend the Candidates tournament commences in Berlin to decide the challenger who will face Magnus Carlsen for the world…
