Kupper – Leepin Basel, 1954 White to play Black has nothing to fear from 27 Qd8+ Kh7 28 Nf8+ Kh6 29 Qd4 Re2 when the position is equal. 27 Nf8! A brilliant move, and the only decisive one. 27…Bh7 27…Qxe5 fails…
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‘There is no need to play chess well at all. The dilettante who treats it almost completely as a game of chance doesn’t necessarily derive less pleasure from it than the grandmaster who strives for perfection.’ J.H. Donner NRC Handelsblad, 13 April 1981, reproduced in The King: Chess…
Read More‘Everything about our situation was a riddle. Why would Karpov and three of his colleagues jump on a plane and fly hundreds of miles to Kalmykia to open a criminal case against me just for revenge?’ Bill Browder, Red Notice: How I Became Putin’s No….
Read More‘Chess is, famously, an activity entirely unrelated to the rest of life: from this springs its fragile profundity.’ Julian Barnes, ‘TDF: The World Chess Championship’ The New Yorker (December 1993) reproduced in Letters from London 1990-1995 (Picador, 1995), p.249 ‘We could even make…
Read MoreTony Miles As it happens I am in a position to reveal exclusively to Kingpin readers (unless, of course, someone else actually offers to pay me) the true and tragic story of why the invincible Anatoly failed to dispose of that young upstart Kasparov. I…
Read MoreThis line as yet has no official name (except ‘Zaitsev line with 8 Bc4’); it is generally referred to as simply ‘The Hack Line’, or for reasons which are rather obscure, the The Nescafé® Frappé Attack or NFA for short. Graham Burgess, Attacking the Benko: The Nescafé® Frappé…
Read MoreAndy Lewis A common Arimaa starting position Anyone for a variation on chess? Is chess played out? This concern has been voiced periodically over the history of the game, and the challenges has never been more profound: over-refinement of opening-theory; perfection of endgame technique;…
Read More‘In other sports, the persecution of some players, coaches or officials by the press not rarely offers a sad spectacle. With chess, the main problem is that the game is too esoteric by nature to satisfy the interest of the public at large . ….
Read MorePhil Crocker I feel impeccably qualified to write this article because: a) I have never written a chess book, and b) I am not a particularly strong chess player. The would-be author should bear in mind the following points: (1) The most important parts…
Read MoreFurther non-essential reading offered by chess players inspired by Tony Miles’ infamous two-word book review. (Mark Thornton) Winning Database Dumps by Many English Grandmasters (Mig Greengard) How I Plan to Overthrow Kirsan in the Next FIDE Election by Nigel Short (Sarah Hurst) Tarts,…
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Gary Kenworthy
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