Playwright Samuel Beckett’s interest in chess is well known, but what did he read about the game? There are several chess books among the 757 works in Beckett’s online library. ‘He also studied the chess columns regularly in Le Monde and spent hours playing chess…
Read More
Latest in Mikhail Tal
More Articles
‘But Kasparov is not a man to limit his goals or his spheres of action. Stocky and strong, with black hair already streaked with grey by the pressure of his life-style, Kasparov lives in perpetual whirlwind of activity. Naturally this is reflected in his speech,…
Read More
Jimmy Adams In The Treasury of Chess Lore, compiled by Fred Reinfeld, a long time ago I read an article ‘Recollections of Alekhine’ by Harry Golombek, which included the following sensational revelation: ‘. . . I was the editor of the book Alekhine wrote…
Read More
‘Chess in this form is definitely a sport more than anything else. The work done at home has something to do with science. I’m afraid to find art you have to go elsewhere. It becomes mostly about getting the right result in the end.’ Magnus…
Read More
Stuart Conquest The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal M. Tal Cadogan, 1997, 496 pp., £17.99 I recently had the good fortune to pass the night chez one of the strongest Swiss players of all time. Drooling over his amply stocked bookshelves I came across…
Read More
James Plaskett Complex games may demand intense scrutiny. Thirty-seven years after this one was played in the penultimate round of the world’s most prestigious Open, I offer my final verdict. Early in 2023, Shirov contacted me to say that analysis with Stockfish 15 had revealed…
Read More
It is hard to estimate how many newcomers to chess this book turned into lifelong devotees of the game; hundreds certainly, but probably thousands. ‘When I was a young player, I read The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev which made chess seem extremely…
Read More
Jimmy Adams, Baden Baden 1925 International Chess Tournament: The Arrival of Hypermodern Chess (Yorklyn: Caissa Editions, 1991) Alexander Alekhine, My Best Games 1924–37 (London: G. Bell and Sons, 1939) Frank Brady, Endgame: Thee Spectacular Rise and Fall of Bobby Fischer (London: Constable. 2011) David…
Read More
Why Life Does Not Imitate Chess Part 3: The Visionary Followers of Garry Kasparov on Facebook will have noted that he has taken to styling himself as a ‘politician’. What’s his track record? All chess players will know about his campaign for FIDE president…
Read More
Tim Krabbé was born on 13 April 1943 in Amsterdam. His main occupation is that of a novelist; his books have been translated into 18 languages and often been adapted for films. He is best known for Marte Jacobs (2007), The Rider (De Renner), his…
Read More
- 10 Seconds with 7
- About Us 1
- Archive 227
- Articles 99
- Back issues 48
- Cheating 28
- Creative chess 96
- Features 224
- FIDE 51
- Front Page 119
- Games 90
- Hack Attack 54
- History scrapbook 141
- Homepage 114
- Interviews 41
- Kirsan 43
- Letters 10
- Nosher 11
- Private Eye 4
- Quotes 131
- Reviews 92
- Shop 30
- The Penguin Files 38
- The Poisoned Pawn 6
- Uncategorized 10
Gary Kenworthy
→ Commenting on: Tim Krabbé: 20 Questions
Jon Manley
→ Commenting on: No Regrets: Boris Spassky at 60
IchessU
→ Commenting on: No Regrets: Boris Spassky at 60
S.B. Cohen
→ Commenting on: Chess and Sex – The Survey