Chess
9...a5, the Bayonet, and a Capablanca headline that isn't in the file
The 6th Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners: A Record 140 Teams and the Data Gaps Nobody Has Verified
FRITZ 20: When the Chess Engine Switches Roles from Opponent to Coach
FRITZ 20: the chess engine that turns the training room into a data centre
Reading the Transfer Window Through Spatial Pieces: The Most Expensive Signing May Not Fill the Biggest Gap
9...a5, the Bayonet, and a Capablanca headline that isn't in the fileI open the file and read the bold headline: "A farewell triumph: Capablanca...
Elephant Gambit: When a 60-Minute Video Gets the Wrong LabelIn a small analysis room in Da Nang, I opened a 60-minute opening video. The...
Daniel King and the Najdorf Battle: When Opening Data Does Not LieIn the past 12 months, I have tracked 47 elite games using the Najdorf. The w...
Turlov Is Not the FIDE President: A Borrowed-Authority Headline and an Unmeasured Machine5:47 in the morning. A coffee shop on Pham Ngoc Thach Street in Thu Dau Mot,...
The Elephant Gambit: A Pawn Sacrificed on Move Two and the Price of SurpriseIn a small club on a street beside the Krishnarajapuram market in Bengaluru, ...
The 6th Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners: A Record 140 Teams and the Data Gaps Nobody Has VerifiedTwo lines of news. That was everything on my desk when I started dissecting t...
The 3.5-0.5 Scoreline and the Crack in India's Upper Boards at the 2026 Chess OlympiadSaturday night in Samarkand, as Round 10 of the 2026 Chess Olympiad closed, t...
FRITZ 20: When the Chess Engine Switches Roles from Opponent to CoachIn December 2026, in Singapore, Gukesh D walked into the final game of the...
FRITZ 20: the chess engine that turns the training room into a data centreDuring an evening training session in Chengdu, my student spent 19 minutes an...
Eight Players Atop Samarkand: When a Sports Headline Conceals a Product NoticeEight Players Atop Samarkand: When a Sports Headline Conceals a Product Notic...
Eight-Way Tie in Samarkand: The Real Game Is Off the BoardNight four in Samarkand, the open tournament scoreboard shows eight names in ...
Samarkand, 5.e5 and the Weapon of the Unknown: Jobava's Win Through Daniel King's LensIn a Power Play Chess video, Daniel King stops at an old Italian Game positio...
Gukesh reveals shock: 'It was my idea' to play Board 4 at the OlympiadSamarkand, a city on the ancient Silk Road, has become the stage for one of t...
The 9...a5 Move and the Trap of Opening Theory in the Engine AgeIn a small cafe along Tran Phu Street in Nha Trang, I watched a...
ChessBase Magazine #225 and Prague 2026: Lessons from 27 Miniature GamesOn an evening in March 2026, in a small apartment in Nha Trang, I reopened th...
VAR in V.League 1: A Whistle With No Loudspeaker, and a Stand Left OutMinute 71 at Hang Day Stadium, a March afternoon. The referee puts his hand t...
The Empty Board in Samarkand: Pakistan Forfeits Against Israel, and FIDE's SilenceI sat in front of the screen at two in the morning Delhi time, on the opening...
The Empty Board in Samarkand: Pakistan's Unplayed Move and FIDE's Legal Blind SpotOn a Wednesday afternoon in Samarkand, a chessboard was set up but no one sat...
The Empty Board in Samarkand: The Move That Was Never MadeThe game had no moves. Not a single pawn was pushed, not a single chess clock...
Reading the Transfer Window Through Spatial Pieces: The Most Expensive Signing May Not Fill the Biggest GapLate on transfer deadline night in Nha Trang, I open three things on my desk ...
Pakistan Refuses to Play in Samarkand: The Empty Board and FIDE's Precedent ProblemThe chess clock on board one was never pressed. Eight white pieces stayed...
Chess Olympiad: Gukesh on Board 4, Humpy Leads India's Women's Team — When Board Order Becomes a MoveIn a small conference room at the Indian Chess Federation in Chennai, a board...
Women's Chess: The 150-Elo Gap and a Generation's Unopened DoorIn April 2026, in Toronto, the Women's Candidates Tournament was held alongsi...
Gukesh on Board 4, Humpy Leading the Women's Team: India's Board-Order Gambit at the Chess OlympiadIn 2026, inside a chess hall in Hanoi, I stood watching organizers pin the...
Chess Olympiad 2026 in Samarkand: India Defends a Double Crown and the Fifth Chair Nobody Sits OnIn Samarkand this autumn, every chess team may register five players but only...
Stronger Than When They Won the Olympiad: Coach Misra's Claim and the Data TestBudapest, September 2026. On the third board of the Indian women's team, an...
Chess Olympiad 2026: The Torch Reaches Samarkand, Sindarov Receives It, and Three Claims That Need VerificationSamarkand, an autumn evening. The torch is lifted before the blue-tiled domes...
ChessBase August training releases: Petroff database updates, calculation and two positional-play coursesLate on September 13, 2026, in Chengdu, I opened ChessBase's August release...
Elephant Gambit: When a 60-Minute Video Gets the Wrong LabelIn a small analysis room in Da Nang, I opened a 60-minute opening video. The...
Daniel King and the Najdorf Battle: When Opening Data Does Not LieIn the past 12 months, I have tracked 47 elite games using the Najdorf. The w...
Turlov Is Not the FIDE President: A Borrowed-Authority Headline and an Unmeasured Machine5:47 in the morning. A coffee shop on Pham Ngoc Thach Street in Thu Dau Mot,...
The Elephant Gambit: A Pawn Sacrificed on Move Two and the Price of SurpriseIn a small club on a street beside the Krishnarajapuram market in Bengaluru, ...
The 6th Intercontinental Online Chess Championship for Prisoners: A Record 140 Teams and the Data Gaps Nobody Has VerifiedTwo lines of news. That was everything on my desk when I started dissecting t...
The 3.5-0.5 Scoreline and the Crack in India's Upper Boards at the 2026 Chess OlympiadSaturday night in Samarkand, as Round 10 of the 2026 Chess Olympiad closed, t...
FRITZ 20: When the Chess Engine Switches Roles from Opponent to CoachIn December 2026, in Singapore, Gukesh D walked into the final game of the...
FRITZ 20: the chess engine that turns the training room into a data centreDuring an evening training session in Chengdu, my student spent 19 minutes an...
Eight Players Atop Samarkand: When a Sports Headline Conceals a Product NoticeEight Players Atop Samarkand: When a Sports Headline Conceals a Product Notic...
Eight-Way Tie in Samarkand: The Real Game Is Off the BoardNight four in Samarkand, the open tournament scoreboard shows eight names in ...
Samarkand, 5.e5 and the Weapon of the Unknown: Jobava's Win Through Daniel King's LensIn a Power Play Chess video, Daniel King stops at an old Italian Game positio...
Gukesh reveals shock: 'It was my idea' to play Board 4 at the OlympiadSamarkand, a city on the ancient Silk Road, has become the stage for one of t...
The 9...a5 Move and the Trap of Opening Theory in the Engine AgeIn a small cafe along Tran Phu Street in Nha Trang, I watched a...
ChessBase Magazine #225 and Prague 2026: Lessons from 27 Miniature GamesOn an evening in March 2026, in a small apartment in Nha Trang, I reopened th...
VAR in V.League 1: A Whistle With No Loudspeaker, and a Stand Left OutMinute 71 at Hang Day Stadium, a March afternoon. The referee puts his hand t...
The Empty Board in Samarkand: Pakistan Forfeits Against Israel, and FIDE's SilenceI sat in front of the screen at two in the morning Delhi time, on the opening...
The Empty Board in Samarkand: Pakistan's Unplayed Move and FIDE's Legal Blind SpotOn a Wednesday afternoon in Samarkand, a chessboard was set up but no one sat...
The Empty Board in Samarkand: The Move That Was Never MadeThe game had no moves. Not a single pawn was pushed, not a single chess clock...
Reading the Transfer Window Through Spatial Pieces: The Most Expensive Signing May Not Fill the Biggest GapLate on transfer deadline night in Nha Trang, I open three things on my desk ...
Pakistan Refuses to Play in Samarkand: The Empty Board and FIDE's Precedent ProblemThe chess clock on board one was never pressed. Eight white pieces stayed...
Chess Olympiad: Gukesh on Board 4, Humpy Leads India's Women's Team — When Board Order Becomes a MoveIn a small conference room at the Indian Chess Federation in Chennai, a board...
Women's Chess: The 150-Elo Gap and a Generation's Unopened DoorIn April 2026, in Toronto, the Women's Candidates Tournament was held alongsi...
Gukesh on Board 4, Humpy Leading the Women's Team: India's Board-Order Gambit at the Chess OlympiadIn 2026, inside a chess hall in Hanoi, I stood watching organizers pin the...
Chess Olympiad 2026 in Samarkand: India Defends a Double Crown and the Fifth Chair Nobody Sits OnIn Samarkand this autumn, every chess team may register five players but only...
Stronger Than When They Won the Olympiad: Coach Misra's Claim and the Data TestBudapest, September 2026. On the third board of the Indian women's team, an...
Chess Olympiad 2026: The Torch Reaches Samarkand, Sindarov Receives It, and Three Claims That Need VerificationSamarkand, an autumn evening. The torch is lifted before the blue-tiled domes...
ChessBase August training releases: Petroff database updates, calculation and two positional-play coursesLate on September 13, 2026, in Chengdu, I opened ChessBase's August release...