Insights, strategies, and stories from the world of chess. Learn from masters and improve your game.
Chess NewsFour hundred teams, nearly two thousand players, and a genuine changing of the guard at the top of world chess. Here's a full breakdown of the Open and Women's team line-ups at the 46th Chess Olympiad, straight from FIDE's official team announcement, and what each of them means heading into Samarkand.
Chess NewsNearly 400 teams, nearly 2,000 players, and one Central Asian city about to become the center of the chess world for twelve straight days. Here's a complete guide to the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, the storylines, the teams, and why this edition might be the most unpredictable in years.
Chess NewsFor twenty-seven moves, Magnus Carlsen did almost everything right. Then came one move that looked perfectly natural, and within twelve moves, his World...
Chess ImprovementMost beginners lose chess games long before the fun tactical stuff even starts, simply because nobody ever taught them the basic strategic principles that decide who ends up in control of the board. This guide covers every core chess strategy a beginner actually needs, explained simply enough to use in your very next game.
Chess & EducationA machine has been better than the best human at chess for almost thirty years now, and chess has never been more popular than it is today. That contradiction is the whole story. Here's an honest look at what AI has actually changed about chess, and whether learning it still makes sense for you or your kids.
Chess OpeningsMost beginners lose games in the first ten moves without ever realizing it. This complete guide to the best chess openings for beginners explains the Italian Game, Ruy Lopez, London System, Queen's Gambit, Sicilian Defense, Caro-Kann, French Defense, and more. Every opening is broken down move by move with interactive boards, so you understand the plan behind every move, not just the move itself.
Sports & ChessChess has been played the same way for centuries. Then someone decided to put six boards, six players, and two genders on the same team, add a shot clock, and call it a league. This is the story of how the Global Chess League turned one of the oldest games in the world into one of its newest sporting products.
AI & TechnologyElon Musk’s recent chess debate raises a deeper question about AI: is being extremely good at a problem the same as actually solving it? Here’s what chess reveals about complexity, computation and machine intelligence.
Chess ImprovementMost games below master level aren't decided by deep strategy. They're decided by tactics, someone spotting a pattern the other player missed. Here are the ten tactical patterns that show up in almost every beginner game, explained with the ideas behind them so you actually start seeing them yourself.
