Luke McShane is chess columnist for The Spectator.
Would you slice a book in two? I learned of this peculiar practice in January, and I can’t fault its brutal pragmatism. Undeniably, half of War and Peace is more portable than the whole thing, and perhaps even less intimidating. When you finish the first chunk, you just swap it for the second. Books want
I could list all manner of things I don’t try, because I know I won’t like them, like skydiving and revolting cocktails. But there’s another list of things I don’t try, knowing I might like them just a bit too much. ‘Puzzle Rush’ was, for some time, in the second category. Chess.com is one of
A puzzle used in the solving championship, composed by Vittorio de Barbieri in 1918. White must give mate in two moves, against any defence. It is tempting to use the long diagonal directly, but the solution is more subtle: look for a move without a direct threat. Answers (first move only) to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday
Coronavirus is causing chess events to fall like dominoes, with cancellations all over the world. But the Candidates tournament in Yekaterinburg, which selects a challenger for the World Championship, is still standing. The first round took place on Tuesday 17 March. It goes ahead without Teimour Radjabov, from Azerbaijan, whose request to postpone the event
White to play. Shirov–Yuffa, Nutcracker Battle of the Generations, Moscow 2020. The rook on f7 is pinned, and 1 Rxf8+ Qxf8+ costs White the rook on h3. How did Shirov turn the tables? Answers should be emailed to chess@spectator.co.uk by Tuesday 24 March. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out
In the 1800s, several chess matches were conducted by telegraph. Modern technology ought to make long-distance matches easier than ever, but in fact competitive international chess is almost always played in person these days. That is partly because it is impossible to police computer-assisted cheating if the players play at home. But equally, the practical
Black to play. Tomashevsky–Lomasov, Nutcracker Battle of the Generations, Moscow 2020. A position with a surprising twist. Tomashevsky has just captured a bishop on b7. What is Black’s best response? Answers to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 17 March or via email to victoria@-spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct
The German word for pawn, ‘bauer’, can also be translated as peasant, or farmer. There are many spectacular games in which the pawns pick up their pitchforks and overrun the landed gentry. A historic example, played in 1834, is the game McDonnell–de La Bourdonnais, in which the Frenchman playing Black advanced his pawns to d2,
Black to play. Puranik–Sjugirov, another spectacular game played at the Aeroflot Open. Puranik was perhaps counting on 1…Rc1 2 Qa3 Bd2 3 Qb2! threatening mate on g7. Sjugirov found a much more powerful move. What was it? Answers to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 10 March or via email to victoria@-spectator.co.uk. There is a
The science-fiction writer Douglas Adams ridiculed our primitive species for considering digital watches to be ‘a pretty neat idea’. Digital chess clocks really are pretty neat, because they enable modern competitive games to be played with an ‘increment’. For each move played, you earn extra seconds to make the next one, a simple innovation which
White to play, a variation from McShane–-Kamsky. In the game above, I was hoping to see 31…Qa5, as I had spotted an opportunity to turn the tables completely. What is White’s next move? Answers should be sent to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 3 March or via email to victoria@spectator.-co.uk. There is a prize
Three consecutive losses in a tournament is dryly termed ‘castling queenside’, in reference to the chess notation for that move (0-0-0). Carissa Yip went one worse, starting with four demoralising zeros at the Cairns Cup in St Louis this month. The 16-year-old American was the lowest ranked player in the elite women’s all-play-all tournament, so
Black to play, Kateryna Lagno–Ju Wenjun, February 2020. Material is approximately balanced, but White’s king is in serious danger. What was Ju’s next move, which prompted immediate resignation? Answers should be sent to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 25 February 2020 or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the
The Dutch artist Theo Jansen has a unique speciality. His ‘Strandbeest’ (beach animals) are kinetic sculptures, which he likes to set free upon a windswept beach. Fashioned from plastic tubes, bottles and the like, these imposing skeletons appear to ‘walk’ along the seafront with a gait at once laboured and graceful: a compelling synthesis of
White to play, Dubov–Artemiev, Wijk aan Zee 2020. White is pressing here, but Black seems to have everything covered. Which subtle move allowed Dubov to force a quick resignation? Answers to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 18 February or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer
We had never met, but David Paravyan, from Russia, has been something of a personal idol since August 2018. My veneration was exclusively based on one game whose dazzling ingenuity was, to my eyes, awesome. Last week he took first place (and a £30,000 prize) at the Gibraltar Masters, one of the most prestigious open
Black to move, Paravyan vs McShane, Isle of Man 2019. Here I intended 49…Bxd1. What had Paravyan planned after that move? Answers should be sent to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 11 February or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please
Black to move. Javakhishvili–Adams, Gibraltar 2020. Adams has a few plausible moves here, including Rf1, Rf3+ and Rxf7, but only one of them wins. Which is the right one? Answers should be sent to ‘Chess’ at The Spectator by Tuesday 4 February or via email to victoria@spectator.co.uk. There is a prize of £20 for the
Looking at the first 12 games of the 2018 Carlsen-Caruana World Championship, which all ended in draws, I saw a statistical blip where others saw an ossified match format and the death of classical chess. But nobody could decry the drama at this year’s Women’s World Championship, in which reigning champion Ju Wenjun from China saw off a
Cars, computers and cadavers: taking them apart is normally reserved for experts and the pathologically curious. In his new book, The Moves that Matter, Jonathan Rowson takes a scalpel to the game of chess itself, and finds abundant meaning in its cultural, psychological and metaphorical aspects. Or as he puts it: ‘Chess is just a
