Iranian Women Chess players and Subtle Misogyny

A subtle version of misogyny is on display in news stories about Iranian Women chess players. I’ve written about the subtleties of racism previously and today I take on a similar topic. Just because something is misogynistic doesn’t mean it’s obvious or even an intentional act. Let’s examine stories making the rounds about Iranian women […]

Vishy Anand Shows a Chess Cheater Real Class

What Happened Chess India hosted a charity event, Checkmate Covid, to help those suffering from the results of Covid-19. In it a variety of celebrities played former World Champion Viswanathan, affectionately called Vishy by his many fans, Anand in a simultaneous exhibition. One of those pitted against Vishy Anand was billionaire Nikhil Kamath. Kamath played […]

Watching People Argue in a Chess Chat

Chess Chat is as filled with acrimonious debate as any political forum and, while watching the first round of the Norway Chess Tournament an instructive moment occurred which I will wax on about today. Don’t be too distressed, the topic isn’t primarily chess, or chess chat, it’s how to have a productive debate. In this […]

Thinking for Yourself in Chess and Life

I was on Lichess watching the Magnus Carlsen v. Hikaru Nakamura match of the Magnus Chess Tour Finals when an interesting example of thinking for yourself, and the benefits therein, presented itself. It is often suggested thinking for yourself is better; but if someone else does the thinking for you, and always gives you good […]

Chess versus Islam

I read a story from the Associated Press about a Twitter war that is raging because a prominent Saudi Arabian, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdelaziz Al Sheikh, declared that Muslims should not play chess. No big deal? Just some religious kook making an outlandish statement? I disagree. For Al Sheikh to make this statement there is clearly […]

Internet Chess and How to Improve your Life

 You wouldn’t think that playing internet chess would give insight into a better way to lead your life but that’s exactly what happened to me when I started to play. I’ve discovered that diversity and balance improve life and I’ll tell you why. I played chess as a young lad. My father taught me the […]

Mitigate Mistakes don’t Compound Them

I made an enormous tactical mistake during my Friday night Board Game session this past weekend and I remembered an important chess concept; mitigate mistakes, don’t compound them. Chess is really the first place I learned about the notion and Magnus Carlson demonstrated the idea during his recent run to become Chess Freestyle World Champion. […]

Is Hans Cheating a Predetermined Result

Is Hans cheating? That question continues to roil the chess world, and beyond. Ever since Magnus Carlsen formally made an accusation that’s been speculated in the chess circles for over a year, it’s been a major news story. Is Hans Cheating? It’s not the question I will answer today. Sorry. I’d like to discuss the […]