The most famous team ever participating in a chess pub quiz was MC Hammer. The team members are pretty decent chess players and happened to know their bit of chess trivia and chess history. Do you know or can you guess their names?
This book offers a collection of hundreds of chess trivia and chess-related trivia. You can use it by yourself, solving puzzles. Or you can use the book for multiple thematic pub quizzes at your local chess café or chess club.
Grandmaster Dimitri Reinderman won the Dutch championship in 2013, is one of the few chess players with purple (or blue) hair, and loves games. During the pandemic, he created the holiday season in-house chess pub quiz for New In Chess publishers.
IM Gary Lane (Australian Chess)
“There is much to make you smile, inform and even shock you. The quality of the questions makes it an excellent read and somewhat thought provoking. The ideal present for any chess player.”
Grandmaster Dejan Antic and International Master Branimir Maksimovic have written a book that will change the way chess players look at the French Defence, one of the most popular chess openings.
Black players in a French Defence have sound options like undermining the White center or playing against a damaged pawn structure. Once you have really mastered the black side in the French, you possess such a powerful weapon that even strong players will think twice what to play against you.
This is a complete and up-to-date book for players of all levels, with brand-new concepts in topical modern lines such as the Steinitz, McCutcheon and Morozevich Variation. Antic and Maksimovic explain strategic concepts and methods of attack, and present numerous novelties and new tactical ideas in all French main lines. But they have also developed several sidelines into deadly surprise weapons. The conclusion is clear: Black is OK in the French!
When Max Euwe defeated Alexander Alekhine in 1935, the chess world was stunned. A modest Dutch mathematics teacher had dethroned the most charismatic and feared champion of his time. Almost immediately, doubts arose: Was Euwe truly worthy of the crown? Did he really belong in the lineage of Anderssen, Morphy, Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine himself?
Nearly a century later, these questions still influence how Euwe is remembered — and, all too often, how he is underestimated.
This book takes a fresh look at Euwe’s years as World Champion and presents solid evidence. It challenges the familiar narrative that portrays his reign as a brief intermezzo, largely created by Alekhine’s powerful and enduring self-portrait. Euwe himself never played that game. He analysed his victories soberly, credited his opponents generously and avoided self-glorification, even when it was fully deserved.
Drawing on contemporary sources, tournament results, and a close examination of Euwe’s games with today’s best computers, the authors place his achievements in their proper historical context. The picture that emerges is clear: Euwe did not merely win the title — he belonged at the very top. In the mid-1930s, he was consistently on par with and at times surpassed the strongest players in the world.
This book offers a balanced reassessment. However, it leads to an unmistakable conclusion: Max Euwe was not a footnote in chess history — he was a true World Champion.
Paul van der Sterren is a grandmaster and two-time Dutch champion who qualified for the Candidates Matches. He is a prolific author and won the ECF Chess Book of the Year Award in 2024 for his autobiography, In Black and White. His other books include Mindful Chess and Fundamental Chess Openings.
Erwin l’Ami is a grandmaster, former Dutch champion and winner of the 2015 Reykjavik Open. He is a highly regarded opening expert and has published several Chessable courses. He is also a renowned second, having worked with chess greats such as Veselin Topalov and Anish Giri.
Alexander Münninghoff tells the unforgettable tale of the fifth World Chess Champion. Filling a gap in the literature of chess, he shows that Euwes world title was the result of his iron will, his methodical drive and his energetic handling of all aspects of the game. By bringing his world title under the aegis of the world chess federation FIDE, Euwe profoundly changed the history of chess, and it was Euwes diplomatic determination as President of FIDE that saved the Match of the Century in 1972 between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. This gripping story is illuminated by numerous photos and fifty games with the original annotations by Max Euwe.
This book presents the 100 most essential chess endgames — the basic endings every club player is likely to encounter in real games.
Learning how to handle these positions will help you win more games, and also save more games. Once you reach the stage where your results are no longer decided by simple tactical mistakes, the real challenge begins: converting your advantages with confidence.
With clear explanations and a structured, step-by-step approach, these 100 lessons form a complete endgame survival kit. You will learn:
* how to stay confident when the game transfers into an endgame
* how to exploit advantages you have gained in the middlegame
* how to avoid the frustration of failing to win clearly better positions
* how to approach simplification without uncertainty
Master these basic endings and they will serve you for the rest of your chess life. Study them carefully, and your technique — and your confidence — will improve forever.
Jesus de la Villa (1958) is an International Grandmaster born in Spain. He is a successful author and a well-known chess trainer. He has twice won the Spanish Championship. His book '100 Endgames You Must Know' is an international bestseller.
A Star is Born
Dominating the Candidates in Cyprus in unprecedented fashion, 20-year-old Javokhir Sindarov earned the right to challenge World Champion Gukesh (19) in the youngest world title match ever. Vaishali Rameshbabu emerged as the winner in the Women’s Candidates.
Interview: Javokhir Sindarov
‘I have become a really good professional chess player.’
Interview: Roman Vidonyak
‘Compared to training in other sports, we are still in the Paleolithic Age.’
Prague Masters
Unruffled by Jorden van Foreest’s explosive tournament start, Nodirbek Abdusattorov retained his focus on his own play and pipped the Dutchman at the post.
Tournament Roundup
Boris Gelfand looks at recent games from around the world.
In memoriam Jan Timman
‘Being with Jan was always a comforting moment outside of time. Those playful smiles of his, the gestures, the sovereign calm.’
‘Far out, isn’t it?’
Erwin l’Ami remembers Jan Timman.
Jan’s Saga
Helgi Olafsson writes about Jan Timman’s warm ties with Iceland.
Three Timman Treats
Jacob Aagaard selected three fine Timman wins from different periods of his long career.
A Huge Appetite for Life
Jon Speelman misses a charming warrior.
Timman’s Combinations
Fair & Square
Peter Heine Nielsen’s brief review of Untold: Chess Mates.
Eze’s Edge
NIC’s Café
Erling Haaland thinks ‘chess is an incredible game’ and so does Olympic superstar Johannes Klaebo.
Celeb 64
Sir William Golding, English novelist.
The Scoresheet
Niemann-Aravindh, Prague 2026.
Improving the Worst Piece
Renier Castellanos is your Killer Chess Training coach.
Reimagining the Opening
Fresh opening ideas curated by Nikolaos Ntirlis.
Viva Ruy Lopez
A new model game presented by Christof Sielecki.
Killer Blow
Exercises to sharpen your tactics.
Sadler on Books
Bobby Fischer remains a model of relentless accuracy.
Just Checking
Who is Keti Tsatsalashvili’s favourite player?
The Last Column
Shortly after the medics had told him that he should start thinking in months rather than years, Jan Timman wrote a ‘spare column’.
The Ragozin Complex is a flexible and versatile chess opening system. This important variation in the Queen’s Gambit was employed by great champions of the 20th century like Alekhine and Capablanca and it remains a dangerous weapon in the hands of modern top-level players like Levon Aronian, Vladimir Kramnik and Vasily Ivanchuk.
But what exactly is The Ragozin Complex? Amazingly, this has never before been explained in a comprehensive book. Acclaimed chess author Vladimir Barsky has now filled this gap. He pays tribute to the legendary Soviet player and writer Isaak Lipnitsky whose ideas on the Ragozin were a part of his famous Questions of Modern Chess Theory, published in 1956.
While many of Lipnitsky’s ideas are still of value today, The Ragozin Complex sizzles with fresh and topical material from recent times, systematically collected in seven chapters that explain all the plans and counterplans in the critical lines.
For the first time, amateurs can acquaint themselves with the intricacies of the Ragozin system and start playing this flexible opening with confidence. But also professional chess players will see many secrets of this system unveiled by this practical overview.
Vladimir Barsky (1969) is an International Chess Master, a successful coach and an experienced journalist from Russia. He has written several successful books on chess openings: The Modern Philidor Defence (2010), A Universal Weapon 1.d4 d6 (2011), and, together with grandmaster Alexander Morozevich, The Chigorin Defence According to Morozevich (2007).
Carsten Hansen, ChessCafe:
"With a significant volume of original analysis and improvements over existing theory. The chapters are loaded with detailed explanations of strategic and tactical ideas based on pawn structures and piece play. Barsky has written an amazing book."
Peter Doggers, ChessVibes:
"A wonderful guide (..) It's quite amazing that there hadn't appeared a book on the Ragozin before (..) One of the better opening books I have seen in recent years."
IM John Donaldson, at jeremysilman.com:
"It seems hard to believe that a popular and well respected defense is receiving full-fledged treatment for the first time in half a century! (..) Presently this system is seen predominantly at the professional level but this book should make this aggressive defense popular with those in the amateur ranks."
Martin Rieger, Europa Rochade Magazine:
"A delightful freshness keeps the reader in thrall (..) A fantastic opening book and a labor of love."
Phil Adams, 3Cs Book Reviews:
"One can learn a great deal from this book, both from Lipnitsky's insights and the more up-to-date theory provided by its 21st century author, IM Barsky, for whom this book was clearly a labour of love (..) For many players this will provide a good answer to the question of what to aim for when White avoids the Nimzo-Indian by playing 3.Nf3."
Lubomir Kavalek, The Huffington Post:
"Vladimir Barsky brought Lipnitsky's work into the 21st century, enhancing the original ideas with new games and new developments, and creating a unique opening manual."
Marshtower Chess Reviews:
"Those with the Nimzo-Indian and QGD (and even QGA) already in their repertoire may find some useful transpositions with which to annoy their unsuspecting opponents."
Glenn Flear, Yearbook 102:
"A fascinating blend of history and modern theory, 'The Ragozin Complex' is the author's best book yet."
Joe Petrolito, Australasian Chess Magazine:
"Barsky offers a good blend of variations and commentary on the basic ideas (..) A fine example of how a quality opening book
They did it! Dejan Antic and Branimir Maksimovic have created a complete chess opening repertoire for Black players in only two books.
First they wrote the acclaimed The Modern French (against 1.e4). Now The Modern Bogo provides Black players with a comprehensive answer to 1.d4. The two books complement each other perfectly.
The point is that the authors recommend to answer 1.d4 with the direct 1...e6, for the follow-up 2.c4 Bb4+. In this way they avoid complex theoretical Nimzo-Indian lines and enable both amateur and professional players to find their own way in little-explored variations.
The Modern Bogo covers all the possibilities for White after 1.d4 e6... except for 2.e4, after which you should play the French!
Antic and Maksimovic have done a massive amount of research, and found many new strategic concepts and attacking plans. All of them are explained clearly and thoroughly.
You will find that this opening not only gives you good chances to equalize as Black, but also many opportunities to play for a win.
IS THIS BOOK ONLY FOR THOSE WHO PLAY THE FRENCH WITH BLACK? OF COURSE NOT!
More than 90% of the lines that Antic and Maksimovic cover can also be reached through the standard Bogo- and Nimzo-Indian move order 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6.
Dejan Antic (Serbia, 1968) is a Grandmaster who has worked as a chess trainer in Australia and Greece. International Master Branimir Maksimovic (1955) was also born in Serbia. He has worked as a chess coach for 30 years, and is a well-known chess opening theoretician.
GM Glenn Flear, author of 'Starting Out: The Open Games':
"Perhaps the best attempt that any book has made at sorting out all those grey areas, transpositions, hybrids and move-order confusions. You really get the impression that the authors know their stuff and have taken the time to help the reader cross-reference analogous themes from elsewhere."
Martin Rieger, SchachWelt:
"The many verbal explanations loosen the book up. The authors have laid much emphasis on providing their readers not just with variations, but also with lots of texts containing historical backgrounds, indications of tactical or positional pitfalls, and other details."
Sean Marsh, CHESS Magazine:
"I enjoyed the prose explanations, of which there are plenty. They really did help me to understand the ideas behind some of the lines that have remained hitherto a mystery to me (..) The book is very nicely produced and presented with helpful conclusions and exercises."
B.H.Wilders, Nederlands Dagblad:
"The authors succeeed in explaining the various concepts and attacking plans for Black quite well. Typically, a good opening book like this is also quite useful for White and contains a lot of important general advice on improving at chess."
British Chess Magazine:
"An awesome follow-up to "The Modern French'."
Uwe Bekemann, German Correspondence Chess Federation:
"A new publication which I can recommend. It is written from the perspective of Black, but for the white player it is also an excellent source of information."
Grandmaster David Smerdon, ChessVibes, on 'The Modern French':
"Despite my years of experience playing the French with both sides, I found myself learning an incredible amount, particularly regarding the ideas behind many of the common lines that I often employ, but, it turns out, only superficially understand."
A story only a real Grandmaster could tell.
Lukas lives for chess. When he leaves Sweden for an island off the coast of Saint Petersburg, he vows to sacrifice everything for one goal: the Grandmaster title. Friendships falter, love slips away, and his hunger for victory turns inward. Every move brings him closer to either triumph or collapse.
The Grandmaster is a powerful novel of ambition, obsession, and the fragile boundary between brilliance and self-destruction. Moving far beyond the worn-out myth of the 'mad genius', Grandmaster Axel Smith reveals the human cost of the quest for perfection: the self-doubt, jealousy and fleeting joy that define a life lived across sixty-four squares.
This novel blends authenticity and drama with rare insight into the world of elite chess. Written by Grandmaster Axel Smith, it is a work of fiction rooted in truth. With the precision of a chess player and the empathy of a storyteller, Smith unveils the intense emotional landscape of competition. Gripping and thought-provoking, The Grandmaster will resonate with fans of The Queen’s Gambit and anyone who has ever chased perfection — or a dream.
Axel Smith is a chess Grandmaster and best-selling author. His books, including The Woodpecker Method and Pump Up Your Rating, have sold more than 50,000 copies worldwide. He holds the Swedish record for a blindfold simul with 15 games played simultaneously. An accomplished marathon runner (2:28), he lives in Lund, Sweden, with his wife and three children.
6 Freestyle
Magnus Carlsen wins his 21st World Championship, his first in Freestyle.
8 NIC’s Café
Drones from Ukraine, a spy from the GDR and Marcel Duchamp.
14 Uzbek success at Tata Steel
Friends and rivals Nodirbek Abdusattorov (21) and Javokhir Sindarov (20) seemed to be heading for an all-Uzbek tiebreaker. But in a final and decisive show of grit and class, ‘Abdu’ forged ahead to claim the trophy.
20 Nodirbek Abdusattorov
An interview with the winner: ‘Wijk aan Zee has always been very special to me’.
30 Tata Steel games
Game analysis by the top players: Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Anish Giri, Matthias Bluebaum, Jorden van Foreest, Vladimir Fedoseev and Andy Woodward.
41 Celeb 64
Tom Stoppard, British playwright.
56 Matthias Bluebaum
An interview with the 28-year-old German grandmaster who qualified for the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
64 Fifth Double Crown for Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen (35) won his sixth rapid World Championship title and his ninth blitz title. How can we explain Carlsen’s domination of the Rapid & Blitz World Championships? The simplest answer may also be the truest: he is frighteningly good at chess.
74 Boris Gelfand’s selection
Boris Gelfand has selected the most interesting games of the last few weeks.
92 Fair & Square
Julian Barnes and John Nunn.
93 The Killer Blow
Puzzles selected by Jacob Aagaard.
96 Hastings
Jon Speelman reflects on chess in the 20th Century. In this issue: A tribute to Hastings
102 James Altucher
Win, Lose or Draw.
104 The Scoresheet
James Thompson-Paul Morphy, 1857.
106 Yes, opening novelties!
Another new column, on opening theory. Is it still possible to play a novelty? Yes, says opening expert Nikolaos Ntirlis. He will present four fresh, practical ideas in each issue.
112 The Model Game
Playing gambits is good advice for improving players. And the Benko is an excellent example for Black.
116 The worst placed piece
This new column by Renier Castellanos focuses on improvement. The author is a coach at the Killer Chess Academy and has a deep understanding of how club players can improve their chess knowledge.
122 Sadler on Books
High praise for a new book about Captain Mackenzie’s chess adventures.
130 Jan Timman
The collapse of the Soviet Union was a heavy blow to the chess infrastructure of the superpower that dominated our game for many decades.
138 Just Checking
Mauricio Flores Rios, bestselling author.
Nobody doubts that intuition in chess exists. It is part of the arsenal of every chess player, next to well-known skills such as tactical vision, the ability to calculate variations and endgame technique. But how does intuition in chess work, and where does it take us?
Intuition is by far the vaguest and hardest to grasp subject in chess, and consequently the least studied. Acclaimed author and experienced chess trainer Valeri Beim takes the bull by the horns and shows, with hundreds of well-explained examples:
– When intuition comes into play
– What the functions of intuition are
– Why some players have better intuition than others
– How intuition differs from pattern recognition
– How you can develop your chess intuition
– Why your intuition gets weaker as you grow older.
Valeri Beim deeply analyses and dissects how chess players think and demonstrates that each of us has the power of making intuitive decisions. You will learn how you can train and develop this human gift.
Beim uses plain language and illustrates his findings with sparkling tales about Capablanca, Tal, Fischer, Carlsen, and other greats in chess. With instructive examples of practical play, this is a thought-provoking, yet highly accessible work.
Valeri Beim is a grandmaster who lives in Austria. He has won numerous tournaments and plays in the Austrian and German leagues. For many years he was the head trainer at the chess school in Odessa, and he was also the trainer of the Israeli Olympiad team.
Uwe Bekemann, German Federation for Correspondence Chess:
"Bringing all this material together into a coherent and logical complex is, I think, the extraordinary achievement of the author (..) Beim highlights important benchmarks and best pratices in the text. This helps the reader to train and develop his talents."
Der Standard, Vienna:
"Beim demystifies the matter (..) Using excellently presented games, the intuitive way of playing chess is explained in a refreshingly classical and instructive way."
Luke McShane, New In Chess magazine:
"This book strikes me as an unusual thoughtful one (..) Beim has made a great effort to come up with a coherent theory of intuition, and there is plenty to enjoy along the way."
Martin Rieger, Europa Rochade:
"Very good are the prose and abundant explanations. Here is an experienced grandmaster spilling the beans!"
"I think the book can be read on two levels. Firstly, it represents a fine collection of inspirational games which can be enjoyed by any class of player. Secondly, it provides a deeper, thought-provoking read on a difficult subject."
Harry Schaack, KARL Magazine:
"Thrilling (..) Full of remarkable analysis and enlightening commentary (..) This book shows that mankind's intuition is still better than that of computers."
Hans Bohm, De Telegraaf:
"Beims method is always to first explain patiently what he is talking about, with pratical examples. Then he delves deeper into the material and considers things from different perspectives. That way every reader can apply what he learned at his own level."
"The author has a clear view on how to develop chess intuition, with many interesting examples which show that it is indeed something quite different from recognition."
"As a trail-blazer, Beim is going out on limb with his ideas, but I think this will be an influential book on the topic (..) Highly recommended."
Dutch edition. For the English edition please click here
Over de legendarische Nederlandse schaakwereldkampioen Max Euwe is al veel geschreven, en Euwe produceerde zelf ook tientallen boeken. Maar er was nog geen representatieve verzameling van de beste partijen van deze ‘efficiënte, mensetende tijger’, zoals de Amerikaanse schaakmeester William Ewart Napier hem noemde.
Max Euwe’s Beste Partijen voorziet in deze lacune. En wie anders had dit boek kunnen schrijven dan Euwe’s opvolger in de Nederlandse schaakwereld – Jan Timman, één van de beste schaakschrijvers van deze tijd. Timman selecteerde tachtig partijen van Euwe. Het is ongelooflijk hoe hoog het niveau was dat Euwe bereikte in de vijftig jaar dat hij actief schaakte, en hoe aantrekkelijk zijn aanvallende speelstijl was.
Timman heeft veel nieuws ontdekt in de beste en meest beroemde partijen van Euwe, maar haalt ook een aantal minder bekende briljante partijen voor het voetlicht. Bij zijn analyses komt een aantal interessante paradoxen aan de orde. Zo was Euwe voor het overgrote deel van zijn carrière een amateur, maar wist hij meer van openingstheorie dan vele van zijn tegenstanders op topniveau. Als de underdog onttroonde hij de energieke Alexander Aljechin als wereldkampioen in een epische match in 1935. Op zijn 52ste wist hij nog steeds topspelers als Geller en Najdorf te verslaan met fantastisch aanvalsspel in het beroemde Kandidatentoernooi in Zürich 1953. En toen hij de zeventig al was gepasseerd bleef hij een gevaarlijke opponent voor de jongste generatie Nederlandse schakers.
Deze partijenverzameling van een soms onderschatte wereldkampioen, met analyses van topgrootmeester Jan Timman, is een onmisbare aanvulling voor iedereen die is geïnteresseerd in het Nederlandse schaken en in het wereldkampioenschap.
Jan Timman, de voormalig nummer twee van de wereldranglijst, is de auteur van vele populaire schaakboeken. Zijn boek Timman’s Titans won de ECF Book of the Year Award in 2017. Zijn recente boeken The Longest Game, Timman’s Triumphs en The Unstoppable American, zijn nu al moderne klassiekers in de schaakliteratuur.
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