The heroes who came up with zero
‘Arabic’ numerals came to Europe from India — but ancient Sumerians invented them
Desperately Needing Susan
The Royal Institution has made a huge mistake by sacking its media-friendly director
Bent’s Beautiful Mistress
The Magnus Carlsen phenomenon has a precedent: that of the marauding Viking, Bent Larsen
The Mind’s Eye
The mysterious phenomenon of aphantasia
The Art of the 64 Squares
While not all artists are chess players, all chess players are artists. So said Marcel Duchamp, a mean player himself
Judit and Holofernes
In a male dominated game it was an 15-year-old girl who became the youngest ever grandmaster. She is now chess's finest female player
Russia’s Six-Hit Champion
Russian chess champion Peter Svidler's obsession with English cricket is such that he signs off his emails with "Strauss for Prime Minister"
Black Power
Conventional wisdom says White is better from the first move. A few noted grandmasters have challenged this assumption
Gibraltar’s Battle Of The Sexes
The planet's pre-emininent open chess tournament
War Games
Despite being a keen chess player, Napoleon Bonaparte was more a pawn than a king on the board