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
Anand in Blunderland
Blunders happen even at the world championship level
Brutally Frank
Canada's Frank Marshall didn't succeed in conquering the world of chess, but his aggressive tactics were universally feared
Radio Play
Chess may not seem suited to radio, but in the Sixties the BBC broadcast special programmes featuring the world’s greatest ever players
Cattle Dealer
The New Stateman's choice of senior editor confirms that the magazine has abandoned its liberal principles
Brief Encounter
Being a victim of a "speciality offence" only reaffirmed my views about police PR