Chess- Page 5

Russian chess champion Peter Svidler's obsession with English cricket is such that he signs off his emails with "Strauss for Prime Minister"

Anthony Miles, Britain's first chess grandmaster, died ten years ago this November, but not before his talents sparked a UK chess boom

Why do people become obsessed with chess? And why does "competitive spirit" sometimes result in less-than-gentlemanly behaviour?

The great man of letters was better at holding a debate than his drink

Bobby Fischer was a chess phenomenon who squandered his talent. But we should remember the talent

After three French players were banned for cheating in March, the game must find a way to prevent technology ruining contests

Former child prodigies Samuel Reshevsky and Bobby Fischer had one of the fiercest rivalries in chess history — and not only on the board

After a seven-year hiatus, young British Chess talent Luke McShane returned to the board in late 2010, only to go unbeaten in two prestigious tournaments

A fiercely loyal Communist with a ferocious work ethic, Mikhail Botvinnik was an unshakeable Grandmaster

A hard-drinking, physically violent workaholic, Joseph Blackburne was the master of the simultaneous display

Conventional wisdom says White is better from the first move. A few noted grandmasters have challenged this assumption

The political situation in Russia transformed the sulphurous relationship between Karpov and Kasparov