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London System: The Opening That Makes Your Opponent Rage-Quit

London System, Chess, Openings, White Openings

There’s a particular moment that happens in online chess—a delicious, vindictive moment—when your opponent’s pieces have been squeezed into submission, their position resembles a pretzel with anxiety issues, and suddenly, three moves before inevitable checkmate, they disappear. No resignation. No handshake. Just poof. Gone. The account shows “Opponent has left the game.” Welcome to the […]

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Scotch Game for the Busy Player: Learning the Essential 5 Minutes of Theory

Openings, Chess, Scotch Game, White Openings

The alarm clock screams at 6:15 AM. Coffee brews while emails pile up. A full workday stretches ahead, followed by family dinner, maybe a gym session if luck permits. Somewhere between all these obligations, there’s supposed to be time for chess improvement. The chess books on the shelf gather dust, their hundreds of pages of

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The ‘Intellectual’ Opening: Why the Catalan Attracts Deep Strategic Thinkers

Chess, Catalan Opening, Openings, White Openings

There’s a moment in every chess player’s development when raw calculation gives way to something more refined. The tactical fireworks that once dominated their games begin to feel less satisfying than the slow accumulation of microscopic advantages. It’s in this transition that many players discover the Catalan Opening—and find themselves utterly captivated. The Catalan doesn’t

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From 904 to 2882: The 5 Phases of Magnus Carlsen’s Rating Ascent

Chess, Editors Pick, Legends, Magnus Carlsen, Must Read

In June 2000, a nine-year-old Norwegian boy sat down to play chess with a rating of 904. By August 2019, that same player would stand atop the chess world with a rating of 2882—the highest in history. This is the story of Magnus Carlsen’s extraordinary ascent, a journey that redefined what’s possible in the ancient

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The Netflix Effect: How Hikaru Nakamura Transformed Chess into a Spectator Sport

Hikaru Nakamura, Chess, Editors Pick, Legends, Must Read

It was late 2019, and Hikaru Nakamura was staring down a crossroads. The five-time U.S. Chess Champion had just failed to qualify for the Candidates Tournament, the gateway to challenging for the world championship. At 32, he’d been chasing the ultimate title his entire life. The door had slammed shut once again. But instead of

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The Fischer Effect: How One American Single-Handedly Professionalized Chess

Editors Pick, Bobby Fischer, Chess, Legends, Must Read

The call came on a hot summer day in 1972, and it wasn’t from just anyone. Henry Kissinger, the United States Secretary of State, had more pressing matters to attend to—Vietnam, détente with China, the ongoing Cold War. Yet there he was, on the phone with a 29-year-old chess player from Brooklyn who was threatening

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Kasparov: The Man Who Made Chess a Contact Sport

Chess, Editors Pick, Garry Kasparov, Legends, Must Read

The year was 1984, and the World Chess Championship had been grinding on for five months. Forty-eight games. No winner. Anatoly Karpov, the reigning champion, looked gaunt and exhausted, having lost 22 pounds. His challenger, a 21-year-old Garry Kasparov, sat across from him with fire still burning in his eyes. The match was eventually called

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