6 Shoulder to Shoulder

A rare ‘Suffragettes v. The Law’ chess set fetched €44,460 at Bonhams Auctions.

8 NIC’s Café

Can you set up all 32 pieces on the chess board blindfolded under 45.72 seconds?

12 Offerspill Upsets Favourites

Only weeks after he won his first World Cup, Magnus Carlsen added another trophy that so far had eluded him, as his team of Offerspill claimed victory in the 38th European Club Cup.

17 Celeb64: Idris Elba

38 Losing it

Magnus Carlsen sparked controversy with his reaction after losing to Alisher Suleymenov at the Qatar Masters.

42 The Gentleman Chess Player

Paul Keres (1916-1975) was one of the greatest chess players never to win the world title. Jimmy Adams recalls Keres’ British connections.

51 They are The Champions

José Guilherme Santos is the national champion of Portugal.

52 The Frenchman with Two Lives

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave pulled off an incredible stunt in the AI Cup as he first defeated Magnus Carlsen in the Grand Final and then again in the Grand Final Reset to earn a ticket to the Champions Chess Tour’s finals in Toronto.

60 Adult Improvement

James Altucher writes the autobiography of a loss.

62 In a Class of His Own

Showing great form, Fabiano Caruana dominated the 2023 US Championship in St. Louis. Never in any danger the world number two clinched the title with a round to spare.

66 24 Hours with Garry Kasparov

Ilya Levitov speaks about his video series with the 13th World Champion. ‘He is the best player ever. Without any question.’

71 Fair & Square

Boris Gelfand explains why his friend and second Alexander Huzman had no wish to switch dentists.

72 At the board in Amsterdam

Ian Nepomniachtchi, the winner of the inaugural Levitov Chess Week in 2019, also finished first in the second edition.

78 Blitz is good for your chess

As long as you keep in mind Nate Solon’s caveats and recommendations.

81 Maximize Your Tactics

Find the right moves.

82 Sensational Salimova

Judit Polgar was impressed by the energetic and enterprising play of Nurgyul Salimova, the big sensation of the recent Women’s World Cup in Baku.

87 What would you play?

Test your decision-making skills with Thomas ‘Toolbox’ Willemze.

92 Sadler on Books

How should you prepare for an opponent? And does it make sense to grind if you’re not a grandmaster? Matthew Sadler read inspiring books that might help you answer those questions.

98 Chuck-full of chess

At 54, Vasyl Ivanchuk has not lost any of his passion for the game. Jan Timman looks at the recent exploits of the Ukrainian legend, one of the all-time greats of chess.

106 Just Checking

Does Dominic Lawson think that chess is useful in everyday life?