006 Bloodthirsty chess
An intelligent and head-strong nun takes on Dracula in a game of chess.
008 NIC’S Café
An Iranian arbiter who had to flee her country and a remarkable new sponsor for Magnus Carlsen.
011 Your Move
012 Tata Steel Masters
His main ambition was to train for the Candidates, but then Fabiano Caruana got on a roll and there was no stopping him. Scoring seven wins, he equalled the record scores of Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen in Wijk aan Zee.
020 Fair & Square
Thoughts that make you think, from the likes of George Steiner and José Mourinho.
031 Celeb64: Quique Sétien
042 Interview: Fabiano Caruana
‘I reject the idea that only Ding and myself are the favourites.’
046 Ju Wenjun retains title
An analysis of the decisive game of the Women’s World Championship match by none other than Hou Yifan.
050 Champion of the Empire
Sultan Khan arrived in England in 1929. He spoke little English, had a rudimentary chess education, yet within a few months had won the British Championship.
060 Paravyan peaks in Gibraltar
Seeded only 22nd, Russia’s David Paravyan may have escaped the bookmakers’ attention on the eve of the Gibraltar Chess Festival.
069 The female touch
Women chess players occupy a special place in Gibraltar, with the female top-finisher taking home 20,000 pounds.
075 They Are The Champions
Kevin Cupid (28) won the 2020 national championship of Trinidad & Tobago.
076 Maximize Your Tactics
Find the right moves.
078 Kramnik’s lessons
Judit Polgar looks at the qualities of one of her most difficult opponents ever.
082 Triumph and tragedy
Alireza Firouzja finished first in the Prague Masters as Vidit Gujrathi squandered a most comfortable lead.
089 What would you play?
Test your decision-making skills with Thomas ‘Toolbox’ Willemze.
094 Pattern Recognition
The menace of central pawns that penetrate deep into the opposite camp.
096 Sadler on Books
Ever since Philidor described pawns as the soul of chess their importance has never been doubted.
100 A last test
With the Candidates tournament around the corner, Jan Timman looks at the shape the Candidates were in who competed in Wijk aan Zee and Gibraltar.
106 Just Checking
What is Surya Ganguly’s favourite square?
