This Issue:
8 Go, Lasker!
DeepMind’s interest in both chess and go is nothing new. Emanuel Lasker was also fascinated by the ancient Chinese game.
10 NIC’s Café
How much did Lisa Lane get for her signed copy of the first ever issue of Sports Illustrated with a chess player on the cover? And can chess pieces ward off evil spirits?
12 Your Move
What happened to Nigel Short’s column? And was Samuel Reshevsky really such an obnoxious opponent?
14 Carlsen sets new record
Ever since his stunning debut way back in 2004, when as a 13-year-old kid he made his first GM norm, Magnus Carlsen has had warm ties with Wijk aan Zee. At the end of the 81st Tata Steel tournament, the Norwegian phenomenon lifted the winner’s trophy for a record seventh time.
41 Fair & Square
Donner on chess as an educational tool and more.
42 Interview: Vladimir Kramnik
The news of his retirement from professional chess elicited reactions of shock, sympathy and admiration. An apt moment to look back.
50 Talent Watch
The Tata Steel Challengers is an ideal launch pad for future champions. What about his year’s crop?
62 Surprises by the Dutch seaside
Inevitably, new opening ideas were tested in Wijk aan Zee.
66 Judit Polgar
When your next move looks forced or automatic, it may be useful to think twice.
70 Artemiev unstoppable
As the top seeds faltered and fell by the wayside, a rising tide of promising youngsters dominated the Gibraltar Chess Festival. Vladislav Artemiev (20) won seven games and went straight for first place.
84 Chess Pattern Recognition
Cornered queens: assets to be happy about or liabilities to worry about?
86 Maximize Your Tactics
Find the right moves.
88 The Blitz Whisperer
Maxim Dlugy takes a closer look at the speed chess qualities of Jan-Krzysztof Duda after the Polish youngster finished second at the Blitz World Championship.
96 Sadler on Books
Five stars for Kurt Richter’s biography and Jan Timman’s unputdownable tome on the five epic Kasparov-Karpov matches.
102 Waiting for a mistake
