New In Chess Magazine 2017/1

Publisher: New in Chess, 2017, Pages: 106, Magazine

Contents

Homer's Mate
Breaking news: Homer Simpson turns out to be a chess aficionado

NIC's Café
Lipstick on your c-file. Frenzy's rap 'Chess Moves'. Building a new chess clubhouse in the United Arab Emirates. Chess at the Fitness Club. 'People who play chess are more prone to lying', says a muslim evangelist.

Your Move
Julian Hodgson writes about a lovely mate he recently uncorked in an ICC game. And more letters from readers around the world.

Infographic
Every top 20-player eventually drops out of the top 100. But how long did it take them? A surprising list.

Fair & Square
What John Rhys-Davies, Ringo Starr, Adam Ross, Brian Eno and others said about chess.

Close, but no cigar
In Doha Magnus Carlsen tied for first in both the Rapid and the Blitz World Championships, but the tiebreak rules decided in favour of the delighted veteran Vasily Ivanchuk and the perhaps even happier Sergey Karjakin. A fascinating report by Simen Agdestein with additional analysis by Anish Giri.

Celeb 64
Marlon Brando, chess player

Lust for life
Genna Sosonko remembers Mark Taimanov (1926-2016), a man with an unshakeable passion for life. The definitive inside story.

Parimarjan's Chess Gym
In New York, Magnus Carlsen said that he doesn't believe in fortresses. Parimarjan Negi shows that saving seemingly hopeless positions is often a matter of attitude … and knowing how to build a fortress.

Wesley So finishes in style
With a victory in the London Chess Classic, the 23-year-old American clinched the Grand Chess Tour, crowning a majestic year with a $295,000 payday. A report by Erwin l'Ami with additional annotations by Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana.

Interview: Wesley So
The 'player of the year' (according to Kramnik) explains the roots of his phenomenal success, and reveals (breaking news) the name of his new trainer.

Judit Polgar's Column
A masterclass based on what she learned from the legendary Paul Keres.

Maximize Your Tactics
Train your tactical skills with Russian expert Maxim Notkin

Blindfold King
In Las Vegas, Timur Gareyev broke the blindfold simul world record, taking on 48(!) opponents. Here's his own story.

Nigel Short
Our columnist explains what it takes to become British Knock-Out Champion. An instructive lesson in tournament strategy.

S.O.S.
Jeroen Bosch presents an early opening surprise against the Open Spanish.

Chess Pattern Recognition
Arthur van de Oudeweetering on a rook move that looks like a rookie move but is in fact hyper-sophisticated.

Sadler on Books
Matthew Sadler reviews four books: 'Beating Minor Openings' by Viktor Mikhalevksi, 'Kings Indian Warfare' by Ilya Smirin, 'Black is Back!' by Andras Adorjan and 'Chess Olympiad Hamburg 1930' by Tony Gillam. Breaking news: Sadler's favourite book of the year 2016!

Jan Timman's column
Mark Taimanov's sense of initiative and another look at Ortueta-Sanz. Was it a fake game?

Just Checking
What is Jovanka Houska's favourite square?

Contributors to this issue:

Simen Agdestein, Erwin l'Ami, Jeroen Bosch, Fabiano Caruana, Timur Gareyev, Anish Giri, John Henderson, Jovanka Houska, Dylan McClain, Parimarjan Negi, Maxim Notkin, Arthur van de Oudeweetering, Judit Polgar, Matthew Sadler, Nigel Short, Wesley So, Genna Sosonko, Jan Timman, Jennifer Vallens