Dominic Lawson
A Beautiful Waste
The ascendancy of machine over man
From An Art To A Science
Wilhelm Steinitz was the inventor of modern chess, yet died a pauper’s death
Tom and Jerry Tactics
The world’s youngest ever International Master is an Indian child prodigy with an appetite for cartoons
Vivat Rex!
A modest philanthropist, Rex Sinquefield, is behind the US’s triumph at the World Chess Olympiad
Les Pions de Résistance
François-André Danican Philidor, composer turned blindfold king of the chessboard
Korchnoi Plays His Last Move
Viktor Korchnoi, who has died at the age of 85, defeated nine world champions but never managed to claim the title for himself
When Players Become Pawns
Accusations of off-board skulduggery can be a powerful tool of psychological warfare
Prodigious Contest In Prospect
The two greatest chess prodigies of the age will soon face each other
Armenian Underdog
Tigran Petrosian’s prophylactic prowess
Mated By The Mufti?
The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia has declared chess haram — but he needs to remember that the game was born in the Muslim world
China has a strategy and Britain doesn’t
A roadmap to better relations requires realism. Beijing’s interests and goals are openly stated—if you know where to look
The plague
Standpoint goes to press as the pandemic rages. So too does the search for blame and the political fall-out
Defeat begets defeat for Britain’s cloth-eared Left
The censorious culture of the liberal Left is hostile to freedom of expression. The fate of the trans-rights movement evinces this pointless politics