Luke McShane is chess columnist for The Spectator.
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White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Heinrich Meyer, 1898. Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 23 February. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery. Last week’s solution
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Since Magnus Carlsen abdicated his classical world championship crown in 2022, the international chess federation (Fide) has faced a persistent headache: the world’s strongest player has no interest in their flagship event. Fide has responded by adding new formats in which world titles are contested, to encourage Carlsen’s participation. Early in 2026, they sanctioned the
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White to play. Jacorey Bynum-Magnus Carlsen, chess.com, 2026. In another Titled Tuesday game, a teenage national master from the USA scored a memorable upset. Which move forced a quick mate here? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 16 February. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first correct answer out
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‘This is why you don’t do puzzles, kids,’ drawled Magnus Carlsen, after a lucky escape in a recent blitz game played on Chess.com. ‘Because if this is a puzzle you see it immediately. But in puzzles, you’re trained to see puzzles, while in games, you’re not.’ No doubt Carlsen has done his fair share of
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White to play. Keymer-Giri, Tata Steel Masters, Wijk aan Zee 2026. Giri has just captured a pawn on d4. The position looks benign, but Keymer’s next move prompted Giri to resign. What was it? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 9 February. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first
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The 2026 Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee saw a commanding performance from Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who claimed outright victory with nine points from 13 games. It’s a pity, then, that the young Uzbek won’t be competing in the upcoming Candidates Tournament – the event that will determine Gukesh’s next world championship challenger. Abdusattorov’s recent
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White to play. Erdogmus-Van Foreest, Tata Steel Masters 2025. The Turkish 14-year-old has a dangerous attack with rook, knight and bishop. Which move did he play to decide the game? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 2 February. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first correct answer out of
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The ‘Wimbledon of Chess’ is underway in the Netherlands. Meanwhile in Spain, there’s a gaming industry expo. Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, the world’s no. 1 and no. 2, are at the trade show, where they had a fireside chat with YouTuber Levy Rozman – better known as GothamChess. One theme was how much chess has changed
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White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Sam Loyd, The Musical World, 1858. Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 26 January. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address and allow six weeks for prize delivery.
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The January 2026 Fide junior rankings tell a remarkable story: at the top sits Gukesh Dommaraju from India, who in 2024 became the youngest world champion in history. Still just 19 years old, he will defend the title later this year. The real shock is that the second-place spot now belongs to a 14-year-old: Yagiz
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Black to play. Trent-Hawkins, King’s Place Open, 2015. The bishop’s skewer looks set to cause heavy material losses. Hawkins next move showed that he can nevertheless win the game. What did he play? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 19 January. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first correct
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British chess has lost an inspiring figure. Grandmaster Jonathan Hawkins, two-time British champion, author and coach, died on 22 December at just 42 years old after battling a neuroendocrine carcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer. Hawkins’s achievements in chess are remarkable for answering a perennial question: can adult improvers really aspire to significant progress?
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Black to play. Hakobyan-Erigaisi, Fide World Rapid Championship, Doha 2025. Erigaisi’s next move decided the game in his favour. What did he play? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 12 January. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address.
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Magnus Carlsen’s relationship with Fide is frayed, all the more following the spat at the 2024 World Rapid and Blitz Championships in New York, when the world no. 1 was penalised for wearing jeans. The Norwegian said it was his good relations with the Qatari organisers, and his domestic fans, for whom following the event has
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White to play. Theodorou-Dominguez, London Chess Classic Super Rapidplay, December 2025. Theodorou found a clever winning shot. Which move did he play? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 5 January. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address. Last week’s solution 1 Nd4!
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When I lose a game of chess, I tend to know exactly where it went awry. Take the following position, where I faced Alireza Firouzja at the XTX Markets London Chess Classic, held at the Emirates Stadium in December. Firouzja, rated in the world top ten, was the top seed at the Elite section, and
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Martirosyan-Yilmaz, European Individual Championship 2025. Black has just pushed his pawn to c4, overlooking a crucial tactic. Martirosyan’s next move decided the game. What did he play? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 22 December. There is a prize of £20 for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal address
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1) A pair of jeans fetched $36,100 at a charity auction in March. Whose were they, and what was special about them? 2) In April, Tunde Onakoya and Shawn Martinez set a Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon, playing in New York’s Times Square. How long did they last? 3) ‘In chess, the
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Grandmasters do not, as a rule, overlook one-move threats. But when they do, there is a good chance that a retreating knight is the culprit. Take the 1956 Candidates tournament, where Tigran Petrosian (a future world champion), attained an overwhelming strategic advantage as his opponent David Bronstein shuffled his knight back and forth, waiting for
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White to play and mate in three moves (that is, W-B-W-B-W checkmate). Composed by Sam Loyd, Holyoke Transcript, 1876. Please note that because of the Christmas printing schedule, this is not a prize puzzle. Last week’s solution 1 Qf6+! Nxf6 2 Bf8+ Nh7 3 Rxh7+ Kxh7 4 Rh3 mate Last week’s winner James McMeehan Roberts,