Luke McShane is chess columnist for The Spectator.
Black to play. Schell-Bryant, Isle of Wight 2026. Black’s next move prompted immediate resignation. What was it? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 23 March. 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
Oxford began as small favourites for the 144th Varsity Match, held at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London, earlier in March. But it was Cambridge who pulled ahead first, thanks to wins from Rajat Makkar on top board, as well as captain Remy Rushbrooke, who was awarded the Brilliancy Prize for the finish below.
White to play and mate in two moves. Composed by Otto Wurzburg, Zlata Praha, 1907. Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 16 March. 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
Nodirbek Abdusattorov continued his formidable run with victory at the Prague Masters, adding to triumphs at the Tata Steel Masters in January and the London Chess Classic in December. The Uzbek grandmaster now sits fourth in the world on live ratings, making his absence from the Candidates tournament, which begins at the end of March,
White to play. Royal-Radeva, Isle of Wight Masters, 2025. Royal found a quick way to wrap up the game. Which move did he play? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 9 March. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first correct answer out of a hat. Please include a postal
There is a persistent contrarian view that the world’s top players maintain their high ratings by being part of a closed shop. According to that theory, the same players get invited to all the same tournaments, where they face each other repeatedly, and the prevalence of draws between closely matched players means that nobody’s rating
Black to play. Sigurjonsson-Timman, Wijk aan Zee 1980. Timman has sacrificed a rook to open up White’s king. His next move was a decisive blow. What did he play? Email answers to chess@spectator.co.uk by Monday 2 March. There is a prize of a £20 John Lewis voucher for the first correct answer out of a
Jan Timman, the Dutch grandmaster who at his peak reached second place in the world rankings, died in February at the age of 74. For much of the 1980s, when Soviet players (especially Karpov and Kasparov) dominated the game, Timman was regarded as the ‘Best of the West’. As a young man, Timman was drawn to the bohemian
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
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
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
‘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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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?