Author - The Journal

Wild hunting dogs

African wild hunting dogs are one of the most successful predators in the animal kingdom. Cooperation and coordination are the keys to their success. Because of their small stature, injuries...

DATE: Apr 24, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner

What lurks in pawn chains

Black to move and win Javokhir Sindarov of Uzbekistan won the open division of the Candidates Tournament in historic fashion and will play India’s Gukesh Dommaraj for the World Chess Champio...

DATE: Apr 20, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner

A rising star

What is black’s best move?

DATE: Apr 12, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner

Free but costly

When negotiating, it is usually advantageous to avoid making the first offer. Similarly, in chess, sometimes it is best not to have the move and instead give your opponent an extra move. The...

DATE: Mar 20, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner

Open lanes

DIAG 1 The Netherlands’ Jan Timman was one of the world’s top players from the 1970s to the early 2000s and at one time the second highest rated player in the world. He was also a belov...

DATE: Feb 26, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner

The Trojan pawn

Magnus Carlsen won his 21st World Championship title this month, winning the International Chess Federation’s first official Freestyle Chess Championship. In freestyle chess, the starting po...

DATE: Feb 23, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner

The Swiss cheese defense

In 1792, King Louis XVI’s 900 Swiss guards tried to protect the king against a mob of more than 20,000 revolutionaries at the Tuileries Palace. Despite a valiant effort, the Swiss guards wer...

DATE: Feb 15, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner

To err is human

The prestigious Tata Steel Chess tournament in the Netherlands is a multiweek event that concluded on Feb. 1. Nordirbek Abdusattorov won the event, and fellow Uzbek Javokhir Sindarov placed ...

DATE: Feb 9, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner

A smart general

What is white’s best move?

DATE: Jan 30, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner

Life is soup, and you are a fork

The word fork is derived from the Latin furca and dates back to about 2400 B.C. The ancient Egyptians and Chinese used forks. Forks are here to stay, you might say. During the Shang Dynasty,...

DATE: Jan 26, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner

Those who bait

The alligator turtle lures unsuspecting fish into its jaws with its tongue, which looks like a tasty worm. As the fish goes for the bait, the turtle’s jaws snap shut and it’s the worm that g...

DATE: Jan 19, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner

Something wicked

DIAG 1 In Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth,” Lady Macbeth drugs the king’s guards, allowing General Macbeth to murder King Duncan easily. Similarly, in this week’s position White removes Bla...

DATE: Jan 12, 2026 | CATEGORY: Chess Corner