Competition, history, and culture

Chess played by opponents at a physical board, as distinct from moves transmitted through the internet or other remote means.

Chess in which players transmit their moves through the internet using a virtual board or connected electronic playing device.

A form of chess where the players are not seated at the same board and transmit moves remotely, normally with long periods for reflection.

A form of correspondence chess in which players transmit their moves primarily through physical mail.

A form of chess in which a player cannot see the board and must keep the entire position in mind.

A format in which one player plays several separate chess games at the same time against multiple opponents.

An exhibition in which one player plays several games at once without seeing the boards and keeps every position in memory.

A game in which two or more players on the same side discuss the position and jointly choose their moves.

A contest between two teams across several boards, with individual game results combined into an overall team result.

A fixed-round tournament format that repeatedly pairs players with equal or nearby scores without requiring everyone to meet.

A tournament format in which every participant plays exactly one game against every other participant.

A format in which every participant faces every opponent twice, normally once with White and once with Black.

A format in which participants play successive elimination rounds and the loser of each contest leaves the tournament.

A scheduled contest between the same two players over one or more games, with an overall result determined by stated rules.

A short match of only a few games, with its exact length and thinking-time limits defined by the event regulations.

A fixed-duration online format in which players play successive games and accumulate points until the tournament clock expires.

A group format in which every member of one group plays every member of the opposing group.

One of FIDE's approved Swiss pairing systems, using scoregroups and ordered priorities for opponents, floaters, and colors.

A FIDE Swiss pairing system that tries to balance the average strength of opponents faced by players who have the same score.

A Swiss-system variation that modifies early pairings to reduce highly uneven matchups in the opening rounds.

A predefined table that turns pairing numbers into a complete round-robin schedule.

The process that decides which player receives White and which receives Black after a pairing has been formed.

A Swiss-pairing marker associated with movement between score levels, usually when opponents with different scores are paired.

The label given to a player from a lower scoregroup after playing an opponent from a higher scoregroup.

A label usually given to a player from a higher scoregroup after playing someone from a lower one, and also assigned by FIDE in certain no-game cases.

A temporary group of players that a Swiss system processes together while forming pairings for a round.

The set of participants who have the same score for pairing purposes at a given point in a Swiss tournament.

The process of ordering or placing participants before play, usually using rating or another criterion defined by the event.

A participant's position in the tournament's ordered starting list before results begin changing the standings.

Chess played with long time controls, in contrast with rapid and blitz formats.

A format in which each player's regulatory playing time is more than 10 minutes but less than 60 under FIDE rules.

A very fast format that the FIDE Laws define as 10 minutes or less of regulatory playing time per player.

A widely used informal name for extremely fast chess games, usually shorter than ordinary blitz.

A fixed amount of time added to a player's clock for every move.

A clock mode that gives a non-cumulative grace period on each move before the player's main time is fully consumed.

A clock mode that, after each move, restores up to a fixed amount of the time just used, without letting the balance exceed its start-of-move level.

A term used for a final clock period in which all remaining moves must be completed and, in some events, for a deciding game or phase intended to settle a tied match.

A formal suspension of an unfinished game so that play can resume later from the same position.

The rule that determines how much thinking time each player has and when additional time is received during a game.

A tie-breaking game in which one colour receives draw odds, ensuring that the game produces a winner of the match.

An extra game or series of games played over the board to rank participants who finished tied.

A regulated criterion that ranks participants on equal scores without additional games, using tournament results or other data specified by the regulations.

A round in which a participant has no opponent; the points received depend on the type of bye and the event regulations.

A requested bye in which the player does not play the round and receives half a point under the event's conditions.

A game that ends in a draw after relatively few moves; it is a descriptive term with no universal move-count threshold.

A Swiss pairing system designed so players on equal scores have faced opposition of roughly comparable strength.

A Swiss pairing system that processes scoregroups from both ends of the standings and pairs the median scoregroup last.

A Swiss system in which every pairing is a two-game match between the same players, with colours reversed for the second game.

A system that applies Swiss pairing principles to whole teams round by round according to their score.

An acceleration method that changes early Swiss pairings with temporary virtual points to reduce highly uneven first-round matchups.

A restricted tournament-number draw table designed to help keep players from the same federation apart in the final rounds.

Color difference is the number of games played with White minus the number played with Black.

Color preference is the color, White or Black, that a pairing system should ideally give a player in the next game.

Color history records the sequence of tournament games in which a player had White or Black.

The Tournament Pairing Number, or TPN, identifies a participant's initial position in the ordering used by the tournament pairing system.

A pairing-allocated bye is a round in which the pairing system leaves one participant without an opponent because an odd number must be paired.

A full-point bye is an unplayed round in which a participant receives the same score that a win would award.

A zero-point bye is an unplayed round in which the participant receives zero points.

A stable team list assigning each player a board position for the duration of a competition.

A large team-event system in which every team meets every other team, while each player covers only part of the schedule.

A competition in which moves are played online while every player is physically supervised at an approved venue.

A player who could not be paired in one scoregroup and is carried into the next lower bracket by the Swiss pairing algorithm.

Internet competition in which an arbiter remotely monitors players through technical controls specified by the event.

A Dutch-system operation that swaps equal-sized groups of resident players between two subgroups to seek a valid pairing.

A reordering of the resident players in S2 to test a different candidate pairing in the Dutch algorithm.

A format that normally places four players in a small round robin, giving each participant three games.

Time charged to a player while it is that player's turn to move in a correspondence chess game.

A round that a participant asks not to play and that normally scores either half a point or zero under the event rules.

A player belonging to the scoregroup that creates a pairing bracket in the FIDE Dutch system.

A player's next move written in secret when a game is adjourned and will be resumed later.

A system for very large correspondence events that assigns each entrant a limited set of opponents through a predetermined formula.

An optional rule preventing players from offering or agreeing a draw before an event-defined move threshold.

A competition in which every game begins from a predetermined opening, move sequence, or position.

A correspondence time control that divides each player's available time among a clock, an increment, and a bank.

Direct encounter is a tie-break that compares the points scored in games played among the participants who finished tied.

Buchholz is a Swiss-tournament tie-break that adds the final scores of a participant's opponents.

Buchholz Median-1 is a Buchholz variation that removes one least significant and one most significant contribution before summing the rest.

Sonneborn-Berger is a tie-break that combines each opponent's final score with the points the player scored against that opponent.

The Koya system is a round-robin tie-break that adds points scored against participants who achieved at least 50% of the maximum possible tournament score.

Progressive score is a tie-break that adds the participant's total tournament score at the end of every round.

Performance rating estimates the rating level represented by a player's result in a specific set of games against opponents of a given strength.

A live rating is an in-period estimate that incorporates recent results before those changes appear on the next official published rating list.

A provisional rating is a temporary strength figure used before an official or established rating exists, but its exact meaning depends on the system using the term.

A lower limit that a rating system places on a rating or uses as a minimum value for a specific calculation.

A numerical system that estimates competitive strength from a player's results against rated opponents.

Grandmaster, or GM, is the highest player title in the open over-the-board series of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

International Master, or IM, is an open International Chess Federation (FIDE) title below Grandmaster and above FIDE Master.

FIDE Master, or FM, is an open over-the-board title of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), positioned between International Master and Candidate Master.

Candidate Master, or CM, is the entry title in the open over-the-board player-title series of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

Woman Grandmaster, or WGM, is a women's title of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) with requirements separate from the open Grandmaster title.

Woman International Master, or WIM, is a women's title of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), positioned between Woman Grandmaster and Woman FIDE Master.

Woman FIDE Master, or WFM, is a women's title of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) whose ordinary rating threshold is 2100.

Woman Candidate Master, or WCM, is the entry-level title in the women's title series of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

Arena Grandmaster, or AGM, is the highest lower-rating-band online title of FIDE Online Arena, recognized by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

A norm is a tournament performance meeting the performance and opposition requirements of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) for a specific title.

A GM norm is a performance satisfying the International Chess Federation (FIDE) requirements used on the path to the Grandmaster title.

An IM norm is a performance satisfying the International Chess Federation (FIDE) requirements used on the path to the International Master title.

A direct title is a title that the International Chess Federation (FIDE) awards for a specified result in a recognized competition.

A title application is the administrative process for submitting to the International Chess Federation (FIDE) the evidence needed to approve or register a title.

A FIDE ID, or FIN, is the unique number identifying a player registered by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

The entry-level international arbiter title awarded by FIDE to officials who meet defined training and tournament-experience requirements.

FIDE's advanced international arbiter title, awarded to FIDE Arbiters who satisfy additional training and experience requirements.

An official FIDE Online Arena title earned by maintaining an online rating of at least 1700 for a required number of games.

An official FIDE Online Arena title earned by maintaining an online rating of at least 1400 for a required number of games.

An official FIDE Online Arena title earned by maintaining an online rating of at least 1100 for a required number of games.

A tournament result that satisfies FIDE's conditions to count toward the women-specific Woman Grandmaster title.

A tournament result that satisfies FIDE's conditions to count toward the women-specific Woman International Master title.

A procedure that assigns a result to an unfinished game through evaluation by an independent third party.

A tournament body that reviews a formal appeal submitted after the Chief Arbiter has made a decision.

A certificate evaluating arbitral performance in a valid activity that may count toward a FIDE arbiter title application.

A tie-break averaging the Buchholz scores of faced opponents to measure a second layer of schedule difficulty.

A tie-break averaging each opponent's perfect performance as calculated from that opponent's score and field strength.

A tie-break calculating the average rating of the opponents a player actually faced over the board.

A tie-break averaging the tournament performance rating calculated for every opponent faced.

A team knockout tie-break weighting game points according to the number of the board on which they were scored.

A team tie-break progressively excluding results from the lowest boards until the tie is broken.

The person leading a tournament's arbitral operation and making the highest-responsibility decisions within that team.

An international player title awarded by ICCF for regulated results in correspondence chess.

An ICCF international title for players who achieve master-level results in correspondence chess.

The multiplier controlling how much a FIDE rating changes when actual results differ from expected results.

A FIDE trainer title with an associated license, focused on teaching children and adults who are starting chess.

A team tie-break examining games among tied teams with the primary score first and the secondary score next.

A family of team tie-breaks weighting what was scored against each opponent by that opponent's final score.

The first FIDE organizer title for people with demonstrated experience running standard rated chess tournaments.

A FIDE trainer title with an associated license for developing intermediate and advanced players toward organized competition.

A FIDE title for organizers with broad international experience and specific preparation to direct high-level official events.

FIDE's highest organizer title, awarded for an exceptional record directing major official chess competitions.

FIDE's highest trainer title, reserved for an extraordinary and sustained contribution to high-level chess.

An official title for coaches able to prepare advanced players for international competitions, title norms, and championships.

A tie-break that calculates Buchholz as if every paired game in the final round had ended in a draw.

ICCF's highest player title for elite achievement in international correspondence chess.

An ICCF title for correspondence tournament directors with extensive experience and proven administrative work.

A permanent ICCF international player title for strong results in correspondence chess.

A permanent ICCF title placed between International Master and Grandmaster in correspondence chess.

A player who keeps a FIDE rating but has played no rated games for one year.

The first playing-strength number that FIDE officially publishes for a previously unrated player.

A team tie-break that uses whichever score type does not determine the primary standings.

An official FIDE title for trainers who develop players toward national and international youth competition.

A tie-break that counts how many games a participant actually played with the black pieces.

A tie-break that counts only victories earned in games that were actually played.

A tie-break that counts victories earned in games actually played with the black pieces.

A tie-break that counts rounds in which a participant receives the full score awarded for a win, with or without play.

The recurring publication that establishes FIDE's official ratings and replaces the preceding list.

A tie-break that finds the lowest whole-number rating whose expected score reaches the player's actual score.

The interval during which an official rating list is valid and whose accepted results feed the next list.

A tie-break that starts with all tournament rounds and subtracts certain chosen byes or unplayed losses.

A team tie-break that adds the secondary score to a normalized measure of the opponents' strength.

The fraction of a point the rating system expects a player to score from a given rating difference.

A tie-break that normalizes each round as a win, equality or loss by comparing the participant's score with the scheduled opponent's.

A team tie-break that compares points on board one first, then moves downward board by board if the tie remains.

A player who has no published rating on the particular list and time control used for the competition.

The international governing body for competitive chess, providing official frameworks for rules, ratings, titles, and major international events.

The national chess federation of the United States, responsible for organizing and rating much of the country's official competitive chess.

The international federation for correspondence chess, where moves are transmitted remotely and thinking time is normally far longer than in live play.

The world federation for chess composition, covering the creation, solving, regulation, and competition of chess problems and studies.

The continental organization that brings national federations together and coordinates institutional and competitive chess in Africa.

A transnational organization that brings together and coordinates chess federations from Arab countries.

The continental organization that coordinates national federations, championships and chess development across Asia.

An international organization representing shared chess activities among countries of the Commonwealth.

The continental organization coordinating national federations and official chess competitions across the Americas.

A continental association of national federations that represents and organizes European chess.

The international organization promoting and structuring chess for blind and visually impaired people.

The international organization representing and organizing competitive chess for deaf people.

An international organization for research, development and competition involving programs that play chess and other games.

A FIDE-affiliated international federation representing and creating competitive opportunities for chess players with physical disabilities.

An international organization connecting school associations and promoting chess as both an educational and competitive activity.

A regional organization that coordinates and promotes chess activity among federations and communities across Oceania.

A medieval Persian and Islamic form of chess with a similar board and setup but several different piece powers and rules.

A strategic tradition associated with Steinitz that emphasized evaluating the position, accumulating durable advantages, and attacking when justified.

An early twentieth-century school that showed the center can be controlled from a distance and an overextended pawn center can become a target.

A historical label for nineteenth-century chess emphasizing rapid development, initiative, king attacks, gambits, and spectacular sacrifices.

A twentieth-century Soviet training tradition known for systematic study, deep analysis, opening preparation, and organized competitive development.

A historical piece that leaped exactly two squares diagonally and differed sharply from the modern bishop.

A Paris café that served for generations as one of the leading public centers of European chess.

A historical Indian four-player game related to chess and known through incomplete or varying descriptions of its rules.

An ancient Indian strategy game regarded as one of the principal historical ancestors of chess.

A historical counselor piece that moved one square diagonally and became an ancestor of the modern queen.

A family of medieval rules allowing an exceptional early king move before castling became standardized.

A historical name for the European reform that gave the queen its modern mobility and greatly accelerated play.

A historical composed position asking the solver to prove a win, draw, or another result under old rules.

A famous eighteenth-century exhibition machine that seemed to play chess alone but concealed a human operator.

An eighteenth-century theoretical current favoring rapid development, open lines, and direct attacks on the king.

An eighteenth-century French master who made pawn play and strategy central subjects in the systematic study of chess.

A leading nineteenth-century English player, writer, and organizer whose surname also identifies the standard tournament chess-piece design.

A nineteenth-century American prodigy whose brief career showed the value of rapid development, activity, and well-prepared attacks with unusual clarity.

The first official World Chess Champion and a thinker who helped replace automatic attacking with a more systematic evaluation of the position.

The Cuban World Champion from 1921 to 1927, renowned for clarity, technical precision, and mastery of positions with few pieces.

A World Champion known for combining strategic preparation with complex attacks, sacrifices, and deeply calculated sequences.

A Soviet World Champion and influential teacher who made systematic preparation a central part of elite chess.

A Latvian World Champion famous for sacrifices, initiative, and complex positions that forced opponents to solve difficult problems at the board.

An American World Champion from 1972 to 1975 whose extraordinary path to the title ended a long succession of Soviet champions.

A World Champion from 1985 to 2000, famous for attacking energy, opening preparation, and a central role in the computer-chess era.

A Norwegian World Champion from 2013 to 2023, noted for versatility, endgame technique, and an ability to win seemingly balanced positions.

An Indian grandmaster and world champion who helped turn India into a central force in international chess.

A nineteenth-century German master, winner of London 1851, and an emblematic figure of attacking chess.

A Soviet grandmaster, 1951 world title challenger, and one of the most creative chess thinkers of his era.

A Georgian grandmaster who held the Women's World Chess Championship from 1978 until 1991.

A nineteenth-century Russian master, twice a world title challenger, and a founding figure of Russian chess.

A Chinese grandmaster who held the open World Chess Championship from 2023 until 2024.

Max Euwe was the fifth world chess champion, as well as a mathematician, author, teacher, and president of the International Chess Federation.

Nona Gaprindashvili was Women's World Champion from 1962 to 1978 and the first woman to receive chess's highest standard international title.

Gioacchino Greco was a seventeenth-century Italian master and author whose manuscripts spread attacking ideas, traps, and forcing combinations.

Gukesh Dommaraju is an Indian chess player who became the youngest classical World Champion at age 18 in 2024.

Hou Yifan is a Chinese chess player, four-time women's world champion, and accomplished competitor in events open to every gender.

Ju Wenjun is a Chinese chess player who won five editions of the Women's World Championship from 2018 through 2025.

Judit Polgár was a Hungarian chess player who reached the world elite while competing mainly in events open to every gender.

Anatoly Karpov was the twelfth world champion and a master of gradual pressure and converting small advantages.

Paul Keres was an Estonian and Soviet chess player, major tournament winner, and one of the strongest players never to become world champion.

Viktor Korchnoi was a Soviet and Swiss chess player who challenged twice for the world title and remained elite for an exceptionally long career.

Vladimir Kramnik defeated Kasparov for the world title in 2000 and reunited the championship's two rival branches in 2006.

Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais was the leading player of the 1830s and winner of the famous series against Alexander McDonnell.

Bent Larsen was a Danish chess player, world title contender, and one of the most original leading players of his generation.

Emanuel Lasker was the second world champion and held the title for 27 years, the longest continuous official reign.

Géza Maróczy was an elite Hungarian player known for strategic control, precision, and influential coaching.

Frank Marshall was a United States champion, world title challenger, and celebrated attacker known for sacrifices and unexpected resources.

Vera Menchik was the first women's world champion and a pioneer who regularly competed against leading players of every gender.

Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-Argentine chess player, world elite contender, and exceptional team competitor.

Aron Nimzowitsch was an elite player and writer who reshaped modern strategy through hypermodern ideas.

Tigran Petrosian was the ninth world champion, renowned for preventing threats and turning defense into counterattack.

Harry Nelson Pillsbury was a rapidly rising American master, Hastings 1895 winner, and exceptional blindfold player.

Samuel Reshevsky was an American prodigy and world-title contender whose elite career lasted for several decades.

Richard Réti was a player, writer, and composer who helped establish the hypermodern approach to chess.

Akiba Rubinstein was one of the strongest players never to win the world title and a lasting endgame model.

Ruy López de Segura was a Spanish Renaissance author and player who pioneered systematic opening study.

Vasily Smyslov was the seventh world champion, celebrated for harmonious piece play and precise endgame technique.

Boris Spassky was the tenth world champion and a versatile player who excelled in very different styles.

Mian Sultan Khan was a Punjabi player who reached the European elite during a remarkably brief international career.

Susan Polgar is a world champion, grandmaster, and coach who opened new competitive paths for women in chess.

Siegbert Tarrasch was a player, physician, and writer who turned classical chess principles into an accessible system.

Savielly Tartakower was a Polish-French master, theorist, and writer who connected classical and hypermodern chess.

Veselin Topalov won the 2005 FIDE world title and played in the 2006 match that reunified the championship.

Xie Jun was Asia's first Women's World Champion and a central figure in the rise of Chinese chess.

Johannes Zukertort was a leading nineteenth-century player and Steinitz's opponent in the first recognized world championship.

The International Chess Federation's leading national-team competition, normally held every two years with Open and Women's sections.

Chess's leading individual classical title, now decided through a qualification cycle that culminates in a match for the crown.

An individual world title restricted to women, with its own history since 1927 and a competition cycle separate from the open championship.

An elite competition whose winner earns the right to challenge the World Chess Champion in the next title match.

A major individual FIDE competition that combines a title of its own with qualification places for the Candidates Tournament.

An International Chess Federation (FIDE) tournament using score-based pairings that forms part of World Championship qualification.

An elite annual tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, with a tradition dating back to 1938.

A historic Spanish elite tournament held in Linares, Andalusia, which grew from a modest 1978 event into a world-class fixture.

The 1953 Candidates Tournament in Switzerland, won by Vasily Smyslov and made a study classic by David Bronstein's book.

The 1972 World Championship series in Reykjavik, where Bobby Fischer defeated reigning champion Boris Spassky by 12.5 to 8.5.

The famous 1851 game in which Adolf Anderssen defeated Lionel Kieseritzky through a spectacular attack involving enormous material sacrifices.

The name given to thirteen-year-old Bobby Fischer's celebrated 1956 victory over Donald Byrne in New York.

Aron Nimzowitsch's classic strategy book about restricting enemy play, blockading pawns, using open files, and understanding passed pawns and pawn chains.

A reference work and coding system that organizes chess openings into categories identified from A00 through E99.

A chess publisher and periodical founded in Belgrade in 1966, known for selecting, annotating, and classifying high-level games.

An official International Chess Federation (FIDE) anthology selecting chess problems and studies deliberately constructed as compositions.

A Dutch elite tournament in which Paul Keres and Reuben Fine shared first place.

Reuben Fine's reference manual covering a broad range of chess endgames.

A British monthly chess journal published continuously since 1881.

The Buenos Aires world-title match in which Alexander Alekhine dethroned José Raúl Capablanca.

José Raúl Capablanca's instructional book on essential endgame, strategic, and practical principles.

A US Chess magazine documenting tournaments, players, instruction, and American federation life.

Mark Dvoretsky's advanced manual of essential endgame positions, methods, and decisions.

A celebrated attacking game between Adolf Anderssen and Jean Dufresne, first published in 1852.

An official tournament series that awarded Candidates places in certain world championship cycles.

An official women's tournament series whose cumulative results feed the world championship cycle.

An official women's Swiss-system tournament that can award places in the Women's Candidates.

An official women's knockout competition whose leading finishers can qualify for the Women's Candidates.

A 1912 game in which Frank Marshall finished against Levitsky with a celebrated queen offer.

An elite international circuit combining several tournaments under one season points table.

A historic 22-player tournament won by Harry Nelson Pillsbury in his major international debut.

A historical world-cycle stage bringing together zonal qualifiers and sending leading finishers to the Candidates.

The first Karpov-Kasparov world-title match, terminated without a result after 48 games.

The six-game match in which Deep Blue defeated reigning world champion Garry Kasparov by 3.5 points to 2.5.

Emanuel Lasker's broad treatise on fundamentals, openings, tactics, positional play, aesthetics, and model games.

The Howard Staunton event widely regarded as the first major international chess tournament.

A long-running reference series that organizes and summarizes established chess-opening variations.

The first major international tournament held in the Soviet Union, won by Efim Bogoljubow.

Bobby Fischer's 1969 collection analyzing sixty significant games from his own career.

An international English-language magazine featuring annotated games, tournaments, interviews, history, and chess culture.

An elite double round-robin tournament won by Emanuel Lasker ahead of Capablanca and Alekhine.

The elite event in which Capablanca and Botvinnik shared first place with 10 points from 14 games.

The 1858 informal game in which Paul Morphy defeated two opponents who jointly chose Black's moves.

A two-stage elite tournament that Emanuel Lasker won by half a point over José Raúl Capablanca.

A recurring elite classical invitational tournament held in Saint Louis, United States.

The match generally recognized as the first formal world chess championship, won by Wilhelm Steinitz.

David Hooper and Ken Whyld's encyclopedic reference on chess history, people, terminology, openings, and culture.

The premier national tournament that determines the overall chess champion of the United States.

The Soviet national championship series held from 1920 to 1991 and renowned for the exceptional strength of its fields.

The ten-board team match in which the Soviet selection won 20.5-19.5 in Belgrade.

The International Chess Federation competition that selects the challenger to the reigning Women's World Champion.

The official International Chess Federation championship that awards the world title in blitz chess.

An international championship held from 1974 to 2024 in which computer chess systems competed for the world title.

The International Chess Federation world championship for players who satisfy the event's under-20 age requirement.

The official International Chess Federation championship that awards the world title in rapid chess.

An International Chess Federation competition in which national teams contest encounters made up of several simultaneous games.

The International Chess Federation group of world championships for the under-14, under-16, and under-18 age categories.

Garry Kasparov’s win over Veselin Topalov at Wijk aan Zee 1999, famous for a rook sacrifice and an extended king hunt.

Magnus Carlsen’s win with Black against Viswanathan Anand in game six of the 2013 World Championship. A rook ending with defensive resources gave the challenger his second consecutive victory and a 4-2 match lead.

A game from the Varna Olympiad in which Botvinnik defended an inferior ending with White against Fischer. Their draw is remembered both for the defence and for the analytical debate that continued afterwards.

Mikhail Tal’s win with Black against Mikhail Botvinnik, begun in Moscow on 26 March 1960, remembered for the sacrifice 21...Nf4 and the subsequent conversion of the initiative into a winning endgame.

Hou Yifan's victory over Judit Polgar in round seven of Gibraltar 2012, part of a performance that brought her a share of the highest score in the main tournament.

Vassily Ivanchuk’s win with White against Garry Kasparov in the opening round of Linares 1991. Early exchanges of bishops for knights led to an attack that left the black king without adequate defence.

The deciding game of the 2023 Women's World Championship. Ju Wenjun defeated Lei Tingjie in Chongqing to win the match 6.5-5.5, converting an ending with a rook and two knights against two rooks.

Anatoly Karpov’s victory over Wolfgang Unzicker at the 1974 Nice Olympiad, built through restriction, piece coordination and a switch of attention towards the king.

Anand’s second win with Black in the Bonn match: a fresh debate in the Meran that ended with a tactical blow and a decisive passed pawn.

The fourth and decisive rapid game of the 2023 World Championship, won with Black by Ding Liren in 68 moves.

Judit Polgár’s victory over Ivan Sokolov at Wijk aan Zee 2005, a Closed Ruy Lopez that developed from queenside counterplay into an attack on the king. Its interest also lies in the winner’s critical reassessment of her own play.

Akiba Rubinstein’s victory over Georg Salwe in the three-player Łódź tournament of 1908. Pressure against Black’s structure becomes an extra pawn and then a passed pawn supported by the pieces.