Raymond Keene

London

Chess Columnist at British Chess Magazine

Chess columnist @tweetTheArticle + British Chess Magazine. Global President World Memory Championships. Once Champagne Tory, now Reform. Still pro Champagne.

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Articles

Chess on TV: from famine to glut

2 weeks ago | thearticle.com | Raymond Keene

After years with no chess on mainstream TV channels, we now have a plethora. BBC Two’s recently broadcast series Chess Masters: The Endgame divided opinions. “Talia”, a transgender (former male) winner, was eventually crowned as the Victrix Ludorum and The Endgame reached its grand finale amid a continuing debate between experts, but not because of the transgender element in sport, recently challenged in the UK Supreme Court.
Caissa unchained: Carl Portman’s chess odyssey

3 weeks ago | thearticle.com | Raymond Keene

How does a young person come to chess? A recent feature by Gerald Drissner in Credo, the wealth journal of the Liechtenstein Global Trust, struck certain chords with my own experiences. Credo is lent added poignancy, in that it is published by my good friend and sponsor of Tony Buzan’s mental skills Intelligence Institute Academy, His Serene Highness Prince Philipp Von and Zu Liechtenstein.
Tarrasch versus Nimzowitsch

3 weeks ago | thearticle.com | Raymond Keene

Member ratings This article has not been rated yet. Be the first person to rate this article. The history of chess has been marked by numerous epic confrontations. These include Staunton vs. St Amant, a microcosmic struggle from 1843 which acquired particular relevance from memories of the traditional macrocosmic Anglo-French rivalry, culminating at the Battle of Waterloo.
Is declining IQ just a moral panic?

1 month ago | thearticle.com | Raymond Keene

In terms coined by South African criminologist, Stanley Cohen, a moral panic refers to intense feelings of fear, concern or anger, throughout a given community, in response to the perception that cultural values or interests are being threatened by a specific group, known as folk devils. Moral panics are characterised by an exaggeration of the actual threat posed by the perceived folk devil.
The Icelandic candidate: Olafsson’s saga

1 month ago | thearticle.com | Raymond Keene

The Icelandic Grandmaster Fridrik Olafsson died on 4 April at the age of 90. Born in 1935, Olafsson’s distinguished career included qualification for the 1959 world championship Candidates’ tournament (of which he was the last survivor) as well as election to the position of President of FIDÉ, the World Chess Federation. His victims across the board included four world champions: Tal, Petrosian, Fischer and Karpov.
Adventures with the English

1 month ago | thearticle.com | Raymond Keene

Member ratings Well argued: 100% Interesting points: 100% Agree with arguments: 100% 1 rating - view all This week I celebrate the achievements of Howard Staunton, the only English player with a claim to have been world chess champion. In those days, best in Europe meant best in the world.
Bullion in Breslau

1 month ago | thearticle.com | Raymond Keene

One of the most celebrated legends of chess lore concerns a game won by the American champion and grandmaster Frank Marshall in 1912 at the tournament of Breslau, then in the German Empire (now Wroclaw in Poland). Marshall sacrificed his Queen in sparkling fashion and was allegedly rewarded with a shower of gold coins by the astonished and admiring throng of spectators.
Chess, Go and global diplomacy

2 months ago | thearticle.com | Raymond Keene

Of the major board games, Draughts relies primarily on material superiority to achieve victory. Meanwhile Go (known in China as Wei Chi) depends on control of territory. Only chess, where triumph is ultimately and solely confirmed by checkmate, transcends all elements of material, time or space. Although such factors may well contribute to an advantage, only checkmate, or its inevitability, can confer the final and decisive laurels.
Clear Blue water: Varsity Chess Match 2025

2 months ago | thearticle.com | Raymond Keene

Cambridge have narrowly won the 2025 Varsity match against Oxford, the world’s longest running chess competition, which began in 1873 and now spans three centuries. This result gives Cambridge a clear two-match lead in this venerable series. Here are the precise scores: 2025 Varsity Chess Match Oxford moved into an early lead, but late errors by Oxford allowed the light blues a sequence of victories which permitted Cambridge to sweep into the lead by just one point.
Stalemate: the art of the draw

2 months ago | thearticle.com | Raymond Keene |Sameer Hinduja |Ali M. Mahmoud

Rescuing oneself from a seemingly hopeless position forms part of the armoury of every strong chess player. The current political situation in Ukraine reminds me ineluctably of the chess player’s ability to salvage a draw from an inferior position. And of the various ways to achieve a draw, stalemate is by far the most emphatic.