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GM Jan Timman

In memoriam Jan Timman (14 December 1951 – 18 February 2026)

It’s with great sadness that all of us at New In Chess are trying to cope with the passing away of Jan Timman, a wonderful colleague and dear friend. Jan’s importance to New In Chess cannot be overstated. He was the magazine’s first editor in chief and always kept playing a pivotal role, contributing articles and annotated games, and giving advice on editorial matters till the very end. Besides his work for the magazine, Jan was one of our most beloved book authors. He wrote countless classics in an endless outpour of creativity. His most recent titles include his best games collection Timman’s Triumphs (2020), The Unstoppable American (2021), Max Euwe’s Best Games (2023), 100 Endgame Studies You Must Know (2024) and Timman’s Studies (2025).The latter titles focus on one of his great passions in his later years, the beauty of the endgame study.New In Chess has been blessed that the magazine started out when Jan was one of the best and most successful players in the world and that his love175

GM Boris Gelfand

Combinations with Boris Gelfand

Starting with issue 2025#8, Boris Gelfand, the 2012 World Champion finalist, will keep track of what’s happening on the chessboard. He will highlight the most interesting games and endgames that are not featured in our tournament reports. As we have limited space in our magazine, there was some very interesting and entertaining material left that we would love to share with you. Below are some nice combinations selected by and commented on by Boris. Sasa Martinovic – Mads Andersen25th European Teams, Batumi GEO 2025White missed a nice combination.19. Bh7+ Kf8 20. Nxf7 Kxf7 21. Qh5+ Basically winning.21…g6 (21... Kf8 22. Re3) 22. Bxg6+ Qxg6 23. Re7+ wins the queen. Eytan Rozen – Volkan Sevgi40th ECC Open, Rhodes GRE 2025Another nice combination. OK, he did not find it in the game.32. Nh4!In the game, he took 32.Qxf5 and if Bxf6, it is already unclear. The engine says something like plus one, but you still have to win.32... Ne732... Bxg4 33.Ng6#33. Nxf5 Bxf6 34. Nh6 Rg7 35. Qf4 and White175

GM Boris Gelfand

Endgames with Boris Gelfand

Starting with issue 2025#8, Boris Gelfand, the 2012 World Champion finalist, will keep track of what’s happening on the chessboard. He will highlight the most interesting games and endgames that are not featured in our tournament reports. As we have limited space in our magazine, there was some very interesting and entertaining material left that we would love to share with you. Below are some instructive endgames with Boris Gelfand’s comments. Ukraine won the 2025 European Team Chess Championship in Batumi, which was somewhat of a surprise, as they were the 9th seed in the starting lineup. In the match England - Turkey, the young English prodigy Shreyas Royal had to defend a tricky rook ending against Vahap Sanal. In the end, he managed to secure the draw, but not without mistakes from both sides. Watch and learn! Shreyas Royal – Vahap Sanal25th European Teams, Batumi 2025White gave a check, which seems to be a mistake.64. Rf8+?Here, White had to include 64. g4! f4 and then check. 65175

NIC Podcast #87: GM Jonathan Tisdall

NIC Podcast #87: GM Jonathan Tisdall

In this episode of the New In Chess podcast, I talk to Norwegian grandmaster Jonathan Tisdall. We look back on the Tata Steel Chess Tournament that ended last Sunday after more than two weeks of captivating chess. Both Jonathan and I were in Wijk aan Zee for the final rounds and witnessed how the Tata Steel Masters ended in a great victory for Nodirbek Abdusattorov. Finally, after several failed attempts, the 21-year-old star from Uzbekistan ended the ‘Wijk aan Zee’ curse that had plagued him in the past years. On more than one occasion, he had seen victory elude him on the final days. This time he remained in control till the very end and at long last won the tournament that he had dreamed of from when he was a kid. Finally, his photo will be included in the winners’ gallery of ‘the Wimbledon of Chess’. Jonathan Tisdall was born in the US from a Japanese mother and Irish father, and then - long story short - he emigrated to London and next to Norway, where he has been living for many175

NIC Podcast #86: GM Loek van Wely

NIC Podcast #86: GM Loek van Wely

On the final free day of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, I invited Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely to talk about the ten rounds of ‘the Wimbledon of Chess’ that have been played so far. Much to my delight, Loek - who is in Wijk aan Zee as the coach of Dutch grandmaster Max Warmerdam - accepted the invitation.With three rounds to go, Uzbekistan’s top player Nodirbek Abdusattorov is leading the Tata Steel Masters, half a point ahead of three pursuers: his countryman Javokhir Sindarov, Jorden van Foreest (winner in 2021) and Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum. In the Challengers, Azerbaijan’s biggest promise, Aydin Suleymanli is in the lead. He is being chased by Andy Woodward, MarcAndria Maurizzi and good old Vasyl Ivanchuk (56).The final three rounds promise an abundance of tension and excitement. Especially, as so far this year’s edition has seen a remarkable mix of gross errors, oversights and brilliant chess.We had a lot to discuss. Why have we seen so many mistakes? Should175

NIC Podcast #85: GM Peter Svidler

NIC Podcast #85: GM Peter Svidler

My guest in the first New In Chess Podcast of 2026 is Peter Svidler. It’s a special moment. Two years ago, Peter was my very first guest in the inaugural episode of the podcast and I am delighted that he’s returning. Peter can look back on an incredible career as a player and he is one of the most knowledgeable and versatile experts in the world of chess. He is a three-time Candidate for the World Championship, an eight-time champion of Russia, and a World Cup winner. Among his many further successes are five gold team medals at the Olympiad.Over the past years, as he began to play less, Peter has become one of the most popular and loved chess commentators in the world. In fact, it’s fair to say that he was one of the commentators that took chess broadcasts to a new level and did a lot for the professionalization of our game.  For all these reasons, Peter is a perfect guest at the start of 2026, as we look ahead to a well-filled chess year that no doubt will bring us many highlights.First175

GM Matthew Sadler

Forgotten Genius

Velimirovic is a player whose name will always remain immortal in the collective chess memory. But he had a career that was characterized by strange hiccups and odd twists of fate, robbing him of many opportunities. These book reviews by Matthew Sadler were published in New In Chess magazine 2025#8 I left you on a cliffhanger in the last issue with my finger poised over the ‘order’ button for both volumes of Forgotten Genius – The Life and Games of Grandmaster Dragoljub Velimirovic by Georg Mohr and Ana Velimirovic-Zorica. Well, the story continues happily, as I did order them and loved them both!The book is co-written by the Slovenian player and journalist Georg Mohr and Velimirovic’s daughter Ana. Mohr also co-wrote a volume on Velimirovic’s contemporary Albin Planinc, reviewed in a previous issue. Ana’s involvement adds a special touch to these two volumes. She not only had a large collection of photos and cartoons of her father (many of which appear in both volumes) but also Velimirovic’s175

NIC Podcast #84: GM Matthew Sadler

NIC Podcast #84: GM Matthew Sadler

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, my guest is English grandmaster Matthew Sadler. Matthew is a two-time British Champion, a streamer, a YouTuber, an expert in chess engines, and a very successful author.  From his books, I only have to mention Game Changer, co-authored with Natasha Regan, on AlphaZero’s groundbreaking chess strategies and the promise of AI, which was one of the most successful and talked about books of the past years. But I might also mention its sequel, The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement, and the book he wrote together with Steve Giddins, Re-engineering the Chess Classics.These days Matthew is an IT Consultant, but he makes no secret of the fact that he fills his spare time with as much chess as possible. And although the FIDE rating list no longer has him as an active player, his FIDE rating still hovers eerily close to 2700. In fact, Matthew might very well be the strongest amateur chess player in the world.And last but not least, Matthew is the175

NIC Podcast: GM Anatoly Lutikov

NIC Podcast: GM Anatoly Lutikov

This week's episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from The Essential Sosonko, a collection of chess portraits and personal stories authored by chess grandmaster Ghenna Sosonko. The subject of this week's story is Russian grandmaster Anatoly Lutikov (1933-1989).   "Luka" is another lesser-known name in the Essential catalogue, but his story is no less interesting. Coming from a working-class background, Genna describes how "with his independent character, recklessness, and his entire manner of behaviour, he somehow did not fit in with the academic regime of tournaments on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and theoretical lessons on Fridays. His sole trainer became play itself."   Lutikov's recklessness translated to the chessboard, where he was an attacking player feared by everyone in the Soviet chess elite, and beyond. When a fifteen-year old American boy named Bobby Fischer visited Moscow for a series of blitz matches, he crushed several masters in a row before the "big175

The Real Paul Morphy on PowerPlayChess!

The Real Paul Morphy on PowerPlayChess!

GM Daniel King publishes a variety of interesting chess materials on his YouTube channel PowerPlayChess, ranging from puzzles to book reviews. Recently, he interviewed our author Charles Hertan about his biography of perhaps the most enigmatic chess player in history: Paul Morphy. Watch the interview below, or click here to watch it on YouTube! 

GM Matthew Sadler

Extraordinary inventiveness

It started with his childhood coach, who mentioned the games of Sergio Mariotti, or ‘The Italian Fury’. This led to reading two books about Albin Planinc, a genius of the same category who has almost been forgotten. These book reviews by Matthew Sadler were published in New In Chess magazine 2025#7 This month’s column is a little different because due to a logistical mix-up, I ended up a little short of books! So I’m focusing this time on the books I’ve bought recently myself, my reasons for doing so and what I’ve discovered!The first set of books I’d like to discuss are Apologia of the Unexpected – Selected Games of Albin Planinc by Pablo Iglesias (Amazon, self-published) and Forgotten Genius – The Life and Games of Grandmaster Albin Planinc by Georg Mohr and Adrian Mikhalchishin (Thinkers Publishing). As you may gather, I’ve developed an interest in the games of this Slovenian Grandmaster (1944-2008) who for a brief period (1968-1975) dazzled the chess175

NIC Podcast #82: GM Jan Timman

NIC Podcast #82: GM Jan Timman

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, my guest is Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman. Jan returns to the podcast to talk about his latest book, Timman’s Studies, an impressive volume of 455 pages in which he presents his collected endgame studies and explains how they originated.Of course, Jan Timman is primarily known as the most successful Dutch chess player of the past fifty years; a world-class player who won countless elite tournaments around the world and rose to second place in the world rankings, behind Anatoly Karpov, in 1982.However, in recent years, after Covid, Jan’s appearances as a player had become less frequent, and a few weeks ago he announced in an interview with Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, that he has ended his active career as a player. Of course, he still follows chess closely – and he stresses that this is classical chess and not rapid chess, even if Magnus Carlsen plays, and certainly not Freestyle chess. As Honorary Editor, Jan also continues to write175

NIC Podcast #81: GM Loek van Wely

NIC Podcast #81: GM Loek van Wely

In this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast, my guest is Dutch grandmaster Loek van Wely. Loek is a good friend of the NIC podcast and he returns to talk about the chess event that is keeping us glued to our screens these days, the World Cup in Goa, India.  An 8-time Dutch champion, Loek can look back on a rich international career. He’s won tournaments all around the world and reached as high as 10th place in the world rankings. While Loek is still active as a player, his activities are more and more shifting to coaching and training. For instance, at last year’s Olympiad in Budapest, he was the coach of the Italian team.The World Cup started almost two weeks ago and will continue for close to two more weeks. There’s a lot at stake in Goa, as the top three finishers will qualify for the Candidates tournament in Cyprus next year (28 March-15 April). There’s also an attractive prize-fund. The winner takes home $120,000 and the numbers two and three, $85,000 and $60,000, respectively175

New In Chess magazine

Six issues in 2026

It is no secret that, in recent years, magazines worldwide have been facing logistical and financial challenges. Publishers that fail to address these issues will struggle to control costs and produce high-quality content. At New in Chess, we are committed to balancing all concerns and have found a compromise that works for everyone. Our traditional publishing structure comprised eight 100-page issues. From 2026 onwards, we will publish six issues, totaling 800 pages across them. This will reduce some obvious and some less obvious expenses. The most significant savings will be in shipping costs, which is especially important for an international magazine such as New in Chess, with subscribers in the United States, South Africa, Chile, Australia, Japan, and dozens of other countries. These savings will enable us to invest in valuable new content. We will introduce a few new columns, most notably an expanded Tournament Roundup featuring analysis by a world-class player. This extended Roundup175

The Woodpecker 2 on PowerPlayChess!

The Woodpecker 2 on PowerPlayChess!

GM Daniel King publishes a variety of interesting chess materials on his YouTube channel PowerPlayChess, ranging from puzzles to book reviews. Recently, he interviewed our author Axel Smith about the second volume of his highly succesful book series, The Woodpecker Method 2! A shortened clip of the conversation can be viewed below, click here to watch the entire hour-long interview on YouTube!