Modern theory
Alexandra Botez – the perfect blend of beauty and intelligence
Alexandra Botez (born Alexandra Botez; September 24, 1995, Dallas, Texas, USA) – Canadian-American chess player, FIDE master of women (WFM).
Chess player Alexandra Botez
Alexandra Botez
Family and chess career
Alexandra Botez of Romanian descent. Born in the USA. Grew up in the close-knit Romanian community of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
She started playing chess at the age of 6 years. According to Alexandra, it all started with a bet:
When I was six years old, my father bet with his mother. He told her that after two weeks of teaching me how to play chess, I could defeat her. The appointed time has come, and I won the game. My mom must Continue reading
Forbidden moves: how to win chess without touching the pieces
Many grandmasters used psychological techniques that can hardly be considered correct.
Worthy debut
You can secure your victory without even touching the pieces. One of the scandalous cases in the history of chess occurred in 1937. Then, at the Ukrainian SSR Championship, Yefim Korchmar locked his partner, Yevsey Polyak, in the restroom. As a result, Korchmar got a victory point, and he became one of the winners of the championship.
Another common trick is being late for the game. It was practiced by almost all well-known grandmasters Continue reading
The five loudest chess scandals
Alexander Alekhine: boycott, strange death and a trace of foreign intelligence services
If we leave out the scandals of the beginning of the 20th century and the figure of Prince Andrei Dadiani, who bribed his rivals, then the first scandal was connected with the name of Alexander Alekhine. A Russian emigrant, a multiple world champion, he was accused by the chess community in 1945 of collaborating with Nazi Germany during the war years.
This cooperation was expressed in a series of anti-Semitic articles in which the history of chess was presented from the point of view of Nazi racial theory. He also took part in several tournaments Continue reading