In 1929, the British seaside town of Ramsgate hosted the 22nd Kent County Chess Association tournament. Fourteen of the world’s top players were there – 13 men and one woman. The woman, Vera Menchik, ...

You are able to gift 5 more articles this month. Anyone can access the link you share with no account required. Learn more. These are boom times for chess. Boards are sold out. Bookstores can’t keep ...

Vera Menchik, the young Russian Jewess who is a member of the British team in the International Chess Tournament, is “carrying everything before her,” according to the comments in the British press.

As the only woman in a tournament, she was often greeted with skepticism. She once responded by saying that she looked forward “to drinking some men’s blood.” By Gavin Edwards This article is part of ...

These are boom times for chess. Boards are sold out. Bookstores can’t keep how-tos on the shelves. The reason: Beth Harmon, a Kentucky orphan turned chess prodigy, who in the 1950s and ‘60s, dominated ...