“I need a 6-month holiday, twice a year” Alireza Firouzja’s t-shirt. The 2021 European Chess Team Championship is currently underway in Slovenia and the French Chess Federation has been posting a series of very interesting ‘Behind the scenes’ Videos – we gain insight into the team dynamics, and the ups and downs of the performances.  […]

“A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play.”  James P. Carse Punic wars: Rome vs Carthage You have probably heard of the Roman Empire. Before the Emprice, Rome was a republic led by two elected consuls. It fought long wars with Carthage, another […]

‘I have put my life on the line many times in combat. I have learned the Way of the Sword by risking everything in the divide between life and death. ‘ ‘The victor is already determined before the fight even begins.’ Miyamoto Musashi is indisputably the greatest swordsman of all times. Born in Japan in […]

Top-level chess players are constantly travelling from one continent to another to attend over-the-board tournaments. The effect of jet lag has not been investigated. While individuals have a highly variable ability to recover from jet lag, we can study the average effect. I have analysed 26k games between players above 2650 Elo, using the time […]

I would like to tell you about two women you may not have heard of before unless you’re either a chess player or closely following the English national football team.  Pippa Grange is a sports psychologist who is known for her outstanding work with the English team at the 2018 World Cup. She is credited […]