The Palace Journal

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Alireza Firouzja: the French-Iranian prodigy aiming for the world title

The prodigy chasing the world title

Born in Iran and naturalised French in 2021, Alireza Firouzja reached 2804 Elo points as early as 2022, a record for early achievement. A full portrait of the French-Iranian prodigy, from his beginnings in Babol to his place in the world’s top tier alongside Carlsen, Nakamura and the new guard.

Chessboxing: when chess meets boxing

Chessboxing: chess meets boxing

Chessboxing is one of the most unusual sports in the world: competitors alternate between boxing rounds and rapid chess games, testing both their physical strength and their strategic intelligence. Born from a comic book and now a genuine international sport, chessboxing fascinates and intrigues. Here’s everything you need to know. What is chessboxing? Chessboxing (or […]

Scholar’s Mate in chess: how to play it and defend against it in 4 moves

Scholar's Mate: how to play and stop it

Scholar’s Mate delivers checkmate in just 4 moves, exploiting the f7 square, the only square in Black’s camp defended solely by the king at the start of the game. The white queen and bishop combine to strike the fatal blow if Black fails to react in time. A single defensive move is enough to neutralise […]

Checkmate: Definition, Mating Patterns and Complete Guide

Checkmate: definition & full guide

Checkmate is the situation where the king is attacked with no way to flee, be defended or capture the attacking piece: the game stops immediately and the player delivering the mate wins. The expression comes from the Persian shah mat, “the king is helpless”, passed on through Arabic into European languages. These words denote a […]

Bobby Fischer: the tortured genius of chess — full biography

Bobby Fischer: tortured genius biography

Bobby Fischer is the most fascinating and tragic chess player in history. World champion at 29 after defeating Boris Spassky in the “Match of the Century” at the height of the Cold War, a genius with an estimated IQ of 180, inventor of Chess960 — then a fugitive, a recluse and an exile. Here is […]

Top 7 board games that will (really) boost your intelligence!

Top 7 games to boost your intelligence

We all know it, entertainment isn’t just a source of fun, it can also be good for your brain! 🧠 If you thought playing board games was just a way to kill time on evenings with friends, think again. These games can genuinely boost your intelligence. Ready for an IQ upgrade? Here are the 7 […]

Chess in schools: the last hope against France’s educational decline?

Chess in schools: the last hope?

By a chess enthusiast, observer of the educational world. Education is constantly evolving, always seeking new methods to stimulate and develop the skills of young minds. Recently, a bold proposal was put forward in France: introducing chess into primary schools. But why chess? And is it really the solution to today’s educational problems? Stéphane Demilly’s […]

Veil lifted: women chess players brave the silence and reveal a dark side of the community

Veil lifted: women break the silence

Voices Break the Silence: French Women Chess Players Denounce Unacceptable Abuse In an open letter published under the pseudonym “X,” around ten French women chess players have denounced acts of sexist and sexual violence that have long remained unspoken within the chess community. These courageous testimonies shed light on a serious problem within the chess […]

Random chess: a breath of fresh air in the chess world!

Random chess: a breath of fresh air

Today, we’re going to explore a variant of chess that’s growing in popularity and promises to breathe new life into our age-old game: random chess. So, you might be wondering, “What is it?” and “Why should I care?”. Don’t worry, let’s dive straight in! 1. What exactly is random chess? Imagine for a moment that […]

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