Week after week, About Chess offers a feature article on some aspect of chess. If you are looking for a particular article but just can't seem to locate it, try our archive of past articles. It's ordered chronologically, most recent article first.

• Most Recent Features
• Features from 2004-2005
• Features from 2002-2003

It's not maintained automatically, but we try to keep it up to date.

Considering how quiet a chess game can be, chess players really love to talk when they're not playing. If you don't believe it, just look at the number of online chess discussion groups that are available. We added ten discussion groups to our resources for:

• Chess Communities

We could have easily added another ten if we had included all of the servers that offer online play, since they often have an associated discussion group. This lets members discuss the service with administrators and with other members. Instead we just added reminders that these sites are also great examples of chess communities.

• Crossboard Online Play
• Email Online Play

If you know a good discussion group we overlooked, just add a comment right here!

Participate in our new poll: Does your local newspaper have a chess column?

This photo shows two errors in setting up the chess board. The first is a common error that can happen when the board image is flipped or mirrored by someone who doesn't know any better. The second is hard to see because of the small size of the photo. If we insist that it's there, can you guess what the error is? (Hint: the minor pieces are placed correctly.)

Photo: 'Close-up of chessboard and chess pieces' (Stockbyte / Getty Images).

Here's how to avoid losing a chess game in the opening. It's a simple procedure that can be used by all players from beginner to expert, including the best in the world. What do grandmasters know that the rest of us don't? Read more...

We've sometimes remarked how good chess players often make poor politicians. The habit of seeing complex issues in terms of black and white or of reducing an infinity of outcomes to win/loss/draw makes chess players overlook the many subtle aspects in a situation.

Do politicians make good chess players? One way to tell is by watching how they handle their pieces. There is a curious battle developing in the United Kingdom over the most famous chess pieces of all time, the Lewis Chessmen.

(Photo: Lewis Chessmen © Flickr user WordRidden under Creative Commons)

Read more...

In Qualifications to be a chess coach, your Chess Guide asks, 'There must be potential chess coaches out there who are wondering what sort of qualifications or pre-requisites are required. What can we tell them?' • One answer came wrapped as a Guest Article: Teaching Chess to Elementary School Children. Do you have an opinion? If so, you can write a new post against the forum thread or enter a comment below. Either way, let us know!

According to the U.S. Census Bureau daily feature for February 10, 'Some 7 million people in the U.S. enjoy playing chess at least once a year without the aid of a computer or playing against one. More than 900,000 play at least twice a week.' • There are currently about 300 million Americans. Can we apply those percentages to other countries?

The DGT 2010 chess clock, the successor to the popular DGT 2000 clock, offers significant functional improvements over the earlier model. It features a large display, a sturdy move lever, and enhanced programming of new time controls. The DGT 2010 conforms to FIDE Equipment Standards and is the 'Official clock of the World Chess Federation (FIDE).' Read review...

In other news, DGT recently announced the DGT Chess960, 'The first chess clock that automatically and at random generates Chess960 starting positions.' Want to know more about DGT? See World premiere at opening of new DGT office, with GM Vladimir Kramnik as the guest of honor.

Photo: DGT 2010 (DGT Projects).

Have you ever wondered what chess rating it takes to obtain a FIDE title like grandmaster? The chart on the left should tell you. It was derived from the January 2008 FIDE Rating List, which has ratings for 87.562 players, of which 66.006 were active in 2007.

The table says that there were 1002 active grandmasters (GMs) at the end of 2007, that the highest rated GM was 2799, and the lowest rated was 1827. The titles that start with 'W' are women's titles.

What do you call a GM with a rating of 1827, which is USCF class A? We'd call it a mistake. According to the FIDE rating card for Toh Li Cheng, she is a 15 year old grandmaster (GM, not WGM) from Singapore.

What do you call an FM with a rating of 2646? That's a little tougher. The FIDE rating card of Vladimir Afromeev, a 53 year old from Russia, has been the subject of considerable scrutiny lately. If you click on the historical chart behind his rating card, you'll see why.

Glossary: Rating, Titles. • Later: A few days after we wrote this post, Toh Li Cheng's title was changed from 'g' to 'wf' on her rating card.