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History, puzzles and progress—discover the world of chess.

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A Vast Personal Chess Library

One of the largest private collections in Latin America.

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Theory Updates and Trends

Openings, middlegames and endgames—always evolving.

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Chess Challenges

Studies, tactics and thought-provoking problems.

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Understanding in Shallow Times:
Against Instant Knowledge

In an era that values speed, this portal proposes another way: pausing, contemplating, and truly understanding. A Dialogue Across Chessboards.

In the last round of the Uruguayan Chess Championship (April 2025), an interesting pattern emerged in my conversations with several players, organizers, and enthusiasts. When I mentioned my intention to relaunch my chess site and revive the History of Mathematics forum, some reactions were as sincere as they were unsettling:

"People don't read like they used to."
"No one has time for long texts anymore."
"Social media is all I look at now."

I found these observations to be very reasonable. In a world overwhelmed by headlines, notifications and information condensed into 15-second snippets, it is not surprising that attention is diverted. However, there is one very critical element that escapes these platforms: true understanding.

Beyond the Scroll

Neither chess nor mathematics can be learned through shortcuts. They require structure, intuition, time. And that doesn't fit in a carousel or a video that disappears in 24 hours.

This site is born—or perhaps reborn—as a necessary response to that void. It doesn't aim to compete with the noise, but to offer something else: content with time. Analyses that explain in depth. Problems that spark curiosity beyond just the answer. Texts that leave more than a fleeting impression.

Bobby Fischer didn't learn through reels: he learned Russian to read Soviet chess magazines. Magnus Carlsen didn't become world champion by watching TikToks: he analysed thousands of classical games.

Ideas Matter

Throughout history, great minds have understood that true wisdom lies not in discussing people or transient events, but in the power of ideas. One such figure was Rudolf Kalman, electrical engineer and mathematician whose work transformed modern control theory. He once recalled an inscription he found in a Colorado Springs pub in 1962:

Small minds discuss people.
Average minds discuss events.
Great minds discuss ideas.

Kalman held to this way of thinking, and his actions always reflected a deep search for meaning. This same search resonated with another singular mind of the 20th century: Marcel Duchamp, passionate chess player and pioneer of modern art.

In a lecture given on August 30, 1952, during the annual meeting of the New York State Chess Association in the village of Cazenovia, Duchamp shared a memorable insight:

The beauty in chess is closer to the beauty in poetry; the chess pieces are the alphabet that shapes thoughts; and these thoughts, while creating a visual design on the board, express their beauty abstractly, like a poem... From my close contact with artists and chess players, I have come to the personal conclusion that while not all artists are chess players, all chess players are artists.

For Duchamp, chess was much more than a game: it was a way of thinking, creating, marvelling at the mind in motion. For him, the board was a canvas, and the pieces, an alphabet that shaped abstract thoughts. He opposed reducing chess to mere moves or results, elevating it as a philosophy of exploration. Each move, in his view, was an opportunity to discover beauty and meaning. Chess was a gateway to a world where the human mind ventured beyond the conventional, creating ephemeral masterpieces that challenged the boundaries of logic and art.

A Door Reopened

In this space, we continue that same search for understanding. To understand thoroughly, to take a moment to contemplate, to link concepts across disciplines—that’s the entryway we aim to keep accessible.

Although a significant portion of our content is freely accessible, we also offer exclusive materials for committed subscribers and premium members. Join us to explore further and discover new insights.

In the whirlwind of the instantaneous, amidst the noise and frenzy, is there still room for enduring ideas, for thinking that doesn't expire? Thinking deliberately in accelerated times may be the ultimate act of rebellion.

Challenging
Chess Studies and Problems

These positions can be challenging, but solving them sharpens your vision and deepens your understanding. The challenge is part of the fun—keep going and you'll find it rewarding!

Chess puzzle

White to move. Can they win?

Or is it a draw?

Can White win from this position? Or is it a draw? The first move is forced, as White must prevent the opponent's stalemate. But after that... how should the game continue? I know these diagrams may seem challenging at first, but with some patience and careful analysis, the solution becomes clearer.

Chess puzzle

White to move and win!

White's turn

In this diagram position, there are only two winning moves: 1. Rf4+ is one of them.
Can you find the other winning move without using chess engines?

Chess puzzle

Los misterios ajedrecísticos de Sherlock Holmes

Raymond M. Smullyan

Supongamos que te dijese que en la posición del diagrama, ningún peón ha llegado jamás a la octava casilla. Aun así, ¿me creerías?

Samuel Loyd, Musical World, 1859

Mate in Two Moves

Samuel Loyd, Musical World, 1859

In an interesting article (08/18/2018) about retrograde analysis, Frederic Friedel wrote for ChessBase:
"I have always been fascinated by retro problems and have written about them in our puzzle section in the past. I am not sure who invented them, but in the 19th century, the great Samuel Loyd produced a number of problems which needed retrograde analysis."

Chess puzzle

Pawns are the soul of chess

An imbalanced endgame

White to move. What's the best way to proceed?

Can anyone tell me who's winning in this position (or is it drawn)?

Samuel Loyd, Musical World, 1859

White to move

Mikhail Zinar, Buletin Problemistic, 1982

White's turn. Is it a draw? This is an interesting study by Mikhail Zinar (1950–2021), a renowned Ukrainian chess composer, famous for his mastery of pawn endgame studies. With over 200 compositions to his name, he left a profound theoretical and artistic mark on the world of chess composition.

Unpublished
Chess Photographs

A collection of rare and unknown chess images. Discover hidden moments from the rich history of the game.

By clicking on the images, you will be able to view enlarged or supplementary versions of them.

Current Events:
Relevant Chess News

This section does not seek to compete with the major specialised chess news sites, which often deploy professional resources to cover tournaments in real time.

In other areas (long-form content, pedagogy, historical perspective), the ambition is different, and we do aim to make a meaningful contribution. When it comes to news, however, the intention is simply to gather, with care and perspective, those events that deserve attention by virtue of their own substance.

▢ Careers beginning or concluding: rising names, farewells to established figures
▢ Regional focus: chess stories that resonate within the Río de la Plata
▢ A reason to pause: moments that leave a mark

This includes, for instance, episodes that might seem anecdotal or trivial at first glance —such as the wedding of one of the leading names in contemporary chess— but which take on another meaning when considered in light of the place that figure holds in the history of the game. Sharing such news is not a concession to spectacle, but a reminder that behind the board are lives unfolding, personal decisions that also belong to the collective narrative.

What appears here is not driven by immediacy, but by meaning. And if something endures, it will be for what it still says about the game or the player, long after the headline has faded from memory.


  • FIDE June 2025 rating list is out

    01 Jun 2025

    Credit: FIDE. The June 2025 FIDE rating list was chiefly influenced by results from the final stage of the Women’s Grand Prix in Austria, the Asian Championship, the GCT Superbet Chess Classic in Romania, the 8th Sharjah Masters, and the Mitropa Cup. While there were no major shifts within the top 10 of the Open rankings, just outside that elite group, Anish Giri made notable progress. His triumph at the Sharjah Open saw him climb six places, marking his return to the world’s top 12 after an absence of more than a year.

  • Vlastimil Hort (1944-2025)

    13 May 2025

    Article by André Schulz on ChessBase. Vlastimil Hort, born in 1944 in Czechoslovakia, was a charismatic and beloved grandmaster who shone both on the board and in the media. He won the national championship six times, represented Czechoslovakia and Germany in 14 Chess Olympiads, and claimed over 80 tournament victories. In 1977, he nobly allowed Spassky a pause and later lost a crucial match. He emigrated to Germany in 1979 and became a popular commentator on WDR. With wit and passion, he left an enduring mark. Hort passed away on 12 May 2025.

  • Clash of Generations: Vishy Anand vs Faustino Oro

    9 May 2025

    Article by "Press Realease" on ChessBase. On June 1 in Pietrasanta, Italy, 11‑year‑old Argentine prodigy Faustino Oro, the world’s youngest chess master, will face former World Champion Vishy Anand in a “Clash of Generations” match, organized by Unichess and endorsed by Andrea Bocelli. This highlight kicks off Chess Roads, an exhibition (June 2–15) presenting 40 rare chess sets—from 18th‑century ivory to contemporary works—curated by Corrado Ciano and Giovanni Longo. The event includes a ceremonial carriage parade, global live streams via Chess.com and ChessBase India, and a simultaneous simul by the match winner against distinguished guests.

  • This Little Thing with Me and Spassky

    5 May 2025

    Article by Frederic Friedel on ChessBase. Frederic Friedel highlights a newly surfaced 1972 BBC interview with Bobby Fischer, conducted by James Burke just nine days before Fischer’s historic match against Boris Spassky. In this 35‑minute video, viewers encounter a confident, witty Fischer—much like the one Friedel met in 1992—who reflects on his career, the struggle to elevate chess in the U.S., and his belief that he’d unofficially reigned as world champion for a decade, thwarted only by Soviet control. The post also explains how to access and navigate the YouTube transcript for clarity.

  • Ju Wenjun retains Women's World Championship title in lopsided match

    16 Apr 2025

    Article by André Schulz on ChessBase. Ju Wenjun convincingly defended her Women’s World Chess Championship title against Tan Zhongyi in a best‑of‑12 match, winning with a final score of 6.5–2.5. After a balanced first game and Tan’s surprise win in game 2, Ju responded with a win in game 3 and a draw in game 4. From games 5 through 8, Ju secured four straight victories to build a commanding 6–2 lead. A peaceful draw in game 9—featuring a calm Sicilian Rossolimo—sealed her early triumph. This marks Ju’s fifth match victory (2018, 2020, 2023, 2025) and her continued dominance in women’s chess.

  • Fridrik Olafsson's last interview

    15 Apr 2025

    Article by André Schulz on ChessBase. Iceland’s first Grandmaster, Fridrik Ólafsson, who died on April 4, 2025 at age 90, reflects on a varied life as player, lawyer and FIDE President. He recalls meeting 15‑year‑old Bobby Fischer in 1958—warning “Bobby, you’re in a bit of a hurry”—and their later drift as Fischer grew reclusive. As FIDE President (1978–82), Ólafsson established minimum tournament standards, then beat an early chess computer in 15 moves. He chose law over professional chess and harbors no regrets, valuing balance between career and passion.

  • Fridrik Olafsson (1935-2025)

    7 Apr 2025

    Credit: Fide.com. Fridrik Olafsson, Iceland’s first Grandmaster and FIDE’s fourth President, has died aged 90. A six-time national champion, he rose to global prominence in the 1950s, defeating legends like Fischer, Tal, and Petrosian. He played in eight Olympiads and reached the 1959 Candidates Tournament. As FIDE President (1978–1982), he sought unity and sponsorship. A trained lawyer, Olafsson later became Secretary-General of Iceland’s Parliament. Celebrated on his 90th birthday, he remains a national icon who elevated Iceland’s chess legacy long before the famous 1972 World Championship.

  • Sandro Mareco convincingly wins double round-robin in Punta del Este

    23 Mar 2025

    Article by Carlos Alberto Colodro on ChessBase. The Punta del Este Masters took place from 14 to 20 March 2025 as a six‑player double round‑robin, featuring four GMs and two IMs. Argentine GM Sandro Mareco justified his favourite tag by winning with 6½/10, beginning with three straight victories and overcoming a lone loss in round eight to seal the title with a draw in the final round. Uruguay’s Andrés Rodríguez and Spain’s José “Pepe” Cuenca shared second on 5½. Young talents Faustino Oro and Sion Galaviz aimed at norms but finished behind the leaders.

  • Gukesh D enters top 3 Open in March 2025 rating list

    2 Mar 2025

    Credit: Fide.com. World Champion Gukesh D gained ten Elo points at Wijk aan Zee, entering the top three of the Open ratings for the first time with a career‑high 2787 in March 2025. His compatriot, R. Praggnanandhaa, also impressed, earning 17 points to return to the top ten Open. Meanwhile, Hou Yifan maintained clear leadership of the women’s list, and the recent FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Monaco produced only minor shifts among the elite female players.

  • Boris Spassky (1937–2025)

    27 Feb 2025

    Credit: fide.com. Boris Vasilievich Spassky (30 January 1937 – 27 February 2025) was a Russian-born grandmaster and the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 until his famous defeat by Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik 1972. Renowned for his universal style—equally adept in opening, middlegame and endgame—he claimed the crown by overcoming Tigran Petrosian. Despite Soviet pressure, Spassky showed great sportsmanship during the “Match of the Century”. After moving to France in 1976, he returned to Russia in 2012. His elegant play and teaching inspired generations.

  • Panic mode

    13 Feb 2025

    Article by Miguel Illescas Córdoba on ChessBase. What really happened in the deciding game of the 2024 World Chess Championship? GM Miguel Illescas, Director of Ajedrez21, delves into the shocking blunder that cost Ding Liren his title. Drawing from his concept of "panic mode", Illescas explains why even elite players can freeze under pressure, making irrational moves without calculation. In this article, he presents his theory with detailed analysis and compelling examples

  • Ending cash rewards for attaining GM, IM titles will demotivate parents, says Arjun Erigaisi

    11 Feb 2025

    Credit: thehindu.com. Indian Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi criticised the Sports Ministry’s decision, effective February 2025, to withdraw cash awards of ₹400,000 for Grandmaster titles and ₹150,000 for International Master (and Women’s Master) titles, now reserving incentives solely for world‑level victories. He argued that while young players may remain undeterred, the removal could impose a financial burden on parents, potentially forcing difficult choices between chess and education. The All India Chess Federation reported having been excluded from consultation on the revision, which many deem “not ideal”.

  • Shanghai and Chongqing to host 2025 FIDE Women’s World Championship Match

    10 Feb 2025

    Credit: Fide.com. The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has announced that the 2025 Women’s World Championship Match will be jointly hosted by Shanghai and Chongqing, China. The 12‑game duel between reigning champion Ju Wenjun and challenger Tan Zhongyi is scheduled from 1 to 23 April, with the first half in Shanghai—Ju’s hometown—and the rest in Chongqing—Tan’s home city. Each game allows 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, plus 30 minutes with a 30‑second increment. Victory requires 6½ points; ties go to rapid and blitz tie‑breaks.

  • Robert Hübner, the Scholar

    7 Jan 2025

    Credit: David Llada @ ICC Chess Club. There are a handful of people about whom it has been said that they’re “too smart to become World Chess Champion.” Magnus Carlsen famously said this about John Nunn, for instance. The same sentiment applies to Robert Hübner, one of the greatest German players in history, who passed away this weekend at the age of 76.

  • Robert Hübner (1948-2025): A great player and a unique mind

    6 Jan 2025

    Credit: Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam @ ICC Chess Club. The news of the death of Robert Hübner, yesterday at the age of 76, after a long illness, filled me with great sadness. I remembered how we met at tournaments and at our homes, our conversations about serious and light-hearted matters, letters that we exchanged. The profundity of his thoughts and his great sense of humor.

  • Discussion about the level of play at the World Championship match in Singapore

    3 Jan 2025

    Credit: ChessBase.com. The discussion about the level of play at the World Championship match in Singapore got out of hand on social media, says Thorsten Cmiel, who visited the event himself. Commentators and streamers, armed with opinionated machines, are criticised the players, claiming that the level of play was not that great. Objectively speaking, this was not the case.

Chess:
Personal Library

A unique trove of tournament bulletins, periodicals, and rare Spanish-language chess literature — currently being catalogued and continually growing.

In his book The Black Swan (2007), Nassim Nicholas Taleb describes Umberto Eco’s private library and coins the term “antilibrary” — referring to a large collection of unread books that symbolises not what we know, but all that remains unknown. Taleb writes:

“The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopaedic, insightful, and nondull. He is the owner of a large personal library (containing thirty thousand books), and separates visitors into two categories: those who react with ‘Wow! Signore professore dottore Eco, what a library you have! How many of these books have you read?’ and the others — a very small minority — who get the point that a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. […] You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary.”

This philosophy aligns closely with our perspective. Rather than celebrating what has already been mastered, this library embraces what remains unexplored. With over 10,000 printed volumes — and steadily expanding — our personal collection constitutes one of the most extensive bodies of Spanish-language chess literature in South America.

This is not a display of previous victories, but an active collection of unanswered enquiries: games still to be understood, strategic concepts in slumber, openings yearning for new perspectives, overlooked reflections whispering from old pages.

Might this library be seen as an antilibrary, much like the one Taleb described in connection with Eco? Each added book signifies not the conclusion of a cycle, but rather the beginning of a new one.

These shelves contain more than information — they invite us to consider where knowledge begins and where it might lead. Within them, like drawings on paper, we trace the unfolding richness of chess.

Step inside this growing collection, where every shelf holds lesser-known parts of the chess universe.

Like a game paused mid-move, what captures our attention is not what is already known, but what remains to be discovered.

We are equally interested in discovering other private libraries that share these qualities: personal collections composed of printed books, many of them rare or difficult to find.

It is worth underscoring that our focus lies explicitly on physical collections — especially at a time when much new chess material is published solely in digital formats, often without any printed counterpart.

We actively seek to establish bonds with other collectors who share this reverence for chess literature in print — personal archives composed of physical volumes, many of them rare or hard to find. In an era when vast chess insights fade into transient data, these tangible items represent our quiet defiance: bulletins marked by forgotten players, marginal notes echoing across ages, a means of anchoring the game's history in material memory. We deliberately emphasise physical collections, precisely because their enduring presence counters the fleeting nature of the digital — each book a living conversation between players of the past and the present.

Craftsmanship in Code
Site Validation & Compatibility

This website has been crafted with deliberate care: each page has been meticulously validated against current web standards, with equal attention given to semantic structure and responsive design. Particular effort has been devoted to optimisation for Windows and Android devices — from desktop displays to high-end mobile screens — though other systems have by no means been overlooked. This decision arises from the tools currently at our disposal — but the aim has never strayed from ensuring access remains open to all.

A traditional loom weaving the <html> and <body> tags with the initials JGC.
Weaving code: form, language and time.

Some underlying considerations:

▢ The layout has been built with deliberate simplicity and purpose, so that browsers — and assistive tools — can parse the content accurately. The result: HTML that means what it says.

▢ The design adjusts itself gracefully to a wide range of screen sizes, maintaining both clarity and a consistent aesthetic.

▢ Only what is strictly necessary is included. Scripts and images are delayed in loading, helping the site respond swiftly and with minimal overhead.

▢ The structure of the code is orderly and easy to maintain, leaving room for future changes without requiring full redesigns.

But beyond structural integrity lies a deeper aim: to create a digital environment that holds value and withstands the test of time. This project is ongoing — evolving steadily, in rhythm with technology itself, without losing sight of its identity or purpose.

A webpage resembles a tapestry in progress: like those medieval weavings that took years to complete, thread by thread. Each visit leaves its mark — some fleeting, others more enduring — all woven into the narrative fabric of the site.

The code is the hidden foundation; design is the form that breathes life into it. And though the process never truly ends — the web is ever in motion — this very openness is part of its allure.

We continue to refine and adjust. Not in pursuit of some unreachable perfection, but because we believe in the value of the journey. Like Penelope, weaving and unweaving, we trust that time plays a vital role in what emerges. Nothing here is to be taken as final: each enhancement reflects a quiet conviction — that technical precision and visitor experience must evolve together, without erasing the essence.

Should you spot a flaw, have a suggestion, or simply wish to share a thought, it will be most welcome. For this project — like the network it inhabits — grows stronger when shaped collectively.

Let the art of design and the substance of ideas stand as mirrored counterparts — one revealing the visible, the other the essential. For, as in Borges’ Aleph, the internet holds within it spaces that are, that have ceased to be, and those yet to come.

Montevideo:
Hidden Coordinates

This project, developed in Montevideo (Uruguay), is the continuation of an initiative that began in 1995. It was born from the desire to reflect deeply on diverse subjects, to discover what remains when everything else seems to race ahead.

Between chessboards and equations that reveal imperceptible harmonies, we hold a firm belief: knowledge matures with time—and with the beauty of well-conceived structures.

In this corner of the world, where the essential still endures, we offer a refuge for lucidity: a quiet pause before the whirlwind of the irrational.