British Chess Magazine

Also, here's a short description of the contents for April: The April 2026 issue of British Chess Magazine focuses on some of the biggest talking points in chess. It leads with a sharp look at whether football can help push chess into the mainstream following the announcement of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland to invest in the game. The April issue also features a rare and revealing interview with former world champion Ding Liren, and traces the remarkable rise of Bodhana Sivanandan, the 11-year-old from Harrow who is already making world chess sit up and take notice. The issue also includes tournament coverage from the British Rapidplay and Wells Congress, alongside history, reflection and portrait pieces that give the magazine its usual range and depth.

British Chess Magazine

CAN FOOTBALL MAKE CHESS MAINSTREAM? • Chess has cultural reach, but it still struggles to break through as a mainstream spectator sport. That is why Erling Haaland’s move into chess matters.

FAMOUS FOOTBALLERS TURNED CHESS FANS

How an 11-YEAR-OLD from Harrow BECAME ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE YOUNG PLAYERS in world chess

FORMER WORLD CHAMPION STEPS BACK INTO VIEW: Badminton in place of chess? A rare interview with Ding Liren • In March US chess blogger and player Jonathan Zhi conducted a written interview with former World Champion Ding Liren. BCM is republishing this interview in its original form, with the permission of Jonathan Zhi. The subheadings were added by BCM.

COVENTRY CITY VS DERBY COUNTY FOOTBALL FANS RECREATE RIVALRY ON THE CHESSBOARD

SCOTLAND’S FREDDY WALDHAUSEN GORDON SHINES

INSTRUCTIVE WINS FROM THE WELLS CHESS CONGRESS

The Latin American long game in chess • Latin America is trying to do something different in chess. Instead of spending money on new grand tournaments and spectacles for the elite, it is investing in chess as an educational tool, banking on a wider social impact reaching well beyond the chessboard.

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF FISCHER AND THE UNKNOWN ROGARD-FISCHER RELATIONSHIP

TOP GERMAN PLAYER KEYMER SETS HIS MARK IN FREESTYLE CHESS

THE METHOD IMPROVE YOUR PLAY WITH EXPERT ADVICE FROM GM ALEKSANDAR COLOVIC

THE HOWARD STAUNTON SOCIETY

STUDIES FROM THE BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP

CARL SCHLECHTER – PART 3 TRIUMPHS, BRILLIANCIES AND A TRAGIC END

PROBLEM WORLD