Issue #01 — 2016 U.S. Olympiad Team

About This Issue

American Chess Magazine comes to you at the end of 2016, on the crest of a wave that has provided the biggest boost to U.S. chess since the early 1970s, when Bobby Fischer claimed the world title from Boris Spassky.

A dream team of U.S. grandmasters won the gold medal at the World Chess Olympiad, ahead of Ukraine, Russia, India and over 160 other nations, while 15-year-old Texan Jeffery Xiong became the new World Under-20 Champion! ACM has been launched to help American readers keep in touch with all the most significant happenings in the exciting world of present-day chess, both at home and abroad.

The international team that has in the last six years restored the legendary Chess Informant to its former glory, and more recently revamped the 135-year-old British Chess Magazine, has now been encouraged to celebrate the resurgence of U.S. chess with the help of some of the finest American authors and editors.

Naturally, the success of the U.S. team at the Chess Olympiad comes under the spotlight in this first issue, as does Jeffery Xiong’s capture of the world junior title. Readers might be surprised at the number of contributed articles by writers from foreign lands, but here ACM is only mirroring how dynamic and how global the chess scene is today.

GM Sam Shankland shares his Olympiad diary, GM Jeffery Xiong writes “I Am So Proud of Team USA!” and GM Irina Krush explains how “Our Victory Over Russia Catapulted Us to the Top, But...”. GM Vladimir Georgiev reports on Xiong winning the World Under-20 Championship at the age of 15.

Elsewhere in the issue, GM Boris Gulko writes on “Great Expectations,” GM Vassily Ivanchuk on “When the Going Gets Tough...,” GM Baadur Jobava on a “Novelty on Move 2!” and GM Jonathan Speelman on “Endgame Trench Warfare,” while GM Patrick Wolff is the guest in “Where Grandmasters Advise Young Players.”

What’s Inside

• p.8 — US Golden Dream Team — USA Wins Gold After Nail-Biting Finish!
• p.26 — My Olympiad Diary — GM Sam Shankland
• p.34 — I Am So Proud of Team USA! — GM Jeffery Xiong
• p.56 — Our Victory Over Russia Catapulted Us to the Top, But... — GM Irina Krush
• p.68 — Great Expectations — GM Boris Gulko
• p.90 — When the Going Gets Tough... — GM Vassily Ivanchuk
• p.96 — Novelty on Move 2! — GM Baadur Jobava
• p.108 — Endgame Trench Warfare — GM Jonathan Speelman
• p.128 — Jeffery Xiong Wins World Under 20 Championship – At the Age of 15! — GM Vladimir Georgiev
• p.152 — Where Grandmasters Advise Young Players — GM Patrick Wolff

Inside the Issue