On a Sunday in Tucson, Ken Larson, a chess coach with over four decades of experience, sits across from eight-year-old Nik Jain, offering a gentle nudge: “Maybe you should protect that pawn.” ...

World No. 2 Hikaru Nakamura needed to hit a minimum number of games for a shot at the world championship. He sparked a firestorm by beating up on lower-ranked players to get there.

The second game in the Professional Chess Association world championship between title holder Garry Kasparov and challenger Viswanathan Anand ended in a draw after 29 moves yesterday. The first game ...