'In life, unlike chess, the game continues after checkmate.'

'In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.'

-Poet Robert Frost (1874-1963)

A Guardian writer turned midlife chess slump into an obsession

Journalist Stephen Moss embarked on a chess self-improvement journey described in "The Guardian." Not a how-to, but a reflection on loss, drive, and whether mastering chess can mean mastering oneself.

'You only go around once, but if you play your cards right, once is enough.'

- Frank Sinatra (1915–1998)

Explore (digitally) the Computer History Museum

When IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer won its famous chess rematch with then world champion Garry Kasparov in May 1997, the victory was hailed far and wide as a triumph of artificial intelligence. But John McCarthy—the man who coined the term and pioneered the field of AI research—didn’t see it that way. An obituary about McCarthy—who passed in 2001—and his ideas.

'The true measure of all our actions is how long the good in them lasts.'

- Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022)

The first chess game in space ended in a draw in 1970

Soviet cosmonauts Andriyan Nikolayev and Vitaly Sevastyanov played a game of chess against mission control while orbiting Earth aboard Soyuz 9 in 1970. The match ended in a draw—the first recorded game in space.

'A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.'

- Jackie Robinson, the first Black MLB player (1919-1972)

A quote by Magic Johnson

"Celebrate the life you had, not the life you could've had."

'A word after a word after a word is power.'

- Author Margaret Atwood (1939-present)

'Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world.'

- Albert Einstein

'I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.'

- Author Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

There are more chess game variations than observable atoms in the universe

Mathematician Claude Shannon estimated there are 10 to the 120th power variations of chess games possible. Known as the "Shannon number," this is more than the estimated number of atoms in the cosmos.

A quote by Alex Haley

"Either you deal with what is the reality, or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you."

'A lion never roars after a kill.'

-Coaching legend Dean Smith (1931-2015)

'Keep working on a plan. Make no little plans. Make the biggest one you can think of, and spend the rest of your life carrying it out.'

- President Harry Truman (1884-1972)

Friedrich Nietzsche theorized that we will live our lives over and over again: the myth of eternal recurrence

Rather than a theory of physics, the idea is designed as a moral argument. While Nietzsche famously eschewed the Christian afterlife, he wanted to avoid the nihilism that results from no longer having such an ultimate horizon. In a mystical moment, the philosopher came to believe that the fleeting moments of our lives would be repeated, presenting a test: would you want to relive this moment? If not, he would argue, you're not living well.

'We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.'

- Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury

'When you come to a fork in the road, take it.'

- Baseball great Yogi Berra (1925-2015)

'The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.'

- American musician BB King (1925-2015)

'Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.'

- "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000)

Chess unfolds in three phases: opening, middlegame, and endgame

Strong play requires adapting across phases: developing pieces and controlling the center in the opening, using tactics and strategy in the middlegame, and applying precise calculation and king activity to convert advantages in the endgame.

GZA of Wu-Tang Clan says chess taught him strategy in life and music

In a VICE interview, rapper GZA revealed how speed chess sharpened his mind on tour and shaped his creative strategy. Chess, for him, is more than a game—it’s his framework for life.

'In my experience, each failure contains the seeds of your next success—if you are willing to learn from it.'

- Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen (1953–2018)

A quote by scientist Nikola Tesla

"The scientific man does not aim at an immediate result ... His duty is to lay the foundation for those who are to come, and point the way."

'And I knew that it was better to live out one's absurdity than to die for that of others.'

-Ralph Ellison, from "Invisible Man" (1913-1994)

'Let us learn to show our friendship for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.'

Meyer Wolfsheim in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"

'When you're climbing Mount Everest, nothing is easy. You just take one step at a time, never look back and always keep your eyes glued to the top.'

- Author Jacqueline Susann (1918-1974)

'The minute you start talking about what you're going to do if you lose, you have lost.'

- Diplomat George Shultz (1920–2021)

'I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot ... The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.'

- Author Jack London (1876 - 1916)

'Real courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.'

- Harper Lee from "To Kill a Mockingbird"

'The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win.'

- Roger Bannister (1929-2018)

'There cannot be mental atrophy in any person who continues to observe, to remember what he observes, and to seek answers for his unceasing hows and whys about things.'

-Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922)

'Sometimes the biggest problem is in your head. You’ve got to believe you can play a shot instead of wondering where your next bad shot is coming from.'

- Golf great Jack Nicklaus (1940-present)

Later in life, the clock in Grace Hopper's office ran counterclockwise

Acknowledging that most people have "an enormous tendency to resist change," Hopper's clock served as a reminder for the computer scientist that just because things have been done a certain way does not mean they should forever remain that way: "They love to say, 'We've always done it this way.' I try to fight that." (Some users may experience a paywall.)

A history of "Memento Mori," from the ancients to today

The ancient Latin phrase 'memento mori' means 'remember you will die.' The counterintuitive utterance has long provided a moral and spiritual framework for individuals to evaluate their life's decisions and worldview. Though it appears morbid at first glance, the saying is meant to inspire a thirst for life. Review the various ways the idea has inspired different cultures in this article, from the Romans and Egyptians to contemporary tech leaders like Steve Jobs.

'The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.'

- Boxing champion Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

Board games can improve life satisfaction and coping self-efficacy

They provide distraction, foster self-determination, and promote personal transformation. Purposeful engagement with games builds the capacity to face real-life problems.

'Pioneering is never done in front of cheerleaders urging on a roaring grandstand of popular approval.'

- "Star Trek" actor George Takei (1937-present)

'Years ago, I tried to top everybody, but I don't anymore. I realized it was killing conversation. When you're always trying for a topper you aren't really listening.'

- Comedian Groucho Marx (1890-1977)

Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion, is a critic of authoritarian regimes

World champion from 1985 to 2000, Kasparov was politically outspoken during the Soviet era, clashing with authorities over censorship and restrictions. After retirement, he became a leading Russian dissident and fierce critic of Vladimir Putin, eventually fleeing the country in 2013.

Sam Altman's life advice

Years ago, before Sam Altman became the CEO of leading AI company OpenAI, he wrote a blog post in honor of his 30th birthday. Specifically, Altman shared some of the life advice he learned in his 20s, including guidance such as, "don't lose touch with old friends. Occasionally stay up until the sun rises talking to people. Have parties." Read the rest here.

Supreme Court justices serve for life

The Constitution grants Supreme Court justices lifetime appointments to shield them from electoral politics and outside pressure, a design meant to preserve judicial independence but now widely debated due to longer lifespans and partisan balances of the court.

Before Dawkins, other biologists proposed the power of mutating ideas

Nobel Prize winner Jacques Monod proposed, “Ideas have retained some of the properties of organisms. Like them, they tend to perpetuate their structure and to breed; they too can fuse, recombine, segregate their content; indeed they too can evolve, and in this evolution selection must surely play an important role.”

Fifteen answers to 'what is the meaning of life?'

Writer James Bailey repeated philosopher Will Durant's 1932 project soliciting opinions on the meaning of life from a variety of luminaries. In this article, read the fascinating responses people gave to the all-important question, from renowned author Hilary Mantel to a seasoned palliative care supporter who had witnessed dozens of deaths.

'The fact is always obvious much too late, but the most singular difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is a solid and joy a liquid.'

-Writer J.D. Salinger (1919-2010)

José Raúl Capablanca lost only 34 games in his entire career

World champion from 1921 to 1927, Capablanca was famed for his near-invincible style and masterful endgames. His extraordinary record of just 34 lifetime losses across thousands of games earned him the nickname “The Human Chess Machine.”

'Fear of life closes off more opportunities for us than fear of death ever does.'

- Actress Agnes Moorehead (1900–1974)

Stephen Hawking on the need to explore space

Should we be content with being cosmic couch potatoes? In this interview, the late Professor Stephen Hawking lays out the case for continued and increased human space exploration, despite its cost and challenges.

Samuel Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot' dramatizes existential absurdity

The play, originally staged in 1953, is notorious for its lack of action. For the most part, its two principal characters, Vladimir and Estragon, spend the majority of the play wondering whether a mysterious Godot will ever appear. By the end, Godot has still not arrived, yet Vladimir and Estragon do not move, a choice that reflects the existential notion that humans often hope in vain for meaning that does not exist.

Quantum superposition makes Schrödinger’s cat both dead and alive until observed

Erwin Schrödinger's famous cat thought experiment illustrates how quantum objects can exist simultaneously in multiple states. This superposition allows electrons to behave as particles and waves, enabling chemical bonds and the function of modern electronics.