For NWC magazine contents and PDF files, see the magazine back issues page.

Articles with links (in the magazine contents below) are available as separate PDF files.

April magazine! The April 2026 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on Friday, 3/27. It's a 48-page issue with "Derek Heath Becomes National Master" by Josh Sinanan, "Judgment in Chess (A Senior Project)" by Nihanth Tatikonda, "Idaho Chess Association Board Announcement" by ICA Board of Directors, "A Conversation with Vignesh Anand" by Ken Lee, "Chess Smiles" by The Chess Friends, "2026 Oregon Closed" by Wilson Gibbins, "Solutions to 2025 Washington Class Puzzles" by Gabriel Razmov, and a back-cover photo of Karthik Bimod by Wilson Gibbins. Cover: Nick Raptis and Matt Zavortink by Wilson Gibbins.

Another new NM! Congratulations to Derek Heath, a 10th grader from Camas, Wash., who recently became Washington State's newest National Master! Derek achieved a US Chess rating of 2201 as a result of winning his first three games in the 9th Annual Neil Dale Memorial, hosted by the Portland Chess Club January 3-4, 2026 in Portland, Ore. Along the way, Derek scored victories against Elijah Barish (1705), Santiago Tenesaca Argudo (1905), and NM Jason Cigan (2217). Here is the link to the 2026 Neil Dale Memorial rating report: https://ratings.uschess.org/event/202601040253?section=0.

March magazine! The March 2026 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on Friday, 2/27. It's a 48-page issue with "2026 ICA January Alchemist Coffee House Swiss" by Jeffrey Roland, "Chess Bingō" by Christefano Reyes, "Promoting Queens" by The Chess Friends, "A Conversation With Alex Byelashov" by Ken Lee, "Susan Polgar Foundation National Open For Girls & Boys" by SPFNO Organizers, "Washington Class Championships" by Josh Sinanan, and a back-cover photo of Tom Booth by Jeffrey Roland. Cover: Andrew Beck by Jeffrey Roland.

Eastside Oly Chess Club Chess Instruction with National Master Aditya Ponukumati - Classes were held on Feb. 8, 15 and 22, and on March 1. Each session ran from 4 to 5 p.m. Eastside Oly Chess Club members received a 10% discount on registration, and scholarships were available, with all proceeds supporting club activities and scholarship opportunities. Info.: Luis Ayala, 360-999-2001, EastsideOlyChessClub.org, director@eastsideolychessclub.org.

Opportunity to host high school exchange students from Spain and Germany - see the scholastic opportunites page.

Chess & Alzheimer's Research Study Recruiting Seniors! Caton Tsao, a high school student and undergraduate research assistant at the Cognition and Decision Science Lab at Clemson University, is involved in a research study exploring how factors, such as health status, work status, and an engaged lifestyle, are associated with memory and decision-making in individuals aged 65 and older. One of the factors is experience with cognitively stimulating games like chess. The study entails a prescreening digital survey (~10-15 minutes) and one remote study session (~25-30 minutes). For more information or to volunteer, contact the lab at decisionlab@clemson.edu. (Posted 1/9/2026)

February magazine! The February 2026 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on Friday, 1/30. It's a 48-page issue with "Love, Chess" by The Chess Friends, "Oregon Junior Closed" by Wilson Gibbins, "2025 Washington Challenger’s Cup" by Josh Sinanan, "National Chess Day Scholastic Chess" and "Challenger’s Cup Scholastic" by Rekha Sagar, "A Conversation With Ted Wang" by Ken Lee, "NW Players at 2025 US Senior Women’s Championship" by Mary Kuhner and Chouchanik Airapetian, "19th SPICE Cup" by Josh Sinanan, "Mount McKinley was named by William A. Dickey" by John Donaldson, and a back-cover photo of Susan Polgar (L) and GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez by Ani Barua. Cover: Vinesh Ravuri by Meiling Cheng.

January magazine! The January 2026 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on Friday, 12/26. It's a 32-page issue with "Vihaan Jammalamadaka becomes National Master" by Josh Sinanan, "Chess Resolutions" by The Chess Friends, "A Conversation With Jacob Mayer" by Ken Lee, "Oregon Class Championship" by Wilson Gibbins, "Daniel He Becomes FIDE Master" by Josh Sinanan, "Washington Women’s Championship" by Rekha Sagar, "Washington Women’s Championship" by Ian Holden, Ann Jem, Saiya Karamali, Eliza Wheeler, "Andrew Fletcher Becomes National Master" by Josh Sinanan, and a back-cover photo of of Jason Cigan by Wilson Gibbins. Cover: Zoey Tang by Wilson Gibbins.