Author

Ray Keene OBE

Ray Keene OBE is one of Britain's best-known chess figures, renowned as a grandmaster, author, journalist and organiser. A former British Chess Champion and longstanding columnist, he has written extensively on chess strategy, history and the psychology of the game, with more than 200 books to his name. Beyond competition, he has played a leading role in promoting chess internationally through major tournaments, educational initiatives and public events, helping to bring the game to wider audiences while fostering links between chess, culture and intellectual life.

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Ray Keene OBE

Go and the Atomic Bomb

As Hiroshima vanished in the first atomic explosion of war, two Go masters calmly reset their scattered stones and continued their game.

3 July 2026

Ray Keene OBE

Draughts, also known as Checkers

Before computers conquered chess, one extraordinary mathematician proved that human intuition could still outthink silicon.

3 July 2026

Charity

Tony Buzan: Headmaster of the Human Race

Tony Buzan believed that no one is born unintelligent - only that too many minds are never given the opportunity to flourish.

3 July 2026

Ray Keene OBE

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, German intellectuals and the First World War

Conan Doyle's attitude to war seems, from the tenor of this passage, to be one of stoic acceptance, rather than enthusiastic celebration.

3 July 2026

Ray Keene OBE

How a mediaeval thinker out of the box: Stupor Mundi, helped me to solve a Chinese puzzle

Inspiration often comes from unlikely sources.

2 July 2026