Twelve questions for Christmas

1) Which former US women’s chess champion, who in 1961 became the first chess player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated, died earlier this year?

2) This year a boy from Argentina became the youngest ever to be awarded the International Master title, at the age of ten years and eight months. He even defeated Magnus Carlsen in an online bullet game. What is his name?

3) Noland Arbaugh, who was paralysed below the shoulders after a diving accident, demonstrated the outcome of his pioneering medical procedure by playing chess. How did he make the moves?

4) The grandmaster parent of a well-known chess streamer played a ‘Battle of Generations’ match against the world’s most popular YouTube chess personality. What were the players’ names?

5) In October, which player became the oldest player in England to be awarded the grandmaster title, at the age of 37?

6) The diagram position above shows the conclusion of a casual online game in which White captured all the opposing pieces, promoted several pawns to restore his army, and with virtuoso technique, shepherded the Black king towards its doom on c2. (The preceding moves were Kb3-c2, Qd6-d1#). Which Canadian grandmaster streamer went viral this year after executing this splendid checkmate?

7) Ivan Koubek, a socially awkward competitive chess player, is one of the main characters of a recently published novel. Which piece of chess jargon was used for the novel’s title?

8) Which former chess prodigy was jointly awarded a Nobel prize for Chemistry this year?

9) Which unusual non-terrestrial venue was the location for the first game of the freestyle match between Carlsen and Caruana in November?

10) World championship challenger Gukesh included a mental conditioning coach on his team in preparation for his world championship match against Ding Liren. The South African coach, whose background is in cricket, likened Gukesh to the Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, as a player who thrives in high pressure situations.