Best of US Chess 2016 #7: GM Rogers' Guide to the World Championship

The #7 article in Best of US Chess 2016 is The Couch Potato's Guide to the World Chess Championship by GM Ian Rogers. Judges praised Rogers' combination of humor and highly knowledgeable recommendations. Games begin at 2pm New York time, so fans will need to have a healthy afternoon snack ready for the second hour of play when the players begin thinking long and hard and the commentators start waffling.

As every New Yorker knows, the healthiest afternoon snack is a New York baked cheesecake. This should be prepared the previous night and may be used as snack food throughout the game.

Making the cake is surprisingly simple, though you’ll need two pounds of cream cheese, plus basics like eggs, caster sugar, cream, butter, plain flour and a cake tin (preferably with a removable base)... [See the article for the full recipe]

At once slice every five moves, this should last you for the entire game...

...So, once you have baked the New York cheesecake, followed the games online, eaten the cheesecake, viewed the press conferences, watched the videos and read the pundits’ opinions of each game and baked a new cheesecake, it will be time to emulate Carlsen and Karjakin and spend time playing some ping pong or tennis; otherwise you will end November with potential for a higher Elo and a much higher BMI, only one out of two being desirable.

Magnus Carlsen playing table tennis. Photo: Cathy Rogers

Sergey Karjakin at the tennis courts. Photo: Cathy Rogers

GM Ian Rogers is a frequent contributor to US Chess News and Chess Life Magazine. His articles have made the Best of US Chess News Top 10 in numerous previous years, including:

Rogers’ articles are often complemented by photography from his wife, Cathy Rogers.

The Judges Sound Off

"An article by Ian Rogers never fails to entertain. He is able to seamlessly weave chess information into a very delightful and engaging article. His use of videos and website links allow the reader to interact with the article."

-Jennifer Vallens

"With the avalanche of online noise and information overload before the WCC Match, Ian Rogers’ article was an invaluable, calm, sensible guide. Rogers’ recommendations come from his own vast experience in commentating on and writing about world chess events. There was no doubt he would recommend only the best of the best! His recommendations were first rate and maximized the viewing experience of the WCC Match for Chess Life Online readers."

-Michael Ciamarra

"The article had a good deal to laugh about, such as the cheesecake recipe, yet remained as a good guide to, well, the lazy, couch potato chess player!"

-Vanessa Sun

"This was a fun and quirky article! I was not expecting to learn how to make cheese cake from reading it, but perhaps that is a necessary skill of a couch potato. With the massive amount of media coverage on the World Championship, Ian does a great job of condensing the important information and presenting it in an entertaining manner."

-Eric Rosen