Kurier Szachowy (Chess Courier) - 51 Issues Now Available for Free!

Download the full archive → olympchess.com/kurier

Important note: Kurier Szachowy was published exclusively in Polish. No English translation exists, which is why there is no dedicated English-language archive page. However, chess is a universal language - the games, diagrams, crosstables, and statistical data are accessible to any chess enthusiast regardless of language. If you read Polish, this archive is a goldmine.

What Was "Kurier Szachowy"?

In 2014, a unique free digital chess magazine appeared on the Polish publishing scene: Kurier Szachowy, published by Comrel with Krzysztof Puszczewicz as editor-in-chief - the same author behind the monumental Great Book of Chess Olympiads series.

As he wrote in the inaugural issue:

There are many chess periodicals on the Polish and international market. If our plans succeed, this one will be unlike any of them. It will combine current chess events (...) with the most beautiful moments in chess history from 1927 to modern times. We will strive to make our content unique - not found in any other periodical.

And he delivered. The magazine was published monthly as a PDF and quickly built a loyal readership. The formula of combining live tournament coverage with deep dives into chess history filled a gap no other Polish publication had addressed.

What's Inside?

Each issue contained dozens (and eventually over a hundred) pages of content organized into recurring sections that built a coherent, expanding narrative about chess:

• Tournament reports - detailed round-by-round coverage of major events: Tata Steel, Sinquefield Cup, Norway Chess, Gibraltar, Dortmund, FIDE Grand Prix, Candidates tournaments, Olympiads, and many more
• World Champion portraits - from Steinitz to Carlsen, every champion received a profile along with an account of their Olympiad debut. The full sixteen!
• Profiles of rising stars - Ding Liren, Fabiano Caruana, Richard Rapport, Aryan Tari, Jeffrey Xiong, Daniel Naroditsky, Bogdan-Daniel Deac, and others - written when they were still climbing to the top
• Battle for the Chess Crown - an epic 24-part series on World Championship matches: from Steinitz through Capablanca vs Alekhine, Euwe vs Alekhine, the 1948 Hague-Moscow tournament, to the 1947-1951 qualifying cycle
• History of Chess Olympiads - a systematic review of successive Olympiads, from Buenos Aires 1939 to Calvià 2004, plus Women's Olympiads from Emmen 1957
• Chess chronicles - a serialized review of past chess seasons: the entire 1961 season (11 installments!), plus 1962 and 1963
• Press from the old days - coverage of historic articles and tournaments: from Carlsbad 1911 through San Sebastian, St. Petersburg 1914, New York 1924, Zurich 1934 to Folkestone 1933
• Courier stories - unique materials: the 16th Polish Championship in Łódź 1959, Zurich 1959, the 3rd and 4th Women's Candidates Tournaments
• Women play chess - women's chess: the 1949-1950 Women's World Championship, zonal tournaments, national championships
• FIDE rankings: then and now - unique comparisons of rankings across different eras
• Chess like... wine - vintage annotations by old masters
• Chess catastrophes - spectacular blunders at the board
• Poles play chess - reports on Polish players on the international stage
• Practical chess - tactical puzzles for readers
• History of chess posters - a series by Wojciech Zawadzki (from issue 47)
• Unique tournament tables - results you won't find in popular online databases

Why Did It Stop?

For the first 47 issues (2014-2017), the magazine was completely free. In early 2018, starting with issue 48, an attempt was made to monetize it. Unfortunately, the Polish chess readership, while dedicated, proved too small to sustain the project commercially. After 51 issues, the decision was made to end publication.

But now, all of it is available again - for free. All 51 issues.

Full List of Issues

Below is the complete table of contents for every issue. Browse, pick, download.

No. 1 (24 pages)

The inaugural issue with Puszczewicz's editorial manifesto and 16 unique games.

• Magnus Carlsen becomes the 16th World Champion!
• Magnus Carlsen and his Olympiad debut
• History of Chess Olympiads
• Women's World Championship 1949-1950

No. 2 (36 pages)

• The strongest tournament in history
• Viswanathan Anand - 15th World Champion + Olympiad debut
• History of Chess Olympiads
• Women's World Championship 1949-1950 (continued)

No. 3 (40 pages)

• Gibraltar Chess Festival 2014
• Vladimir Kramnik - 14th World Champion + Olympiad debut
• History of Chess Olympiads

No. 4 (44 pages)

• Candidates Tournament - Khanty-Mansiysk 2014
• Garry Kasparov - 13th World Champion + Olympiad debut
• Chess catastrophes (section debut!)
• Belarus vs Poland match, 1955

No. 5 (47 pages)

• Gashimov Memorial 2014
• Anatoly Karpov - 12th World Champion + Olympiad debut

No. 6/7 (58 pages)

First double issue.

• 71st Polish Championship
• 66th Polish Women's Championship
• Robert James Fischer - 11th World Champion + Olympiad debut
• Readers' forum (section debut!)

No. 8 (59 pages)

• 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsø - live coverage!
• 47th Biel Chess Festival 2014
• Boris Spassky - 10th World Champion + Olympiad debut

No. 9 (38 pages)

• 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsø (continued)
• 26th Women's Chess Olympiad in Tromsø
• Tigran Petrosian - 9th World Champion
• 8th Chess Olympiad - Buenos Aires 1939

No. 10 (64 pages)

• FIDE Grand Prix - Baku 2014 (round by round!)
• Mikhail Tal - 8th World Champion + Olympiad debut
• Press from the old days: Carlsbad 1911

No. 11 (61 pages)

• FIDE Grand Prix - Tashkent 2014
• Vasily Smyslov - 7th World Champion + Olympiad debut
• Press from the old days: San Sebastian 1912
• Women's World Championship 1956

No. 12 (74 pages)

• Sochi: Carlsen vs Anand 2014 - the World Championship match!
• Qatar Masters Open 2014
• Mikhail Botvinnik - 6th World Champion + Olympiad debut
• Chess Olympiads - Amsterdam 1954

No. 13 (78 pages)

• 52nd Chess Festival Groningen
• Courier stories: 16th Polish Championship, Łódź 1959
• Max Euwe - 5th World Champion + Olympiad debut
• Chess Olympiads - Moscow 1956
• 3rd Women's Candidates Tournament, Plovdiv 1959

No. 14 (97 pages)

• 77th Wijk aan Zee
• Courier stories: 18th Polish Championship, Katowice 1961
• Alexander Alekhine - 4th World Champion + Olympiad debut
• Chess Olympiads - Munich 1958
• Press from the old days: St. Petersburg 1914

No. 15 (131 pages)

First issue to exceed 100 pages!

• European Individual Championship - Jerusalem 2015
• Gibraltar Chess Festival 2015
• 3rd Women's Candidates Tournament, Plovdiv 1959
• José Raúl Capablanca - 3rd World Champion + Olympiad debut
• Chess Olympiads - Leipzig 1960 (over 100 archival photographs!)

No. 16 (80 pages)

• GRENKE Chess Classic, Baden-Baden 2015
• Courier stories: International tournament, Zurich 1959
• Emanuel Lasker - 2nd World Champion
• Chess Olympiads - Golden Sands 1962

No. 17 (96 pages)

• FIDE Grand Prix - Tbilisi 2015
• 4th Women's Candidates Tournament, Vrnjačka Banja 1961
• Wilhelm Steinitz - 1st World Champion (full set of portraits complete!)
• Chess Olympiads - Tel Aviv 1964

No. 18/19 (85 pages)

• FIDE Grand Prix - Khanty-Mansiysk
• Profiles: Ding Liren (series debut!)
• Women's FIDE Zonal - Kraków 1957
• Chess Olympiads - Tel Aviv 1964

No. 20 (82 pages)

• Norway Chess, Stavanger 2015
• Dortmund 2015
• Hainan Danzhou 2015
• Profiles: Fabiano Caruana
• Battle for the Chess Crown (series debut!) - Steinitz vs Zukertort

No. 21 (101 pages)

• Sinquefield Cup 2015
• Biel 2015
• Profiles: Aryan Tari
• Battle for the Crown (2): Steinitz-Gunsberg and Steinitz-Chigorin
• Chess Olympiads - Lugano 1968

No. 22 (131 pages)

• 6th World Cup, Baku 2015
• Riga Chess Festival 2015
• Abu Dhabi 2015
• Profiles: Daniel Naroditsky
• Battle for the Crown (3): Lasker becomes 2nd World Champion
• Chess Olympiads - Siegen 1970

No. 23 (119 pages)

• 20th European Team Championship, Reykjavik 2015
• World Junior Championship U20, Khanty-Mansiysk 2015
• Profiles: Vladislav Artemiev
• Chess Olympiads - Skopje 1972

No. 24 (113 pages)

• Sinquefield Cup, London 2015
• 20th European Team Championship, part 2
• Bilbao 2015
• Chinese Rapid Championship, Shenzhen 2015
• Profiles: Jorge Cori Tello
• Battle for the Crown (5): Lasker-Schlechter 1910
• Chess Olympiads - Nice 1974

No. 25 (115 pages)

• 2nd Qatar Masters Open 2015
• Profiles: Karen Grigoryan
• Battle for the Crown (6): Lasker-Janowski 1910
• Chess Olympiads - Haifa 1976

No. 26 (146 pages)

• 78th Tata Steel, Wijk aan Zee 2016
• Rilton Cup, Stockholm 2016
• Profiles: Francesco Rambaldi
• Battle for the Crown (7): Lasker-Capablanca 1921
• Chess Olympiads - Buenos Aires 1978
• Chronicle of 1961 season: Bled - one of the strongest tournaments in history!

No. 27 (121 pages)

• Gibraltar Chess Festival 2016
• Chinese Championship 2015
• Profiles: Chithambaram Aravindh
• Battle for the Crown (8): Capablanca-Alekhine 1927
• Chess Olympiads - Valletta 1980
• Chronicle of 1961: 6th World Junior Championship, The Hague 1961

No. 28 (139 pages)

• 73rd Polish Championship, Poznań 2016
• Candidates Tournament, Moscow 2016
• Aeroflot Open, Moscow 2016
• Profiles: Jorden van Foreest
• Battle for the Crown (9): Alekhine-Bogoljubov 1929
• Chess Olympiads - Lucerne 1982

No. 29 (141 pages)

• US Championship, Saint Louis 2016
• Altibox Norway Chess, Stavanger 2016
• Chinese Championship 2016
• Profiles: Akshat Chandra
• Battle for the Crown (10): Alekhine-Bogoljubov 1934
• Chess Olympiads - Thessaloniki 1984
• Chronicle of 1961: Reshevsky-Fischer match

No. 30/31 (122 pages)

• 3rd Gashimov Memorial, Shamkir 2016
• 17th European Individual Championship, Gjakova 2016
• 14th World University Championship, Abu Dhabi 2016
• Jeffrey Xiong at the Capablanca Memorial, Varadero 2016
• Profiles: Jeffrey Xiong
• Battle for the Crown (11): Alekhine-Euwe 1935
• Chess Olympiads - Dubai 1986

No. 32 (103 pages)

• US Junior Championship, Saint Louis 2016
• 44th Dortmund Chess Meeting 2016
• European Team Junior U18 Championship, Celje 2016
• Chess Olympiad U16, Poprad 2016
• Profiles: Richard Rapport
• Battle for the Crown (12): Euwe-Alekhine 1937
• Chess Olympiads - Thessaloniki 1988

No. 33/34 (97 pages)

• 27th Women's Chess Olympiad, Baku 2016
• 17th Karpov Tournament, Poikovsky 2016
• Chess Masters Final, Bilbao 2016
• Ding Liren-Grischuk, Wenzhou 2016
• Lake Sevan, Martuni 2016
• Profiles: Luke Harmon-Vellotti
• Battle for the Crown (13): Hague-Moscow 1948, Botvinnik becomes World Champion
• Chess Olympiads - Novi Sad 1990

No. 35/36 (77 pages)

• 42nd Chess Olympiad, Baku 2016
• Chess like... wine - annotations by old masters
• Profiles: Anton Smirnov
• Chess Olympiads - Manila 1992
• Chronicle of 1962: International Women's Polish Championship, Grudziądz 1962

No. 37/38 (107 pages)

• 79th Tata Steel, Wijk aan Zee 2017
• Grand Chess Tour 2016 - 8th London Chess Classic
• Profiles: Daniel Yuffa
• Battle for the Crown (15): Hague-Moscow 1948
• Chess Olympiads - Moscow 1994

No. 39/40 (141 pages)

One of the thickest issues!

• FIDE World Chess Grand Prix, Sharjah 2017
• Gibraltar Chess Festival 2017
• Women's Zonal, Sinaia (Romania) 1960
• Profiles: Bogdan-Daniel Deac
• Chess Olympiads - Yerevan 1996

No. 41/42 (123 pages)

• Press from the old days: Hastings 1934/1935 - a tournament full of surprises
• US Championship, Saint Louis 2017
• 74th Polish Championship, Warsaw 2017
• 4th Gashimov Memorial, Shamkir 2017
• Chess Olympiads - Elista 1998
• Chronicle of 1962: Nona Gaprindashvili becomes Women's World Champion

No. 43/44 (189 pages!)

The thickest issue in the history of the magazine!

• 11th World Team Championship, Khanty-Mansiysk 2017
• Altibox Norway Chess, Stavanger 2017
• 18th European Individual Championship, Minsk 2017
• 52nd Capablanca Memorial, Varadero 2017
• Spring Chess Classic, Saint Louis 2017
• Battle for the Crown (18): 1st cycle 1947-1951, Helsinki
• Chess Olympiads - Istanbul 2000

No. 45/46 (124 pages)

• Isle of Man Open 2017 (Carlsen, Caruana, Anand!)
• FIDE World Cup, Tbilisi 2017
• Sparkassen Chess Meeting, Dortmund 2017
• Battle for the Crown (19): 1st cycle 1947-1951, Helsinki (2)
• Chess Olympiads - Bled 2002

No. 47 (100 pages)

The last fully free issue.

• 21st European Team Championship, Hersonissos (Crete) 2017
• Battle for the Crown (20): 1st cycle 1947-1951, Helsinki (3)
• Chess Olympiads - Calvià 2004
• History of chess posters - Wojciech Zawadzki (series debut!)

No. 48 (100 pages)

• London Chess Classic 2017
• 55th Indian Championship, Patna 2017
• World Junior Championship U20, Tarvisio 2017
• FIDE World Chess Grand Prix, Palma de Mallorca 2017
• Battle for the Crown (21): 1st cycle 1947-1951, Helsinki (4)
• Chess Olympiads - Turin 2006

No. 49 (120 pages)

• Gibraltar Chess Festival 2018
• 80th Tata Steel, Wijk aan Zee 2018
• Battle for the Crown (22): 1st cycle 1947-1951, Hilversum (1)
• Chess Olympiads - Dresden 2008

No. 50 (151 pages)

A special anniversary issue dedicated to the legendary year of 1970!

• USSR vs Rest of the World, Belgrade 1970
• Tournament of Peace, Rovinj-Zagreb 1970
• 32nd Wijk aan Zee Chess Festival 1970
• Battle for the Crown (23): 1st cycle 1947-1951, Hilversum (2)
• Women's Chess Olympiads - Emmen 1957

No. 51 (94 pages)

The final issue.

• Candidates Tournament, Berlin 2018 - Caruana's triumph!
• Anatoly Karpov's international debut - Caracas 1970
• Battle for the Crown (24): 1st cycle 1947-1951, Hilversum (3)
• Women's Chess Olympiads - Split 1963

Kurier in Numbers

• Issues 51 (including 10 double issues)
• PDF files 40
• Years of publication 2014-2018
• World Champion portraits16 (from Steinitz to Carlsen)
• Battle for the Chess Crown 24 installments
• Olympiads covered Buenos Aires 1939 through Calvià 2004 + Women's Olympiads
• Tournaments covered over 80
• Rising star profiles14 portraits
• Press from the old days Carlsbad 1911 through Folkestone 1933
• Thickest issue No. 43/44 - 189 pages!

Now Completely Free

Comrel publishing house has made the complete archive of Kurier Szachowy available for free - no registration required. All 51 issues, including those that were previously behind a paywall.

The magazine is in Polish only - there is no English translation and no plans for one. That said, if you read Polish or don't mind navigating annotated games and crosstables in Polish notation, there is an enormous amount of chess content waiting for you.

Full archive → olympchess.com/kurier