Andrew Soltis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Andrew Soltis
Soltis in 2015
Full name	Andrew Eden Soltis
Country	United States
Born	(1947-05-28) May 28, 1947 (age 78) Hazleton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Title	Grandmaster (1980)
FIDE rating	2407 (August 2025)
Peak rating	2480 (January 1981)

Andrew Eden Soltis, born on May 28, 1947, is a famous American chess player. He is known as a Grandmaster, which is the highest title a chess player can get. He is also a well-known writer and newspaper columnist about chess. In September 2011, he was honored by being added to the United States Chess Hall of Fame.

Andrew Soltis's Chess Journey

Andrew Soltis first learned about chess when he was 10 years old. He found a "how-to-play" book at a public library in Astoria, Queens, where he grew up. He didn't get very interested in the game until he was 14. That's when he joined a chess club in Astoria. Later, he joined the Marshall Chess Club and played in his first tournament, the 1961 New York City Junior Championship.

Winning Tournaments and Titles

Soltis in 1981

In 1970, Soltis played for the United States team in the 17th World Student Team Championship. His team won the gold medal, and he had one of the best scores in the whole tournament. He also helped the U.S. team win silver medals in two other World Student Team Championships.

Soltis won an international tournament in Reggio Emilia, Italy, in 1972. Two years later, he earned the title of International Master. He won more international tournaments in New York in 1977 and 1980. Because of these wins, he was given the top title of International Grandmaster in 1980. This title is usually just called "Grandmaster."

He won the championship at the famous Marshall Chess Club nine times. This was a record! He also played in four U.S. Championships. Soltis tied for first place in the U.S. Open Championships in 1977 and 1982. He stopped playing in tournaments after 2002. At his best, in January 1971, he was ranked as the 74th best chess player in the world.

A Talented Chess Writer

Andrew Soltis has written a weekly chess column for the New York Post newspaper since 1972. He also writes a monthly column called "Chess to Enjoy" for Chess Life magazine. This magazine is the official publication of the United States Chess Federation. His column started in 1979 and is the longest-running column in the magazine's history. He was named "Chess Journalist of the Year" in 1988 and again in 2002.

Soltis was special because he earned the Grandmaster title but wasn't a full-time chess player. He worked as a news reporter and editor for the New York Post from 1969 until he retired in 2014. Even after retiring, he kept writing his weekly chess column for the Post.

He is known as one of the most active chess writers. He has written or helped write over 100 books and guides about chess. His books have been translated into many languages, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Polish. In 2014, his book Mikhail Botvinnik: The Life and Games of a World Chess Champion was named Book of the Year. Other awards for his books include one from the British Chess Federation in 1994 for Frank Marshall, United States Champion. He also won the Cramer Award in 2006 for Soviet Chess 1917–1991 and Why Lasker Matters.

Soltis's Impact on Chess

Andrew Soltis has a special chess move named after him. It's called the Soltis Variation in the Sicilian Dragon Yugoslav Attack. This move is used in a specific part of the game. He also gave names to other chess openings, like the Nimzo-Larsen Attack, the Baltic Defense, and the Chameleon Sicilian. He helped make names for pawn structures and moves, such as the Marco Hop and the Boleslavsky Hole, popular through his book Pawn Structure Chess. He also introduced a Russian chess term, priyome, to English chess books in his work Studying Chess Made Easy.

Andrew Soltis's Personal Life

Andrew Soltis graduated from City College of New York in 1969. He married Marcy Soltis in 1981. Marcy is also a journalist and a chess player.

Some of Andrew Soltis's Books

• The Best Chess Games of Boris Spassky, 1973, ISBN: 0679130020
• The Great Chess Tournaments and Their Stories , 1975, ISBN: 0-8019-6138-6
• Pawn Structure Chess, 1976, Tartan Books, ISBN: 0-679-14475-7; also 1995, McKay, ISBN: 0-8129-2529-7
• Karl Marx Plays Chess : And Other Reports on the World's Oldest Game, ISBN: 0-8129-1906-8
• Chess to Enjoy, 1978, Stein and Day, ISBN: 0-8128-6059-4
• Catalog of Chess Mistakes, 1980, Three Rivers Press, ISBN: 0-679-14151-0
• The Art of Defense in Chess, 1986, Random House, ISBN: 0-679-14108-1
• Openings of the Eighties; Volume 1, Chess Digest, ASIN: B009F09ARA
• A Black Defensive System For The Rest of Your Chess Career, 1987, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0-87568-166-2
• Winning with the English Opening, 1987, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0875681700
• Winning with 1 e4, 1988, Chess Digest
• Winning with 1 d4, 1988, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0875681751
• Confessions of a Chess Grandmaster, 1990, Thinker's Press, ISBN: 0-938650-46-7
• Winning with 1 c4: A Complete Opening System, 1990, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0-87568-192-1
• Winning with 1 f4: Bird's Opening, 1992, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0-87568-203-0
• White Opening System: Combining Stonewall Attack, Colle System, Torre Attack, 1992, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0-87568-205-7
• Winning with the King's Gambit Volume One Accepted, 1992, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0-87568-212-X
• Winning with the King's Gambit Volume Two Declined, 1993, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0-87568-214-6
• Black to play and win with 1-g6: A complete defensive system, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0875681778
• The Baltic Defense to the Queen's Gambit, Chess Digest, ASIN: B01F7XFV9O
• Beating the Caro-Kann with the Advance Variation, 1993, Chess Digest, ASIN: B002AOKNXS
• The London System : a complete white opening system, 1993, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0875682316
• The Stonewall Attack, Revised 2nd Edition, 1993, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0-87568-165-4
• A Black Defensive System: With 1...d6, 1994, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0875682448
• Beating the Ruy Lopez with the Fianchetto Variation, 1994, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0875682499
• The Inner Game of Chess: How to Calculate and Win, 1994, Random House, ISBN: 0-8129-2291-3
• The Trompowsky Attack, 1995, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0875682731
• Winning with the Giuoco Piano and the Max Lange Attack, 1996, Chess Digest, ASIN: B00A09JWOQ
• Grandmaster Secrets: Endings, 1997, 2003, Thinker's Press, ISBN: 0-938650-66-1
• Colle System, Koltanowski variation, 5c3, 1998, Chess Digest, ISBN: 0-87568-286-3
• Soviet Chess 1917–1991, 1999, McFarland & Company, ISBN: 0-7864-0676-3
• Rethinking the Chess Pieces, 2004, Bastford, ASIN: B019L58BVO
• Grandmaster Secrets: Openings, 2000, Thinker's Press, ISBN: 0-938650-68-8
• Why Lasker Matters, 2005, Batsford, ISBN: 0-7134-8983-9
• Bobby Fischer Rediscovered, 2003, Batsford, ISBN: 0-7134-8846-8
• Los Voraces, 2019, 2003, McFarland, ISBN: 978-0-7864-1637-0
• Turning Advantage into Victory in Chess, 2004, Random House Puzzles & Games, ISBN: 0-8129-3581-0
• Rethinking the Chess Pieces, 2004, Batsford, ISBN: 0-7134-8904-9
• How to Choose a Chess Move, 2005, Batsford, ISBN: 0-7134-8979-0
• The 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century, Ranked, 2006, McFarland & Company, ISBN: 0-7864-2741-8
• Transpo Tricks in Chess, 2007, Batsford, ISBN: 0-7134-9051-9
• The Wisest Things Ever Said About Chess, 2008, Batsford, ISBN: 978-1-906388-00-3
• Studying Chess Made Easy, 2010, Batsford, ISBN: 978-1-906388-67-6
• What It Takes To Become A Chess Master, 2012, Batsford
• Smyslov, Bronstein, Geller, Taimanov and Averbakh: A Chess Multibiography with 220 Games, 2021, McFarland & Company

See also

In Spanish: Andrew Soltis para niños