The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. When Covid-19 sent people home in early 2020, the computer scientist Tom Zahavy rediscovered chess. He had played as a kid and had ...

It’s 4 o’clock on Sunday evening when people start to trickle in to the Cooperative Chess Cultural Center on the east side of Columbus. John Hoffman is the first to arrive. At 81 years old, he’s a ...