Category: chess clubs
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The Three Things I Hate About Online Chess
Okay, I admit it, I’m a dinosaur. The whole chess world plays online chess, and I don’t. The last time I played online was maybe 15 years ago. But I thought it might be fun to give it another try, especially in the PRO Chess Summer League, competing as part of a team. I was…
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PRO Chess Summer League Begins Tomorrow
This is kind of a last-minute post, but if any of my readers are interested in playing in an online summer league, you can sign up now at chess.com to play for the San Francisco Mechanics (or another team of your choice). Here is how it works. Unlike the winter season, the summer season will…
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Thirty-Two Stories
Once every year I take off my chess player and chess coach hat and put on my chess organizer hat. This weekend I directed an unrated chess tournament for kids at the Aptos Public Library. As always, I got a huge amount of help from the library, which provides the venue and the publicity and…
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One Year On
Although I recently had a small reminder of the value of humility, today I’m going to soldier on in my immodest way and celebrate the first anniversary of one of the most exciting days of my life, the publication day of The Book of Why. Being a writer, especially of books, is a strange business.…
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When Is It Okay to Resign?
Last week I was talking with one of the chess parents at the Aptos Library Chess Club, and she asked me a really good question: “When is it okay to resign?” She has never been part of the chess world before, and she was genuinely curious: What is the common practice among chess players? I…
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Robot Ninja Warriors
One of the delightful things about running a chess club for kids is that I can watch them learn. And, sometimes, I can learn from them. Take, for example, this Tuesday, when I learned a new chess term: “robot ninja warriors.” One of the kids, named Joaquin, called me over and said that his opponent…
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Blind Pigs and other Life Lessons
I have some questions for all the chess coaches out there. Do you ever play games against your students? Do you think it is ever worth playing a bad move on purpose against them, to give them a learning opportunity or a chance to win? Do you think it is appropriate to coach them during…
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End of Season Blues
Tonight was the final night of the regular season for half of the teams in the PRO Chess League. For the San Francisco Mechanics, it was our last chance to make an improbable comeback and qualify for the playoffs. To recap the whole season to this point, we started out the year very badly with…