Matrix Redux

August 2, 2018

I’ve posted here many times before about my training method called “Matrix chess,” which is the only useful way I’ve ever found of training against a computer. (Well, of course you can use computers to study openings, but that’s different. Here I’m talking about trying to use the computer to improve your chess skills.) In […]

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Sacrificing Your Opponent’s Pieces

July 28, 2018

Almost two weeks ago, Mike Splane hosted his latest chess party. This one was a special occasion, because we had a chance to welcome back Steven Zierk, whom Mike introduced as “the first GM ever from the Kolty Chess Club.” It’s a bit of a stretch, but Steven did go to the Kolty Club in […]

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Disappointing Finale

July 21, 2018

Before I started playing in the Tuesday Night Marathon, I told myself that I wouldn’t care too much about my result. The goal was simply to get back into form after two years of no tournament chess, and I didn’t really know how I would do. For the first seven weeks, I felt as if […]

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July 10 Fireworks

July 11, 2018

After six rounds of the Tuesday Night Marathon at the Mechanics Institute in San Francisco, I realized something kind of odd. I hadn’t played a single sacrifice in any of my first five games (in one round I took a half-point bye, so obviously no sacrifices in that game). Well, of course sacrifices aren’t always […]

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A New Sheriff Comes to Town!

July 9, 2018

Last Friday I got a really surprising message on Facebook. “Hi Dana!” it started. “I hope that everything is going well. I just moved to Santa Cruz…” and it was signed Steven Zierk. My regular readers will remember that I just wrote a blog post about Steven a couple of weeks ago (The GM Factory […]

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A Million and Two Reasons

July 7, 2018

For poker players, this is one of the biggest weeks of the year — the week of the “Main Event” at the World Series of Poker. And even though there are a million reasons why I don’t play poker, I thought it would be fun to catch up on some former (and current) chess players […]

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Missed Opportunities

July 4, 2018

Round six of the Tuesday Night Marathon at the Mechanics Institute was another hard-fought draw. I really don’t mind draws, even against lower-rated players, as long as good chess was played on both sides. In this game, my opponent made a really strange mistake on move 7 and I thought that the game might just […]

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Simple Chess

June 27, 2018

Last night at the Tuesday Night Marathon I played a thrilling draw against Greg Sarafian, a high class-A player. As you’ll see, this was a game where all three results were possible. In the immediate aftermath I was very relieved because I felt I had escaped from very serious trouble. But with a calmer look […]

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Winning (Again) with the Mike Splane Question

June 20, 2018

Last night I played my fourth round in the Tuesday Night Marathon at the Mechanics Institute Chess Club in San Francisco. I won a nice game against a very friendly class-A player named Jonathan Mendoza. That brought my score to 3-1, with two wins, a draw and a half-point bye. To me the most interesting […]

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The GM Factory Continues

June 17, 2018

The San Francisco Bay area has been an unbelievable incubator for chess talent since the year 2000 or so, thanks to the hard work by organizers such as Judit Sztaray of Bay Area Chess and teachers like Michael Aigner. One player after another has progressed through the ranks from class players all the way up […]

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