USCL Quarterfinal Thoughts

November 10, 2015

Not much going on in my chess life right now, so I’ll write a little bit more about the U.S. Chess League. The playoffs are entering their second round, and now all of the top teams are in action. On paper we should have some very close matches, with New Jersey (6½ in the regular […]

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Never Again!

October 30, 2015

Today I swear I played my last game ever against my computer. If you ever see me playing one again, you have my permission to come over and unplug my computer. I know that I’ve written several entries about “Matrix chess,” and I’ve enjoyed analyzing the complicated-as-hell positions that I get into against Shredder. But […]

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R.I.P. Emory Tate — My Favorite Opponent

October 18, 2015

I couldn’t believe it when I got into Facebook this morning and saw a stream of testimonials to Emory Tate. International Master Emory Tate: many times Armed Forces champion, a person full of wit and passion (especially for chess), and a chess player second to none in his imagination and attacking ability. I’m warning you […]

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Not Playing in Reno

October 17, 2015

Alas, this weekend I am not playing in what is usually my favorite tournament of the year, the Western States Open in Reno. I could give you a complicated explanation, but the simple explanation is family reasons. So I’m stuck at home with nobody to play but my computer. You know what that means… Matrix chess! […]

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Millionaire Chess: 10 Things I Think I Think

October 13, 2015

(1) Way to go, Ted Castro! I hope you aren’t too disappointed by losing your last match. I can give you nineteen thousand reasons not to be disappointed. (2) The commentators pointed this out, so I will too: You never saw so many relaxed, happy faces before the last round of a chess tournament. Although there […]

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Millionaire Chess, GM Draws

October 12, 2015

It’s Millionaire Monday! The second Millionaire Chess tournament was held in Las Vegas this weekend, and the playoffs will be held today. I’m very excited to see that a couple of my Facebook friends are having sensational tournaments. Mike Zaloznyy is playing in the Open section, and in spite of having a FIDE rating under […]

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World Cup: Exhaustion Sets In

October 4, 2015

I’ve even gotten tired writing about the World Cup, imagine how tired the people are playing it. The final four-game match between Peter Svidler and Sergey Karjakin has been disappointing in a way I never expected. First, take a look at the results: Svidler 1, Karjakin 0 Svidler 1, Karjakin 0 Karjakin 1, Svidler 0 […]

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Pawn Sacrifice (the Movie)

October 3, 2015

This afternoon, a week or two after everybody else, I finally got a chance to watch Pawn Sacrifice, the movie about the Bobby Fischer – Boris Spassky match starring Tobey McGuire. I know that any chess player can easily find flaws with the portrayal of chess and specific events in the movie. Big flaws. But […]

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The Tragedy of Cinderella

September 29, 2015

If there’s one person in the world I wouldn’t want to be today, it’s Pavel Eljanov. The Ukrainian grandmaster was the Cinderella player in this year’s chess World Cup. He started as the #26 seed, but played more impressively than anyone else in racing to a 6-0 start. Then he scored upsets over favorites like […]

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