by scribe | Aug 4, 2022 | endings, positions, tournaments
Generally speaking, when you are in a bad or losing position, you should not count on finding a single miraculous move — a hail Mary — to save your position. Hard-nosed, patient defense will save more games than prayers will. But on the other hand, you...
by scribe | Apr 7, 2022 | endings, positions
Last year, after bingeing too many times on chess games played against the computer, I said, “No more.” I actually stuck to that resolution for about seven months, but then I updated the operating system on my Apple computer. The chess program I had on...
by scribe | Feb 13, 2022 | chess clubs, endings, games, people, positions
The headline says it all! Yesterday, my student Atlee (~1500) scored his first draw against me in our weekly training game. I knew this was going to happen eventually, and I wondered what it would take for Atlee to draw or win. The short version: I blundered a piece...
by scribe | Dec 10, 2021 | 2020 world championship, current news, endings, people, ruminations, tournaments
Magnus Carlsen won his fifth world championship in resounding fashion today, beating Ian Nepomniachtchi in the eleventh game to close him out by a score of 7 1/2 – 3 1/2. Congratulations to him on a really well-deserved victory! He is now turning in to one of...
by scribe | Nov 21, 2021 | chess clubs, endings, games, people
In recent weeks, as I mentioned before, I have been playing a series of training games against one of my students from the Aptos Chess Club, Atlee, who I think is about a 1500-rated player. Given the disparity between our ratings it’s no surprise that I have won...
by scribe | Nov 10, 2021 | current news, endings, people, positions
Today I found out that my lifetime total of International Masters defeated had increased by one… and I didn’t even have to lift a finger! The catch is — as everyone knows — that the best time to defeat a chess genius is when they are still...
