by scribe | Apr 10, 2011 | games, positions
I have a love-hate relationship with my computer. Analyzing with the computer is a great way to get discouraged and to make unrealistic assessments of positions. (You think that the position is good because the computer says so — but then it turns out that you...
by scribe | Mar 30, 2011 | games, off-topic, ruminations
Last night I decided to give a new sport a whirl … sorry, a curl. The San Francisco Bay Area Curling Club was having an introductory clinic at Sharks Ice in San Jose. Curling is the only Winter Olympic sport that I find remotely interesting, because to me...
by scribe | Mar 17, 2011 | Chess Lecture, endings, games, tournaments
What is the hardest “normal” endgame in chess? I think the answer is probably K+Q+RP vs. K+Q. A few years ago no less an authority than Vassily Smyslov wrote a series of columns on this endgame for “64” magazine (in Russian), and you could...
by scribe | Mar 7, 2011 | games, people, positions
Yesterday I had a mini-chess salon at my house, with only two guests: Gjon Feinstein and Mike Splane. Gjon has been to my place many times — so many that he even knows which legs of my chess table are loose! For Mike, on the other hand, it was his first visit....
by scribe | Feb 8, 2011 | games, openings, people, positions
Today marked a milestone for Brian Wall’s chess discussion list: the 2000th daily digest. When I think of how much work I’ve put into my blog to write a measly 338 posts (339 if you count this one) and then I try multiplying that by almost 7 … It is...
by scribe | Jan 30, 2011 | games, openings, tournaments
Last night I had a chance to go over all of my games from the New Year Open (my most recent tournament, a month ago) with Gjon Feinstein, my friend and frequent analysis partner who is a national master. We got to an interesting position from my first-round game...
