by scribe | Aug 11, 2019 | chess clubs, games, people, positions, tournaments
Today I went to cheer on two of my students in the Aptos Library Chess Club, Emmy and Ryder, who were playing in their second rated tournament. They are a sister-brother pair. I was very curious to see how they would do, because in their first rated tournament (the...
by scribe | Jul 27, 2019 | endings, games, openings, tournaments
It’s been amazing to me to see how double e-pawn openings have changed over the last 10 to 20 years. Once upon a time, White would always press for an advantage, making threats, working toward the pawn break d2-d4, keeping Black on the defensive. Not any more....
by scribe | May 28, 2019 | chess clubs, current news, tournaments
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...
by scribe | Mar 3, 2019 | chess clubs, ruminations, tournaments
… Unless, of course, you get three! I was reminded of this today in a roundabout fashion. Emmy and Ryder P., the sister and brother combo from my chess club in Aptos who came to watch me play a tournament in January, today got their first taste of tournament action....
by scribe | Jan 10, 2019 | current news, openings, people, ruminations, tournaments
The ratings for the 2019 Bay Area International went up on the USCF website this morning, and this gives me an excuse for writing a few more reflections on the chess week that just ended three days ago. The tournament truly lived up to its name as an international....
by scribe | Jan 8, 2019 | current news, people, PRO Chess League, tournaments
Although Google says that San Francisco and San Jose are 48 miles apart, it really is all one metropolitan area: If you drive from one to the other on highway 101 or El Camino Real, you will never have a moment when the urban landscape stops. So when the San Francisco...
