by scribe | Jun 27, 2018 | current news, games, positions, tournaments
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...
by scribe | Jun 20, 2018 | chess clubs, current news, games, positions, tournaments
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...
by scribe | Jun 17, 2018 | current news, endings, games, people, positions, tournaments
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...
by scribe | Jun 15, 2018 | current news, literature, off-topic, ruminations
I think it’s likely that every author who has ever published a book has wondered if it has what it takes to be a bestseller. There was even a day or two last month when I thought The Book of Why might have a serious chance to make a bestseller list. But it...
by scribe | Jun 2, 2018 | current news, literature, off-topic
Yesterday the first serious, in-depth review of The Book of Why appeared in The New York Times. This is the news that I have been holding my breath for over the last two weeks. I can see that the book is selling well. I can see that it has good customer reviews on...
by scribe | Jun 1, 2018 | current news, literature, off-topic
I have to pass along this wonderful conversation about The Book of Why that took place on Facebook. A friend of mine sent me a link to it; I do not know any of the commenters personally. More than any sales numbers or Amazon rankings, this conversation warmed my heart...