by scribe | Jan 12, 2022 | current news, games, openings, people
Last weekend Gjon Feinstein and I met up for not only our first live chess games of the year, but our first since the pandemic began. Back in the long-gone days B. P. (before pandemic) we used to meet very frequently, at least once every two weeks. Times have sure...
by scribe | Dec 31, 2021 | current news, literature, openings, ruminations
One of the first things that kids love to do, after they learn the rules of chess, is to tamper with the rules. I’m not sure why. For example, they say, “Let’s make every piece a queen!” Sounds like fun in principle, but what happens in...
by scribe | Dec 26, 2021 | current news, people, ruminations, tournaments
Here is your trivia question for today: Who is the first chess player to simultaneously be #1 on both the USCF’s list of top players 50 and older and the list of top players over 65? Need a little hint? Okay, here it is. Best chessplayer of his generation…...
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 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...
by scribe | Oct 27, 2021 | chess clubs, current news, games
This summer and fall I’ve been playing a series of training games with one of my students from the Aptos Library Chess Club, Atlee, who is about 1500 strength (my estimate). Even though I have won all of the games so far, I’ve been quite impressed with his...
