by scribe | Jan 20, 2015 | current news, endings, people, positions, tournaments
I did not go to the Golden State Open in Dublin, California, last weekend. I have a lot of work this month and couldn’t prepare properly for a chess tournament. But I wish I had! It looks as if it was a great tournament, although not quite as loaded with strong...
by scribe | Jan 16, 2015 | current news, people, ruminations
I wasn’t completely happy with my post yesterday about the top chess states, because the measure I used (number of players over 2500) is skewed to the very high end of the spectrum of chess players. Half of the states don’t even have a player rated 2500....
by scribe | Jan 7, 2015 | current news, people, tournaments
Let’s now turn our attention from the microscopic to the monumental … in fact, to the future of chess. I’ve been waiting for the right time to mention that there is a project in the works to make a movie about the (first) Millionaire Chess Open,...
by scribe | Jan 6, 2015 | current news, games, positions, ruminations, tournaments
It’s an age-old question: is chess truly just a game of skill, or is there luck involved too? Here is perhaps the most crucial position I faced in the New Year Championship tournament last weekend. It’s round five, and I’m playing back against Ivan...
by scribe | Jan 5, 2015 | current news, ruminations, tournaments
Back when I first joined the USCF, in 1972, you had to wait months to find out your new rating after you played in a tournament. Nowadays, if the tournament directors do their job quickly enough, you can find out overnight. In fact, Michael Aigner found out even...
by scribe | Jan 4, 2015 | current news, people, tournaments
The New Year Championship has just wrapped up, and the victor in a runaway was the Chinese grandmaster, Xiangzhi Bu, who beat IM Andrey Gorovets in the last round to finish with a score of 5½ out of 6. There was a four-way tie for second at 4½ points, including the...
