by scribe | May 27, 2014 | current news, people
He’s alive and going to be just fine but… Jesse Kraai just posted on Facebook that he was clipped by a motorcyclist yesterday while he was riding his bike. The motorcycle was going 40-50 mph. He doesn’t remember anything after that, but he apparently...
by scribe | May 22, 2014 | current news, positions
Thanks to Mike Splane for pointing this one out! On Tuesday Gata Kamsky won the United States Championship, in a pair of 25-minute playoff games. Here is the position in the decisive game, Kamsky playing White against Varuzhan Akobian: FEN:...
by scribe | May 13, 2014 | Chess Lecture, current news, openings, people, tournaments
Over the weekend I spent a lot of time studying a fascinating game from the first round of the U.S. Women’s Championship, won by a 13-year-old girl from the Bay Area, Ashritha Eswaran. Eswaran is the lowest-rated player in the tournament and a relative newbie to...
by scribe | May 3, 2014 | current news, tournaments
Yeah, I thought that headline would get your attention. It’s true: Every year I run a free (unrated) chess tournament for kids at the Aptos Public Library. Today was the day for this year’s tournament. For me, it was a huge unqualified success, because: We...
by scribe | Apr 25, 2014 | current news, people, ruminations, tournaments
It seems like forever since my rating has been over 2200. How long has it been, exactly? Well, take a look at this graph. The last time I was over 2200 was after the World Open in 1995, before I even moved to California. For the longest time my rating just seemed to...
by scribe | Apr 21, 2014 | Chess Lecture, current news, games, openings, positions, tournaments
Did you ever have a charmed day? A day when everything works out right? Well, that was Easter Sunday for me. First, when Kay and I went out for lunch, I ordered a slice of carrot cake and got two! Well, one and a half. The woman behind the counter cut off a piece that...
