by scribe | Jan 31, 2013 | current news, people, ruminations
To my surprise (and pleasure), two non-chess-playing friends e-mailed me a link to the same New York Times article. Nicholas Kristof, a regular op-ed columnist and former Pulitzer Prize winner, wrote a column today about Elizabeth Spiegel and her national champion...
by scribe | Jan 30, 2013 | current news, games, ruminations
Okay, I’m a little bit late getting to this, but I just caught up on the first two episodes of a new game show/reality show called King of the Nerds. For anyone who identifies as a nerd or is even semi-nerdish, this show is really a hoot. Imagine rounding up...
by scribe | Jan 7, 2013 | current news, endings, games, positions
So let me show you how my last game in the New Year Open ended. I was Black against National Master Kenan Zildzic. After White’s move 45. Qc4 we got to the following position. I should mention, because it’s important, that the time situation was...
by scribe | Jan 6, 2013 | current news, people, ruminations
Happy New Year, loyal readers! I bring good tidings! This weekend I played in my first tournament of the new year and felt as if I really turned a corner. The first two rounds were abysmal, as I drew a class-A player and lost to an expert, but then I got more serious...
by scribe | Dec 23, 2012 | current news, people, ruminations, tournaments
Well, I didn’t do my job as a reporter — I can’t tell you who won the open section of the Winter Open. I can tell you who impressed me the most. That would be Kesav Viswanadha, who I think has had a breakthrough of sorts, as his rating is now well...
by scribe | Dec 22, 2012 | chess clubs, current news, endings, games, positions, tournaments
This weekend I’m playing in the Winter Open at the Bay Area Chess Center. This is the first time I have been to their new headquarters (the bigger tournaments are usually at hotels). It’s a pretty nice place, except for the fact that there is only one...
