In Praise of Finishing Third

by | Feb 19, 2020 | current news, PRO Chess League

Because I was in the midst of playing in the U.S. Amateur Team West tournament on Monday, I wasn’t able to write my usual timely coverage of the PRO Chess League. For any California Unicorn fans out there who were waiting for my post (How many of you are there?...

The Wandering King

by | Feb 18, 2020 | chess clubs, current news, endings, games, tournaments

First, an update on the U.S. Amateur Team West championship results. In my last post I knew that we had tied for second but I didn’t know for sure how the tiebreaks worked out. Now I can tell you that we in fact finished third, which is great! Third place gets...

Mischief Managed

by | Feb 17, 2020 | chess clubs, current news, positions, tournaments

Harry Potter fans will already know what the headline refers to. For everyone else, whenever Harry Potter used the Marauders’ Map, he was supposed to swear solemnly that he was up to no good, and when he was done with he was supposed to say, “Mischief...

Auspicious Beginnings

by | Feb 16, 2020 | chess clubs, current news, positions, tournaments

This weekend I’m playing in the U.S. Amateur Team West (USATW) tournament, which for the first time is being sponsored by the Mechanics Institute and run by one of the Bay Area’s finest directors, Judit Sztaray. Judit was with Bay Area Chess for a long...

Huge Upset for Unicorns

by | Feb 10, 2020 | current news, positions, PRO Chess League

In week six of the PRO Chess League, the California Unicorns picked the right time to play their best match of the season. Against the heavily favored New York Marshalls, who were led by Hikaru Nakamura on board one, California not only pulled off an upset but did it...