by scribe | Jun 15, 2022 | current news, literature, people, ruminations, tournaments
You know something really unusual has happened when one of your Facebook friends who is not a chess player posts something about chess on your wall. “Have you heard about this?” she asked. “The New York Times has a new chess column.” I did know...
by scribe | May 31, 2022 | current news, people, ruminations, tournaments
After two years and three months of not playing any tournament chess, I finally returned to action this weekend in the 2021 (not a typo) CalChess State Championship. Short summary: I was glad to be back. My first goal was to say “f you” to the coronavirus....
by scribe | Apr 27, 2022 | current news, literature, off-topic, ruminations
What I did during the pandemic. One of the best things about being a writer is the moment when you first hold a book in your hands that has your name on the cover. I think that it may be similar to becoming a parent. You spend months and months anticipating something...
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...
