by scribe | Aug 11, 2019 | chess clubs, games, people, positions, tournaments
Today I went to cheer on two of my students in the Aptos Library Chess Club, Emmy and Ryder, who were playing in their second rated tournament. They are a sister-brother pair. I was very curious to see how they would do, because in their first rated tournament (the...
by scribe | May 20, 2019 | games, openings, people, ruminations
Yesterday I celebrated another anniversary, and a pretty big one this time: the thirtieth anniversary of my wedding! Kay has been my rudder and my guiding light for all this time. She claims to be pretty satisfied with me too, although I’m not sure how much to believe...
by scribe | May 5, 2019 | current news, games, people, ruminations
As I mentioned a few days ago, Jonathan Speelman’s Agony column at chessbase.com featured two of my games this week. I hope you’ll click on over, see what Speelman has to say, and enjoy the thrill of paying without your queen from move six on!...
by scribe | Apr 5, 2019 | current news, games, people
Mike Splane, one of my regular readers and the inspiration for countless posts on this blog, has often asked why I often identify my younger opponents as, “John Doe, the #17 14-year-old in the country.” Why don’t I refer to older players like him the same way? Well,...
by scribe | Mar 12, 2019 | chess clubs, current news, people, positions, PRO Chess League
Tonight was the final night of the regular season for half of the teams in the PRO Chess League. For the San Francisco Mechanics, it was our last chance to make an improbable comeback and qualify for the playoffs. To recap the whole season to this point, we started...
by scribe | Mar 11, 2019 | chess clubs, current news, people, positions, ruminations
This weekend two of my protégés at the Aptos Library Chess Club, Emmy and Ryder Pimentel, ventured into the world of rated chess for the first time. And they did it in a reallllly big way: they played in the CalChess Super State Championships, a scholastic tournament...
