by scribe | Apr 6, 2015 | Chess Lecture, current news, people, tournaments
I just got home from the Larry Evans Memorial in Reno, and there’s lots of news to pass along. First, the winner of the tournament was … drum roll … Alexander Ivanov. As you might recall, he was leading after day two with a 4-0 score, and he coasted...
by scribe | Mar 24, 2015 | chess clubs, current news, games, openings, people
No, not that kind of bird! (That’s a scrub jay who has taken up residence in one of our bushes, driving Max the cat wild.) I mean this kind of Bird: Position after 4. … b5. White to move. FEN: r1bqkbnr/p1pp1ppp/8/1p2p3/B2nP3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq...
by scribe | Mar 1, 2015 | people, ruminations
Today I’m going to show you the two most fascinating chess graphs I’ve ever seen. Of course, they’re also the only chess graphs I’ve ever seen, but still I found them utterly remarkable. A statistician named Rob Weir did a principal component...
by scribe | Feb 17, 2015 | chess clubs, current news, people, tournaments
Last weekend there were two big chess events in California, and I didn’t go to either of them. Nevertheless, Facebook kept me abreast of some of the things happening in both tournaments, and I have some big landmarks to report. The U.S. Amateur Team Championship...
by scribe | Feb 11, 2015 | games, literature, off-topic, people, positions, ruminations
Last week I finished reading a military-history book called Saratoga: Turning Point of America’s Revolutionary War. I am totally not a military history buff, but recently it bothered me to realize that I do not know a single battle of the American Revolution,...
by scribe | Feb 4, 2015 | off-topic, people, ruminations
Sorry I’ve been away for a couple days… I went to an undisclosed top-secret location, where they’ve just had 19 inches of snow, and began the process of turning into a Borg. See? Resistance is futile. Anyway, when I got home I read in my Facebook...
