by scribe | Dec 31, 2022 | chess clubs, Chess Life, current news, endings, ruminations, tournaments
Fifteen years ago, when I started this blog, I called the first post Remembrance of Things Past. It seems like an odd way to begin a chronicle that literally had no past at that point. But it gives me a perfect title for today’s entry, written on the last day of...
by scribe | Jul 12, 2022 | chess clubs, Chess Life, current news, games, literature, openings, people
Mike Splane, Life Master, Five-time Kolty Club Champion, and first posthumous author of “My Best Move” If you look through the July 2022 issue of Chess Life, you might find a familiar name on the last page. Mike Splane, whom I have mentioned many times on...
by scribe | Feb 13, 2022 | chess clubs, endings, games, people, positions
The headline says it all! Yesterday, my student Atlee (~1500) scored his first draw against me in our weekly training game. I knew this was going to happen eventually, and I wondered what it would take for Atlee to draw or win. The short version: I blundered a piece...
by scribe | Feb 1, 2022 | chess clubs, games, positions
As I mentioned before, I’ve been playing a training game each week with one of my students from the Aptos Library Chess Club, Atlee, who is about a 1500-strength player (I’m guessing). The games follow an interesting pattern. I win, I teach Atlee a lesson,...
by scribe | Jan 16, 2022 | chess clubs, games, openings
When you play the move 1. d4 as White, you’re generally saying that you want the game to be a sumo match rather than a sword fight. You’re tired of all the sharp tactics of 1. e4, whether it’s the Sicilian Defense or the open games. You want to just...
by scribe | Nov 21, 2021 | chess clubs, endings, games, people
In recent weeks, as I mentioned before, I have been playing a series of training games against one of my students from the Aptos Chess Club, Atlee, who I think is about a 1500-rated player. Given the disparity between our ratings it’s no surprise that I have won...
