by scribe | Jan 12, 2022 | current news, games, openings, people
Last weekend Gjon Feinstein and I met up for not only our first live chess games of the year, but our first since the pandemic began. Back in the long-gone days B. P. (before pandemic) we used to meet very frequently, at least once every two weeks. Times have sure...
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 | Sep 28, 2021 | chess clubs, games, openings, people, tournaments
Photo taken at Mike Splane’s celebration of life, 9/4/2021 When Mike Splane asked me to play on his team (the Kolty Club team) at the 2020 U.S. Amateur Team West tournament, I enthusiastically said yes. He had been trying to get me to play on their team for...
by scribe | Jul 27, 2021 | Chess Lecture, games, openings, ruminations
In Year 35 of this retrospective, I wrote a post called One for the Ages, in which I showed my lifetime masterpiece, Mackenzie-Pruess. In that game I debuted a new opening variation, the Bryntse Gambit (which had been played before in correspondence chess but never,...
by scribe | Jul 11, 2021 | games, openings, positions, tournaments
Recently I wrote a post in which I listed my best and worst tournaments by rating improvement or rating loss. But one of the highlights of my chess career was a tournament where I gained only 2 rating points! I also didn’t win any prize money or beat any USCF...
by scribe | Jun 26, 2021 | games, openings, tournaments
In 2010, according to the USCF online database, my rating hit its lowest point ever. At the 2010 CalChess Labor Day Classic (the northern California state championship) I withdrew after four rounds with a score of 0.5-3.5, culminating in a loss against a player rated...
