Winning with the Bird

Last night I had a chance to go over all of my games from the New Year Open (my most recent tournament, a month ago) with Gjon Feinstein, my friend and frequent analysis partner who is a national master. We got to an interesting position from my first-round game...

The humble warrior

Steven Zierk’s appearance at the Aptos Library chess club yesterday went very smoothly, and I think it was a hit with the kids. We ended up with a crowd of about 60 people, so the room was full to capacity but not beyond. I really liked the energy and excitement...

Birming it On

Last night I got together with some of my regular chess friends, Gjon, Cailen, and Rich Flacco, along with Mike Splane, who came “over the hill” from San Jose. Mike told me that he is a regular reader of this blog, so I would like to feature a recent game...

Steven Zierk appearance in Santa Cruz

Next Tuesday, January 25, world under-18 champion Steven Zierk is coming to speak at the Aptos Library Chess Club! I am hoping that he will play a simultaneous exhibition and then speak about his experiences at the world championships in Greece last fall. This will be...

For Your Reading Pleasure

Today I am going to depart from my usual ideological purity and succumb to the lure of crass commercialism. Yes, I want to use this posting to promote my new book, What’s Happening in the Mathematical Sciences (Vol. 8). I’m afraid that you won’t...