by scribe | Oct 29, 2011 | endings, games, tournaments
The Four Endgames of the Apocalypse are the most notorious “common” endgames in chess, endgames where normal chess concepts go out the window and which lead otherwise sane chess players (??) to pound their heads in frustration. They are: K+Q versus K+R...
by scribe | Oct 25, 2011 | current news, off-topic, openings, ruminations
It’s Blog Stats time again! About a year ago I wrote a post called “Counting Down the Hits,” where I listed the top 15 posts from this blog in total page views. I also counted down seven “undeservedly neglected” posts, some of my...
by scribe | Oct 23, 2011 | current news, ruminations, tournaments
Extra! Read all about it! The Western States Open concluded tonight in relatively predictable fashion. Sergei Kudrin, who was leading after round four (see my previous post) played two draws that must have lasted about twenty minutes total. That gave him a 5-1 score....
by scribe | Oct 23, 2011 | chess clubs, current news, people, tournaments, US Chess League
Two-thirds of the way through the 2011 Western States Open, and the leader is no surprise. Sergei Kudrin is always such a reliable presence at these Reno tournaments that it seemed strange when he wasn’t here in April. (I think he was playing in some other...
by scribe | Oct 21, 2011 | off-topic, ruminations, tournaments
I arrived in Reno last night, and I will be playing in the Western States Open chess tournament beginning about three hours from now. But today I won’t write about chess: I’ll write about something I saw last night that surprised the heck out of me. Last...
