Sacrificing Your Opponent’s Pieces

Almost two weeks ago, Mike Splane hosted his latest chess party. This one was a special occasion, because we had a chance to welcome back Steven Zierk, whom Mike introduced as “the first GM ever from the Kolty Chess Club.” It’s a bit of a stretch,...

Disappointing Finale

Before I started playing in the Tuesday Night Marathon, I told myself that I wouldn’t care too much about my result. The goal was simply to get back into form after two years of no tournament chess, and I didn’t really know how I would do. For the first...

July 10 Fireworks

After six rounds of the Tuesday Night Marathon at the Mechanics Institute in San Francisco, I realized something kind of odd. I hadn’t played a single sacrifice in any of my first five games (in one round I took a half-point bye, so obviously no sacrifices in...