by scribe | Mar 6, 2015 | openings, positions, ruminations
First of all, let me announce that my last post, Grading the Openings (Part One), unexpectedly turned into the biggest hit I’ve ever had on this blog. The blog had 1136 visitors yesterday, which is three times more than I have ever had in a single day (except...
by scribe | Jan 16, 2015 | current news, people, ruminations
I wasn’t completely happy with my post yesterday about the top chess states, because the measure I used (number of players over 2500) is skewed to the very high end of the spectrum of chess players. Half of the states don’t even have a player rated 2500....
by scribe | Jul 14, 2013 | people, ruminations, tournaments
It’s not my intention to turn this blog into a Conrad Holt Admiration Society, but after I wrote yesterday’s post I did a little bit of sleuthing that showed me just how unusual his chess career has been, compared to other U.S. juniors. Of course...
by scribe | Mar 15, 2013 | current news, people, tournaments
In the first round of the Candidates’ Tournament in London, all four games were drawn. I watched the last hour of the first round on ChessTV, which is broadcasting the games live in Russian with commentary from our friend GM Sergey Shipov and GM Genna Sosonko....
by scribe | Nov 10, 2012 | games, openings, positions
As many readers know, I have been a long-time advocate of the Bird Variation of the Ruy Lopez for Black (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4). Recently I’ve started experimenting with Henry Bird’s other major opening legacy, the Bird Opening (1. f4). I’m...
