by scribe | Aug 26, 2015 | games, positions, tournaments
This weekend I was reviewing the games from my last tournament, the National Open, in preparation for my next one. I had thought that my win in the fourth round was not very interesting, but actually there was more to learn from it than I expected. I was playing Black...
by scribe | Dec 9, 2014 | chess clubs, current news, openings, people
Today’s chess club at the Aptos Library was one of the best I can remember. We had 18 kids, and everybody seemed to find a good match to play against. In the lesson I talked about an age-old trap: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nd4? 4. Nxe5?! Qg5 5. Nxf7?? Qxg2 6....
by scribe | Sep 12, 2014 | endings, games, people, tournaments
I’m back online! And as I promised, I’d like to show you a position from my last game in the CalChess state championship, against Michael Lei Wang (a 14-year-old Class A player, not to be confused with Michael Wang the 12-year-old master, whom I beat...
by scribe | Nov 8, 2013 | chess clubs, current news, games
The day the chess world has waited for is almost here — the beginning of the match between Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen for the world chess championship. It’s ironic that Carlsen is still so young (22 years old, with his 23rd birthday a couple days after...
by scribe | Sep 11, 2013 | chess clubs, games, positions
I don’t usually play against the kids in the Aptos Library Chess Club, because the games are rarely satisfying in any way. Basically I just take material and win, because most of the students are not on a level yet where they know about keeping their pieces...
