by scribe | Apr 5, 2019 | current news, games, people
Mike Splane, one of my regular readers and the inspiration for countless posts on this blog, has often asked why I often identify my younger opponents as, “John Doe, the #17 14-year-old in the country.” Why don’t I refer to older players like him the same way? Well,...
by scribe | Mar 23, 2019 | Chess Lecture, games, positions
This week I played a game against the computer that featured two of my favorite strategic themes. The unbreakable pin is, of course, well known. The second concept, the Long March, is one that I named but of course didn’t invent. It’s simply the plan of marching the...
by scribe | Mar 6, 2019 | people, positions, ruminations
Recently I watched a lecture by Elizabeth Spiegel online where she talked about the importance of blunder-checking, especially for scholastic players. It’s not a new idea. Before you make your move, she said, write it down, and then look back at the board and ask,...
by scribe | Dec 6, 2018 | games, people, positions
Here’s a question for my esteemed readers. What sub-2700 player do you consider to be the best for an amateur to study? Why? Well, for any player the answer is “Study your own games.” But we’re not allowing that answer. The reason I’m...
by scribe | Apr 8, 2018 | current news, people, positions, PRO Chess League
Season two of the PRO Chess League has now ended, and the Armenia Eagles are the champions! In fact, the championship match went exactly as Hikaru Nakamura predicted. He said in an interview before the match that he expected an 8-8 tie and then expected Armenia to win...
