by scribe | Mar 7, 2018 | games, openings, people, positions
I’ve learned one thing from watching kids play chess: the result of a game often depends not so much on the position on the board as on the position in their minds. Often I’ll see a kid lose a piece or more, but still stay resolute and continue making...
by scribe | Dec 4, 2017 | games, openings, positions
A few years ago I wrote a post about a game where my opponent resigned in a drawn position. I mean really, truly drawn: I had just sacrificed a queen to force a perpetual check, but he somehow misread it and thought it was a checkmate. Of course, there have been even...
by scribe | Nov 3, 2017 | games, people, positions, tournaments
Recently I wrote a post about my first experience playing a tournament abroad, back in 1978 in Russia. Coincidentally, I got together last weekend with some chess-playing friends, and tournaments abroad were one of our big topics of conversation. Mike Arne, a Life...
by scribe | Sep 13, 2017 | current news, endings, people, tournaments
People who know I have a Ph.D. in math often think that mathematics must help me in chess. But I have to tell them: not really. Having a mathematical mind is somewhat useful: in both subjects, it’s good to be able to hold in your mind long strings of “if...
by scribe | Jul 1, 2017 | current news, games, openings, tournaments
This week the most exciting news in chess for me was that the American team got trounced by the Russians in the World Team Championship, 4-0. Come again? Well, the real news was the Ian Nepomniachtchi beat Sam Shankland, and while I would ordinarily make me very sad,...
