by scribe | Apr 5, 2017 | games, positions, ruminations
Chess is a weird game. Sometimes the way to win is to play almost, but not quite, badly enough to lose. Then your opponent gets sucked into trying too hard, and then you can catch them on the rebound. But good luck trying to win that way. It has to be unintentional,...
by scribe | Oct 9, 2016 | games, openings, positions
One of my favorite ChessLectures ever was called “Double Queen Sacrifices,” in which I talked about the ultra-rare games where one player sacrificed a queen twice in the same game. Many chess players don’t even sacrifice two queens in their whole...
by scribe | Jul 29, 2016 | Chess Lecture, Chess Life, games, openings, positions, ruminations
The fifth in my series of memorable games contains several elements of the previous installments. Like game 4, it contains an absolutely miraculous comeback, from a position that seems totally lost to a brilliant victory. Like game 1, it ends with a queen sacrifice....
by scribe | Apr 12, 2016 | games, people, positions, ruminations
In my last post I asked readers for examples of games with “two shining moments” — in other words, one fantastic, seemingly game-winning move for each player. Mike Splane sent me a link to a game he played against Agnis Kaugars in 1993 that meets the...
by scribe | Dec 30, 2015 | current news, endings, games, people, positions, tournaments
My old friend from North Carolina, Robin Cunningham, decided this year to fly to England for the New Year and play in the traditional Hastings tournament. He did it once before and enjoyed the experience. This year, he’s doing more than just enjoying it:...
