by scribe | Jan 4, 2012 | Uncategorized
As I promised in my last post, here is some analysis of the last-round game between International Master Milos Pavlovic and National Master Mike Splane at the New Year Open. It’s a game that does credit to both players. I am going to skip over the first 28 moves...
by scribe | Aug 22, 2011 | games, openings, positions
Last weekend, at one of his chess parties, Mike Splane showed us the following miniature game where he won in 13 moves (!) against the Fort Knox Variation of the French Defense. Oh, were you expecting instructions for breaking into the U.S. Bullion Depository? Sorry,...
by scribe | Jul 24, 2011 | games, people, positions
Yesterday I got together with two old friends and one new one for some chess at Barnes and Noble in San Jose. The “old friends” were Gjon Feinstein and Cailen Melville, and the “new friend” was Uyanga Byambaa, a student from Mongolia whom Gjon...
by scribe | Jun 5, 2011 | games, people, tournaments
This afternoon Mike Splane hosted his second chess salon. (Well, he called it a party but I like the word “salon,” which calls to mind an image of erudite people gathered in a nineteenth-century drawing room, puffing pipes as they discuss Serious Issues.)...
by scribe | Apr 10, 2011 | games, positions
I have a love-hate relationship with my computer. Analyzing with the computer is a great way to get discouraged and to make unrealistic assessments of positions. (You think that the position is good because the computer says so — but then it turns out that you...
