by scribe | Dec 26, 2021 | current news, people, ruminations, tournaments
Here is your trivia question for today: Who is the first chess player to simultaneously be #1 on both the USCF’s list of top players 50 and older and the list of top players over 65? Need a little hint? Okay, here it is. Best chessplayer of his generation…...
by scribe | Jan 31, 2021 | games, openings, people
I appreciate the patience of my readers with this retrospective of my chess career! Andy Lee, one of my Facebook friends, did a similar thing last year: for the 40 days leading up to his 40th birthday, he showed one position a day. His arrangement was not...
by scribe | Mar 9, 2018 | games, positions, tournaments
Continuing from last time… Position after 33. Rc2. Black to move. In my last post, we reached this position from my game with IM Ed Formanek in the 1994 Cardinal Open in Columbus, Ohio. The title of the post refers to the fact that I had a positive mental...
by scribe | Apr 25, 2014 | current news, people, ruminations, tournaments
It seems like forever since my rating has been over 2200. How long has it been, exactly? Well, take a look at this graph. The last time I was over 2200 was after the World Open in 1995, before I even moved to California. For the longest time my rating just seemed to...
by scribe | Nov 10, 2012 | games, openings, positions
As many readers know, I have been a long-time advocate of the Bird Variation of the Ruy Lopez for Black (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nd4). Recently I’ve started experimenting with Henry Bird’s other major opening legacy, the Bird Opening (1. f4). I’m...
