by scribe | Dec 31, 2021 | current news, literature, openings, ruminations
One of the first things that kids love to do, after they learn the rules of chess, is to tamper with the rules. I’m not sure why. For example, they say, “Let’s make every piece a queen!” Sounds like fun in principle, but what happens in...
by scribe | May 24, 2021 | Chess Lecture, games, literature, openings, people
Many of you know the game I’m going to write about today. Don McLean doesn’t play a concert without “American Pie.” And I’m not going to write a lifetime retrospective of my chess games without my game against David Pruess. It’s...
by scribe | Nov 5, 2020 | endings, games, tournaments
By the end of 1982, it was starting to look as if my two-year sabbatical to focus on math instead of chess had been a good decision — not only for my math dissertation, but also for my chess game! My rating was up to 1989, the closest I had ever been to the...
by scribe | Jun 17, 2018 | current news, endings, games, people, positions, tournaments
The San Francisco Bay area has been an unbelievable incubator for chess talent since the year 2000 or so, thanks to the hard work by organizers such as Judit Sztaray of Bay Area Chess and teachers like Michael Aigner. One player after another has progressed through...
by scribe | Apr 3, 2018 | Chess Lecture, openings, ruminations, tournaments
About once a year I take a look at my site statistics to see what my most popular posts were. Then for the rest of the year, I ignore what’s popular and just write what I feel like writing! I do think that new or infrequent visitors might appreciate a guide to...
