Game Robert Byrne – Fischer, US Championship 1963/64 http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008419 Comments after 14.Rfd1 … “Add another to those melancholy case histories entitled: The Wrong Rook.” Robert Fischer “This is very much a case of ‘the wrong rook’. One can understand Byrne’s desire to break the pin on the e2-knight, but this turns...

The solution to last Monday’s problem is that White plays 1. Qf4!. This wins after 1…Kh8 2. Qh6 Rg8 3.Rf3 Qf8 4. Qxh7+! and mates. King and Pawn endings are good at showing the perils of lazy analysis. Lazy analysis costs points. If White lazily plays 1. b7 in the diagram position, he will only […]

This week, some updates on my last three posts. First, some more very sad news. Just a couple of weeks on from the death of Richard Haddrell, English chess has lost another of its most valued administrators: John Philpott. John, like Richard, had held many different roles over several decades at club, county (Essex), regional […]

The Russian Chess Championships Superfinal, which is underway in Novosibirsk, had a day off on October 22. All chess events running under Chess in Museums project, carried out by RCF and Timchenko Charitable Foundation, feature a special program for a rest day, which primarily aims at children. Master-classes and simultaneous displays give chess fans a [...]

Live games with analysis

Those of you who read my social media posts know that I’ve been going through hyperbaric (oxygen) therapy in preparation for a major surgical procedure in November. With this type of treatment, you’re placed in a sealed Acrylic tank, pressurized to thirty feet below the ocean’s surface and bombarded with 100% pure oxygen. Each dive, […]

Pogonina catches up with Kosteniuk. Six players remain on top in the men's Superfinal.

After 2 months in the United States, I’ve finally made it back to the UK. I panicked when I was in the taxi on the way to JFK as I realized I was travelling without my Biometrics Card which is needed every time I enter and exit the UK. Luckily for me they weren’t too […]

Ο παγκόσμιος πρωταθλητής Μάγκνους Κάρλσεν πέρασε ινκόγκνιτο από το Washington Square Park της Νέας Υόρκης χωρίς να βάλει μάσκα ή να μεταμφιεστεί. Οι θαμώνες έτσι και αλλιώς δεν παρακολουθούν την επικαιρότητα, είναι αφοσιωμένοι...

Συνεργασία του Θέμη Αργυρακόπουλου Αντί Κίρκη (Anti Circe) Όταν πιάσει μία μυθική συνθήκη, συνήθως την ακολουθούν διάφορες παραλλαγές. Στην Αντί Κίρκη, η διαφορά είναι ότι τώρα θα αναγεννηθεί στο αρχικό τετράγωνο μιας...

The British Correspondence Chess Championship 2016/8 was underway on 1st October 2016 on the ICCF Server. There are fifteen players, including two SIMs, three IMs and one CCE. This is the first time I have played in a British Championship and this year is the first time that title qualifications are available. The three highest rated […]

Six men on top in Novosibirsk. Kosteniuk leads the women's Superfinal despite losing today.

“Therein lies the secret of great hunters. To be available and unavailable at the precise turn of the road.” – Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan James MacNeil won the Under 1800 prize this past weekend in the Denver Chess Club Fall Classic taking home $500. I did not attend the tournament. I had other chores […]

Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras & Minister of Sports Aristides Baltas received the World U18 Girls Champion Stavroula Tsolakidou and congratulated her on the third world title (U14, U16 and U18). The representatives of the Greek Chess Federation also attended the meeting. “Stavroula Tsolakidou is an important example of confidence for the country’s future” [...]

I think what the director, Mira Nair, did that other chess movie directors didn’t was bringing the camera real close to the characters.