Okay, so I’ve been playing all these games at Chess.com, as you guys know. I got involved in some tournaments, and it turns out I don’t do well at that, having to play 25 games at a time or whatever. I can put up a fight against even the best players if I have time to think about what I’m doing (and frequently beat players who at least appear to be ( Read more... )

I got involved in a discussion yesterday on the Chess.com message boards. Someone started a thread titled, “Is Chess Racist?” The guy was asking if racism is the reason that the White pieces always move first. The answer is no, and since I thought the story of how this tradition started might interest some of you, I’m reporting it here.
Most people ( Read more... )

I am very pleased. I just finished my first complete online chess game, and I am victorious!
I say “complete” because kickboygerlachand I have tried to play twice, both times playing correspondence games where each of us would move once a day. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But the problem with having 24 hours to make your move is that you still have to make a move ( Read more... )

Crazy or not, though, the man created a lot of beauty. I have a lot of his old games, and those are works of perfect logic and precision that will long outlast whatever half-baked conspiracy theories and racist lunacy he so openly trumpeted. The death of the actual man is meaningless to me, but those games still matter.

My intention was that this year I would post a journal entry every day. I have failed in that, obviously, 'cause I didn't post one Thursday. And technically, I didn't post one Friday, either, 'cause it's after midnight. But my own rule has always been that it's Friday (or whatever day I started off on) until I go to sleep, and since I'm still awake ( Read more... )

Fresh home from the Java Joint, where I held court outside with a big pot of China Black and my chess set.  I smoked two packs of cigarettes while trashing all comers, though I should really have lost the last game...the guy I was playing had traded two pawns for a Bishop, but later his vigilance slipped and I was able to win back a Knight and ( Read more... )

Two weeks ago, Brooke asked me why she hasn’t been on the weblog yet. I told her, “Brooke, all you have to do is get drunk and do something stupid, and I’ll have your story on there the next day.”
It's funny that, on the one hand, several people are mad at me about this blog, while others are bugging me to find out why I haven't mentioned them yet ( Read more... )