Posted in Drum Majors, Games on Sep 22nd, 2011 5 Comments »
Justus Williams making his mark. Justus Williams, 13, is one of the many talented players in American chess. However, his story is well-known. What is not known (or appreciated) is that he has already shown levels of maturity that will result in his ascending to higher heights in chess. Justus recently scored joint first at [...]
Posted in Drum Majors, Games, Tournaments, World Open on Aug 3rd, 2011 9 Comments »
FM William Morrison (right) facing NM William Wright. The World Open is perhaps the largest stage of American chess. The tournament has been in Philadelphia for the past 39 years but after its 40th anniversary in 2012, it will find a new home in Virginia for the 2013 edition. William “The Exterminator” Morrison is not [...]
Posted in Games, Tournaments, Videos on Nov 21st, 2010 7 Comments »
Blitz is something that most chess players enjoy playing. Watching a good blitz battle is as exciting as any sporting competition can be. The tension build-up, the pensive pauses and the culmination of rapid fire moves are facets of blitz we all enjoy. It is no surprise that many of the top players in the [...]
Posted in Drum Majors, Games on Nov 18th, 2010 14 Comments »
There may not be many players who can say they have a variation named after them, but International Master Emory Tate is one of them. With a fan base of cultist proportions, Tate has dazzled the chess arena for more than three decades with his tactical wizardry. What most may underestimate about Tate is the [...]
Posted in Drum Majors, Games, Tactics Lab on Nov 16th, 2010 No Comments »
Posted in Drum Majors, Games, Videos on Oct 6th, 2010 5 Comments »
Since going into a self-imposed hiatus from tournament chess, GM Maurice Ashley has not rested on his laurels as arguably one of the games premier commentators. He has authored a couple of books, traveled the world promoting the virtues of chess and has recently released another DVD in partnership with chess software powerhouse, ChessBase. Ashley’s [...]
Posted in Africa, Games, Olympiad, Zambia on Oct 5th, 2010 8 Comments »
Stanley Chumfwa on the move against Libya’s Elbaruni Mohamed.Photo by ugra-chess.com. Zambia has had quite a bit to to celebrate in past years, but the men’s performance in the recently-ended 39th Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk is the most recent of its accomplishments. Stanley Chumfwa led the charge of the 121st-ranked Zambian team to reach a [...]
Posted in Games, Tactics Lab on Sep 26th, 2010 No Comments »
There are a number of exciting games at the 2010 Chess Olympiad. One of the problems with so many games is that there are often masterpieces or tactical flourishes going unnoticed. Jamaica’s Shane Matthews is known as “The Magician” in his home island and the seven-time national champion showed that he still has a bit [...]
Posted in Games, Tactics Lab on Apr 17th, 2010 No Comments »
A good diversity of positions here… endgame tactics, queen sacrifices, king hunts! A usual game involving Emory Tate but this one features a classic game with Maurice Ashley! Also John Porter has the “game of a lifetime”. Amon Simutowe has a key victory enroute to his 2nd place finished in the 2000 World Junior. Enjoy! [...]
Posted in Games, Tactics Lab on Feb 14th, 2010 No Comments »
More Chess Crackers for your enjoyment. The solution to the position below is hard to spot but pure beauty. GM Maurice Ashley certainly spotted it! IM Pontus Carlsson has a nice one against GM Vasilios Kotronias. A few months later, he was awarded the GM title. I grudingly threw in one of my wild games [...]
Posted in Africa, Europe, Games, Kenya, Netherlands, Photos on Oct 8th, 2009 13 Comments »
Like many African nations, Kenya is one with an interesting history. However, their chess history is a bit less storied. Kenya has a small community, but the passion runs high. As part of an ongoing initiative to ignite excitement in Kenya, a friendly match was proposed. Mehul Gohil of the Kenyan “Simbas” sent in the [...]
Posted in Caribbean, Drum Majors, Games, Trinidad on Aug 22nd, 2009 1 Comment »
The 2009 edition of the Caribbean Chess Carnival had some interesting games. In these games, one can see why IM Humberto Pecorelli reigned supreme over his competition. His positional understanding seemed to carry the day over nine rounds. The games had a mixture of styles… ebb and flow, vicious attacks, tragic blunders and intriguing endings. [...]
Posted in Games, World Open on Jul 1st, 2009 20 Comments »
The marquee event in the USA has begun and a projected 1100 players will make their way to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to compete for a $250,000 prize fund. The tournament has added several new side tournaments and will be featured throughout. However, the main event will feature the world’s top players including U.S. Champion, GM Hikaru [...]
Posted in Games, Tactics Lab on Jun 10th, 2009 4 Comments »
IM Amon Simutowe – FM Patrick Van Hootlandt 2009 Cappelle La Grande White to Move (after 33…Qf8xa8) More Chess Crackers!
Posted in Games, Jamaica, Sweden on Apr 11th, 2009 No Comments »
Position after Elliott’s 14.Nf5!? Jamaica’s Warren Elliott sent in a nice miniature against fellow FM Bengt Hammar of Sweden. The game came out of a Najdorf where Hammar played the suspect 6…Nbd7. Generally black plays 6…e6 and 7…Qc7 keeping a watchful eye on the e6-square that often becomes the target of sacrifices (with knights, bishops [...]
Posted in Drum Majors, Games, USA on Feb 25th, 2009 7 Comments »
FM Morris Giles with Erik Karklins at far end. As we close out Black History Month, I stumbled over a link to Robert Byrne’s analysis of FM Morris Giles’ win over GM Walter Browne. Giles was a Chicago legend who was a solid master in the 70s. He retired for a number of years and [...]
Posted in Europe, Games, Spain, Tournaments on Feb 6th, 2009 3 Comments »
Peter Svidler defeats Vadim Milov in a tiebreaker to win the Gibraltar Chess Congress, Masters section. There was actually a five-way tie after nine rounds. The others involved in the tie were Hikaru Nakamura (who overcame two early losses), Pentala Harikrishna and Vugar Gashimov. Nakamura and Gashimov drew quickly while Svidler beat Harikrishna to break [...]
Posted in Games on Jan 15th, 2009 2 Comments »
In a throwback game, then-FM Emory Tate took on the rising star in IM Sipke Ernst. The game appeared to be headed toward a slow game from the Czech Benoni, but the Dutch player broke from the mold with 7.g4!? and a brawl ensued. The game had some interesting maneuvers and when Tate showed deep [...]
Posted in Drum Majors, Games on Oct 28th, 2008 2 Comments »
Emory Tate’s inaugural year for the US Chess League’s Chicago Blaze has brought some spirited play. The team is fighting for one of the last two playoff spots. The playoffs are slated to begin on November 10th and Chicago plays the Dallas Destiny, a team already seeded in the playoffs. Four teams from the two [...]
Posted in Games, Switzerland on Jul 31st, 2008 2 Comments »
Magnus Carlsen (Norway) vs. Lenier Dominguez (Cuba) Photo © http://www.bielchessfestival.ch/ Cuban GM Lenier Dominguez recently eclipsed the 2700-barrier and is now on the verge of winning the Biel GM tournament. His 9th round game with Magnus Carlsen was a contribution to theory as the two gladiators faced off in a “Fire on Board” game. The [...]
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