I’m a chess player and I thought the difference between a Chess Engine and a Chess AI trainer a useful topic of discussion. The difference between the two is stark and to some degree a frightening vision of our future as a technology dependent society. What is a Chess Engine A Chess Engine is computer […]
Ding Liren of China defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in the 2023 World Chess Championship to become the World Chess Champion, to the displeasure of a vocal many. The reason for the unhappiness is that Ding is merely the third ranked chess player in the world behind Magnus Carlsen. Nepomniachtchi is the second ranked player. Ding Liren […]
A subtle version of misogyny is on display in news stories about Iranian Women chess players. I’ve written about the subtleties of racism previously and today I take on a similar topic. Just because something is misogynistic doesn’t mean it’s obvious or even an intentional act. Let’s examine stories making the rounds about Iranian women […]
The Jan 25th game between Magnus Carlsen and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in the Tata Steel tournament lit up the chess world for the quality of play. The first image here is the computer evaluation of the game after it finished. Today, I will make an argument the game is the finest ever played and Carlsen is […]
What Happened Chess India hosted a charity event, Checkmate Covid, to help those suffering from the results of Covid-19. In it a variety of celebrities played former World Champion Viswanathan, affectionately called Vishy by his many fans, Anand in a simultaneous exhibition. One of those pitted against Vishy Anand was billionaire Nikhil Kamath. Kamath played […]
What is a Qualifier? What does the word qualify mean to you? That’s a question of great importance in regards to the 2021 Bullet Chess Championship. In the tournament a number of players compete to play for $25,000 in prize money. This group of competitors is broken into two parts. One group, made up of […]
Chess Chat is as filled with acrimonious debate as any political forum and, while watching the first round of the Norway Chess Tournament an instructive moment occurred which I will wax on about today. Don’t be too distressed, the topic isn’t primarily chess, or chess chat, it’s how to have a productive debate. In this […]
I was on Lichess watching the Magnus Carlsen v. Hikaru Nakamura match of the Magnus Chess Tour Finals when an interesting example of thinking for yourself, and the benefits therein, presented itself. It is often suggested thinking for yourself is better; but if someone else does the thinking for you, and always gives you good […]
The 2020 Candidates Chess Tournament being held in Russia was suspended on March 26th upon reaching the halfway point and this is a big old giant mess. As my few loyal fans know, I’m a chess nerd, so this is big news for me. The Candidates Chess Tournament is held every two years with the […]
Japanese chess prodigy, 14, breaks 30-year winning streak record screams the headline. Yes, he is 14. Yes, he did break a winning streak record. No, it wasn’t chess. He plays chess and is reportedly good at it, but the streak was in a game called Shogi. What’s wrong with a headline saying he broke a […]
I know the title of this blog isn’t too exciting but if you’ll put up with me for a moment I think I can show how a controversy that is roiling the chess world might well have a big impact on you. The situation is this: A company called Agon Limited contracted with the FIDE (World […]
I read a story from the Associated Press about a Twitter war that is raging because a prominent Saudi Arabian, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdelaziz Al Sheikh, declared that Muslims should not play chess. No big deal? Just some religious kook making an outlandish statement? I disagree. For Al Sheikh to make this statement there is clearly […]
You wouldn’t think that playing internet chess would give insight into a better way to lead your life but that’s exactly what happened to me when I started to play. I’ve discovered that diversity and balance improve life and I’ll tell you why. I played chess as a young lad. My father taught me the […]
You might think that playing chess over the internet doesn’t really have any application to real life problems but you’d be wrong! Tomorrow I talk about how internet chess has given me a new respect for diversity and being a well-rounded person. Stay tuned for a full explanation. I know it’s hard to wait a […]
There’s a heated battle going on in the Premier League because Man City is being forced to play three important games all within a week. Each of these games requires significant travel from one location to another. It’s a problem for Man City certainly, but there’s a deeper issue going on here that crosses into […]
I made an enormous tactical mistake during my Friday night Board Game session this past weekend and I remembered an important chess concept; mitigate mistakes, don’t compound them. Chess is really the first place I learned about the notion and Magnus Carlson demonstrated the idea during his recent run to become Chess Freestyle World Champion. […]
The 2024 Chess Rapid and Blitz World Championship just wrapped up and boy oh boy did we have a lot of controversy in relation to good rules, or the lack thereof. It was quite an exciting event for a number of reasons, but dress-code problems and lack of tiebreakers resulted in some rather unfortunate incidents. […]
I read and comment on a lot of news stories and I thought a recent encounter with a bad logic troll might be of some interest to you, my loyal and vast audience. I follow chess fairly closely and commented on the recently completed Rapid and Blitz Championship which resulted in a pair of victories […]
Is Hans cheating? That question continues to roil the chess world, and beyond. Ever since Magnus Carlsen formally made an accusation that’s been speculated in the chess circles for over a year, it’s been a major news story. Is Hans Cheating? It’s not the question I will answer today. Sorry. I’d like to discuss the […]
The apparently starting invasion of the Ukraine by Russia is in the news. There are a lot of reasons why it’s happening but I’m going to argue today that Turkey’s purchase of the S400 anti-aircraft system is perhaps the main catalyst. Now, that being said, it’s a complicated situation to say the least. That fact […]