Cennydd

Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your posts, Dawn. Always a pleasure to read.

First rated game of the season, last Sat: strong middlegame edge from Sielecki‘s anti-KID (6. b3) line, but I stumble and let my opponent force me into desperate defence. I hold on by my fingertips and lo, he misses the critical line. Draw accepted. Not quite robbery, but undeserved.

If you ever want a task to put you off both chess and life itself, volunteer to arrange a club’s league fixtures. Four teams, three divisions, a thousand regrets.

In Amsterdam. Didn’t take many photos at the Max Euwe museum. But this little paperback set is cute.

Second in the Essex U1600 Rapid (4.5/6) and a rating prize in the Essex Blitz (3.5/7) brings my lifetime chess winnings to around £150. A lucrative pro career beckons.

Spend time learning openings if 1) poor opening play is costing you games, which can happen at any rating level, or 2) you feel like it. Chess is optional. Do what makes you happy.

If Apple AI can actually answer this question then it must be better at chess than Stockfish, which requires the whole board.

I want some of whatever O’Higgins took before the tournament

Black has 20 legal moves after 1. e4. Eighteen of them have names. The only two that don’t are the best move and the worst move.

I once spent ten whole minutes reviewing my Morra → Alapin transposition before playing a known Morra player. Was mildly useful. That’s as far as I’ve ever taken prep.

Quite - if I’m hauling my ass over to Iceland I’m not prepping obscure Sveshnikov lines in my hotel…

+1 for the Classic. Although one game a day makes it quite a long trip!

Image of chess pieces overlaid with text: 'Walthamstow chess meetup, last Sunday of the month. Sunday 29 June 2–5pm. Lord Palmerston pub garden, E17 5JN. Free to attend. Boards and sets provided. All ages, abilities, and dogs welcome (children must be accompanied by an adult).

I’m helping start a chess club here in Walthamstow. Anyone in North or East London, you’d be most welcome at our monthly meetup next Sunday 2–5pm (Lord Palmerston, E17 5JN). I’d be grateful for any shares too – we’re eager to ensnare new people in the clutches of this maddening game, etc

Book: Philosophy Looks At Chess, edited by Benjamin Hale.

So… does this belong on my chess shelf or my philosophy shelves?

Félicitations Yosha!

After my final classical game of the season, I’ve ended up 25 ECF points higher than in September. Not huge progress, but given my dreadful start (three losses) I’ll take it. Hopefully I can push on next season. Bit of rapid and blitz until then.

💪

Oh shit, no way?! Yeah, I played in my regular cohort after like a whole season of playing up. Let me know when you play another London-ish one, be great to say hi!

Lost a 77-move epic in rd4 against the eventual winner who was unrated but ended up with – and I shit you not – a performance rating of 2129, after which I understandably bailed on rd5 to drink some beer and contemplate my life. Fun game but fucking hell man

fuck yes lichess

fuck yes lichess

LCL Weekender rd2 and 3: two wins with Black. The first, a prolonged (metaphorical) strangulation of a small child. The second, a pleasing technical win, winning a pawn with a nice zwischenzug and picking my way through an awkward knight and pawn ending. Joint leader overnight.

Also nice to bump into a follow Dojo–er, who’s playing up in the U2000, and with whom I did some game reviews a few months back.

Lucky to escape with a draw in rd1 of the London Chess League FIDE Weekender. Good opening against lower-rated player but overpursued, with my opponent finding a tactic that left him well ahead. Luckily he missed the critical continuation and it fizzled.

Chess.com game review. Coach says 'A nice even game' but the graph tells a different story: White blundered and Black was totally winning but blundered back. A nice even game it was not.

'A nice even game.'

Ye olde weightlifting skeleton meme. ‘My body is a machine that turns [picture of the Sicilian Rossolimo from Black’s PoV] into [½-½ Drawn by agreement · Draw]’

75-move rule, although it’s very rare of course.

Fr fr - ‘Eyesore’ remains a banger to this day

I agree that it is.

Gave the Duolingo chess course a go. Awful font, awful AI voices, awful prompts giving the puzzles away. Awful.