This week has been particularly challenging for me on a personal level. At times, it has felt as though I am confronting seemingly insurmountable obstacles. With no one to turn to, I shifted my focus from my real-life struggles to a Troitsky endgame puzzle, which requires the solver to find a winning strategy from aContinueContinue reading “Finding Inspiration from Troitsky “
Category Archives: Chess History
Amateur West Chess Championship 2025
California chess history is constantly growing. Every weekend, the San Francisco Bay Area’s many chess tournaments become living chapters of history, written not by historians but on the chessboards in chess centers, school gyms, community centers and hotel ballrooms. Each rated chess game adds a line to the evolving story—bold openings tested, grinding endgames, andContinueContinue reading “Amateur West Chess Championship 2025”
Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle 77
Arthur Klinke (March 1, 1887 – July 23, 1942) was an important German chess composer. Beyond composing, Klinke shared his love for chess puzzles as the editor of the Arbeiter-Schachzeitung (workers’ chess newspaper) published in Chemnitz, and later became the chairman of the Chess Problems Association in Deutschen Arbeiter-Schachbund (German Workers’ Chess Association). The lastContinueContinue reading “Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle 77”
Puzzle Worthy Position 48
Neil Falconer (April 1, 1923 – April 5, 2014) Many NorCal chess players recognize the name “Falconer” in reference to an annual award given to the highest rated youth chess player in Northern California. Established in 1999, the Falconer Award has been given to such notable players as GM Vinay Bhat and GM Sam Shankland.ContinueContinue reading “Puzzle Worthy Position 48”
Puzzle Worthy Position 47
The annual Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee is always worth following and 2024 is no exception. Each year, the best of the best come to compete in the Netherlands and, even without Magnus Carlsen this time, there’s been plenty of excitement. Today’s puzzle worthy position comes from the Round 9 chess game betweenContinueContinue reading “Puzzle Worthy Position 47”
Puzzle Worthy Position 46
Born on March 9, 1943, Robert James Fischer is widely regarded as one of the greatest chess players in history. Bobby Fischer’s many impressive chess accomplishments include becoming a grandmaster at just 15 years of age, winning the U.S. Chess Championship eight times and becoming a World Champion by defeating Boris Spassky in 1972 inContinueContinue reading “Puzzle Worthy Position 46”
Chess Position Worth Sharing 151!
Chess Composer Josef Halumbirek (3/7/1891 – 6/23/1968) I recently discovered a chess composer named Josef Halumbirek (3/7/1891 – 6/23/1968) whose problems and studies are a real pleasure to work out. Halumbirek’s compositional style reminds me a bit of Sam Loyd’s as his chess problems tend to be rather simple looking at first glance but containContinueContinue reading “Chess Position Worth Sharing 151!”
The Chess Artistry of Tigran Petrosian
I recently described how chess can be considered an art form so it makes sense that I should also write about one of my favorite chess artists. Many artists had difficult childhoods and that can certainly be said of the ninth official World Champion Grandmaster Petrosian whose parents died before he was 16. Fortunately, PetrosianContinueContinue reading “The Chess Artistry of Tigran Petrosian”
Puzzle Worthy Position 45
Frequent readers of this blog know that Grandmaster Max Euwe is one of my favorite chess heroes. In 1935, chess prognosticators didn’t give Machgielis “Max” Euwe of the Netherlands much of a chance in his title match against World Champion Alexander Alekhine in part because Dr. Euwe wasn’t a professional chess player but rather aContinueContinue reading “Puzzle Worthy Position 45”
Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 72
The British Chess Magazine really hit the snail on the head by including this wonderful mate-in-2 chess puzzle in the January issue of 1911. I solved this Frederick Forrest Lawrie Alexander composition at a rather sluggish pace which is why I betcha can’t solve this chess puzzle at all! But go ahead and prove meContinueContinue reading “Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 72”
Get Inspired to Play Better Chess!
Napoleon Hill famously stated “To be inspired is great, to inspire is incredible!” This is especially true in terms of chess. Napoleon Hill Most days I spend quality time searching through chess databases for sources of inspiration. Some days produce less than stellar results while on rare occasions I discover real hidden gems in theContinueContinue reading “Get Inspired to Play Better Chess!”
Chess Position Worth Sharing 149!
Samuel Loyd was one of the greatest creative geniuses of nineteenth century puzzles, both on and off of the chess board. Born on January 30th of 1841, Samuel (Sam) Loyd was a contemporary of Paul Morphy (1837-1884). In fact, Loyd moved from Philadelphia to New York City which means he was occupying the same spaceContinueContinue reading “Chess Position Worth Sharing 149!”
Born on this Day in 1958: International Master Emory Tate
Today is the late IM Emory Tate’s Birthday. If still alive today, Emory Tate would be turning that most special age for chess players: 64. Photo of Emory Tate taken on 10/10/2015 Born on December 27th means that Emory shares his birthday with the second day of Kwanzaa. (Kwanzaa is a yearly celebration of African-AmericanContinueContinue reading “Born on this Day in 1958: International Master Emory Tate”
Chess Photos from the 2022-23 CalChess Grade Level Championship
I had a blast attending the 2022-23 CalChess Grade Level Championship hosted by Bay Area Chess. From the enthusiasm of the young competitors to getting to hear from many fans of my Daily Chess Musings YouTube Channel, I could not have ask for a better way to spend my birthday weekend. I look forward toContinueContinue reading “Chess Photos from the 2022-23 CalChess Grade Level Championship”
Chess Memories of Birthdays Past
When I was a younger man, I didn’t need to take a day off to rest on my birthday (December 18th). I much preferred going to work, which for most of my adult life, means playing chess with young people. Kneeling next to Andrew Peng on my birthday in 2012. I turned 35 on DecemberContinueContinue reading “Chess Memories of Birthdays Past”
One Year Later… Carlsen-Nepo Game Six
Today marks the first anniversary of Magnus Carlsen’s incredible Game 6 victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi during the 2021 World Chess Championship Match. As you may recall, the first five games of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi were drawn. Their sixth game, however, was an epic battle where both players took risks for a decisive result. Magnus Carlsen’s talentContinueContinue reading “One Year Later… Carlsen-Nepo Game Six”
Winning Chess Moves: Caruana vs. Lenderman, 2018
The 2018 US Championship was an action packed event. The San Francisco Bay Area’s own Grandmaster Sam Shankland stole the spotlight by taking first place over such pre-tournament favorites such as Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura. Norcal chess enthusiasts weren’t exactly shocked by GM Shankland’s championship run as we have long since grownContinueContinue reading “Winning Chess Moves: Caruana vs. Lenderman, 2018”
Puzzle Worthy Position 43
Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman. Today’s puzzle worthy position comes from one of the many great battles between GM Anatoly Karpov and GM Jan Timman. Both chess geniuses were born in 1951 and their chessboard rivalry stretched for a half century from 1967 until 2016. Karpov had a winning record against his Dutch contemporary withContinueContinue reading “Puzzle Worthy Position 43”
Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 70
Today’s puzzle of interest is a mate in 2 with many carefully placed ingredients. I was struck by this chess problem’s modern design and surprised by the fact that it was composed over a century ago in 1920. Not only is this chess puzzle a beautiful reminder of how much is possible on the chessboardContinueContinue reading “Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 70”
Winning Chess Moves: Karpov vs. Mickiewicz, 1997
Former World Champion Anatoly Karpov is an incredible chess player who dominated the international chess scene for a decade beginning in the mid-seventies. Anatoly wasn’t the flashiest World Champion but his games are very approachable and I often recommend that fans of Capablanca also study the games of Karpov. For today’s Winning Chess Move puzzle,ContinueContinue reading “Winning Chess Moves: Karpov vs. Mickiewicz, 1997”