Shelby Lyman (1936-2019)

On Sunday August 11th, famous chess educator Shelby Lyman passed away. You didn’t have to know Shelby to be impressed by his impact on American chess. Through his students, newspaper columns and television appearances, Shelby Lyman has left us with a deep and enduring legacy. Older chess enthusiasts will remember Shelby as the chess teacherContinue reading "Shelby Lyman (1936-2019)"

Hundreds Celebrate ‘Rosie the Riveter’ at Richmond Waterfront Festival – CBS San Francisco

Former World War II shipyard worker Mary Torres, 96, jumped to her feet and waved as hundreds of people cheered at the Rosie Rally Home Front Festival in Richmond Saturday. — Read on sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/08/10/rosie-rally-2019-richmond/

Stop, Children, What’s That Sound? | Fremont, CA Patch

Stop, Children, What's That Sound? - Fremont, CA - Doug Torres starts his 50th Year Teaching Guitar at Ohlone College! — Read on patch.com/california/fremont/stop-children-what-s-sound My father is starting his 50th year teaching guitar at Ohlone College in Fremont.

Fastest Queen Trap Ever?

Poor Kusin managed to have his queen trapped after only four moves! This game holds the record for fastest queen trap in the history of chess and is also a really great example to show young chess players when explaining the dangers of bringing the queen out to early. [Event "Rjasan"]
[Site "Rjasan"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[ResultContinue reading "Fastest Queen Trap Ever?"

Summer Chess Camps Return to Fremont

Summer Chess Programs in Fremont Sign up for any 1 week camp for ONLY $200 and your child will also receive: ** A 1 year gold membership to ChessKid.com (a $50 value) ** A copy of Learn Chess the Right Way by Susan Polgar (a $20 value) ** And two online private lessons with ChrisContinue reading "Summer Chess Camps Return to Fremont"

Chris Torres Raises the Bar for Fremont Summer Chess Camps in 19 | Fremont, CA Patch

Chris Torres Raises the Bar for Fremont Summer Chess Camps in 19 | Fremont, CA Patch Get $150 worth of free chess extras from FremontChess.com when you sign your child up for a weeklong camp for only $200!— Read on http://www.google.com/amp/s/patch.com/california/fremont/amp/28114988/chris-torres-raises-bar-fremont-summer-chess-camps-201

Chess Chat: Q&A with Karen Thurm Safran, Author of Parenting—Let’s Make a Game of It

Many people know you as the powerful marketing force behind some amazing companies and products. Authoring a parenting book seems to be an interesting career pivot for you. What motivated you to become an author? Thanks for including me on your blog... and for the compliment. Wow, we’ve known each other for nearly twenty yearsContinue reading "Chess Chat: Q&A with Karen Thurm Safran, Author of Parenting—Let’s Make a Game of It"

Playing Blindfold Chess

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a photographic memory to be proficient at blindfold chess. The basic visualization required is really not all that different from the kind of mental exercise chess players commonly experience while calculating long endgame variations. In fact, if you’ve ever had a vivid chess dream while sleeping (quite commonContinue reading "Playing Blindfold Chess"

So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 27

Probably my favorite finishing mate of the year! My opponent has just captured my rook on f1 with his bishop. White to move and mate in 2. (Not too hard to spot but very satisfying play!)

2019 Lathrop Mayor’s Cup Chess Tournament

Dear Parents, It is my great pleasure to invite your children to participate in the 2019 Lathrop Mayor’s Cup chess tournament at River Islands Technology Academy. Many of your children enjoy chess and will be excited to compete against other young chess players from around our region. The date of this tournament is May 11Continue reading "2019 Lathrop Mayor’s Cup Chess Tournament"

Chris Torres Offers Online Chess Lessons

and would love to help your child play better chess now! Reasons to try an Online Lesson with Chris: 1.  Follow up to in-person chess lessons to check on your child’s understanding. 2.  Live too far away to come often for private instruction. 3.  Preparing for a major tournament with a coach who has taughtContinue reading "Chris Torres Offers Online Chess Lessons"

An Eggs-tra Special Easter Chess Lesson

In today's chess lesson, we examine GM Julio Becerra Rivero's egg-citing victory over IM Justin Sarkar played on Easter Sunday, 2009. [Event "Foxwoods Open"] [Site "Mashantucket, CT"] [Date "2009.4.12"] [Round "9"] [White "Justin Sarkar"] [Black "Julio Becerra Rivero"] [Result "0-1"] [Eco "D17"] [Annotator "Chris Torres"] {[ QUEEN'S gam. SLAV def.,D17]} 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 {TheContinue reading "An Eggs-tra Special Easter Chess Lesson"

14th Annual SPFNO– 4/27-28/2019 (Santa Clara, California)

Dear Chess Parents, As many of you are aware, in 2015 I helped to bring the prestigious Susan Polgar National Open for Girls and Boys to California. I may no longer be the organizer for this event, but I still support its mission 100%. Because of this, I strongly encourage all of my fellow CaliforniaContinue reading "14th Annual SPFNO– 4/27-28/2019 (Santa Clara, California)"

‪ #DontSpoilTheEndgame‬, Petrosian vs. Korchnoi (Moscow, 1963)

This position is from Petrosian vs. Korchnoi, Moscow 1963. Viktor Korchnoi (Black) has just played 34... Rf8. Now Tigran Petrosian has serious winning chances and plays 35. Rxh6. Was this a good move?

Chess Chat: Q&A with Devanshi Rathi, UC Berkeley Student and Nonprofit Founder

Devanshi Rathi is a current undergraduate student at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a passionate chess player and enjoys playing and watching different sports. Her mission in life is to create a positive difference in the world around her. She is trying to do that through her foundation, the Devanshi Rathi Foundation, aContinue reading "Chess Chat: Q&A with Devanshi Rathi, UC Berkeley Student and Nonprofit Founder"