The Eade Foundation is sending support for scholastic chess in Capetown, South Africa thanks to some help from the fine young chess players of Mission 360. Readers of this blog will recall an article entitled “NorCal Chess Organizations Working Together in Support of Building Chess Communities in South Africa.” In that post, I described howContinueContinue reading “California Chess Players Come Together to Support Scholastic Chess in Africa”
Tag Archives: Northern California chess
NorCal Chess Organizations Working Together in Support of Building Chess Communities in South Africa
Join The Eade Foundation, Mission 360 and Bay Area Chess in San Jose, California to play chess and raise funds for Defying the Oddz Chess (South Africa). Chess holds the power to unite continents while giving communities opportunities to learn and grow. Bay Area chess players are invited to further this cause in South AfricaContinueContinue reading “NorCal Chess Organizations Working Together in Support of Building Chess Communities in South Africa “
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”
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”
CalChess Journal Fall 2022
The Fall 2022 issue of the CalChess Journal is a whopping 33 pages filled with California chess news, Bay Area chess results and annotated games from NorCal chess players.
Plenty of Real Chess Drama at the Real Bay Area Championship
Chess players from around the San Francisco Bay Area showed up to battle for a share of the $10,000 prize fund at The Real Bay Area Championship this weekend in Milpitas, California. I took a break from analyzing games to capture photographs of the over-the-board chess drama. Look for a full report on this excitingContinueContinue reading “Plenty of Real Chess Drama at the Real Bay Area Championship “
Say Gay Chess Day 2022
I was honored to be employed as the Chief Tournament Director for The Eade Foundation’s Say Gay Chess Day chess tournament. It was especially fitting that James Eade formally welcomed the gay community into the chess community in a place that has such a storied chess history as The Mechanics’ Institute in San Francisco. InContinueContinue reading “Say Gay Chess Day 2022”
The CalChess Journal Spring/Summer 2022
The CalChess Journal is the official news magazine for Northern California chess. In the Spring/Summer issue you can read about the most important California chess events of the last several months and see the games of Norcal chess’ top players. Special thanks to Bay Area Chess, The Berkeley Chess School, The Eade Foundation, Mission 360,ContinueContinue reading “The CalChess Journal Spring/Summer 2022”
Francisco Friday for 6/10/2022
When it comes to attacking in chess, the stronger, the faster and the more difficult to deal with, the better. In today’s game, attacking maestro Francisco Anchondo uses a well conducted early pawn storm to penetrate his opponent’s defenses with brute force. [Event “Casual Blitz game”] [Date “2022.03.12”] [White “Anonymous”] [Black “Francisco Anchondo”] [Result “0-1”]ContinueContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 6/10/2022”
The Menlo Park Chess Club
A couple of my friends have spoken very highly about the Menlo Park Chess Club which has been steadily growing since its launch in the Fall of 2021. On Wednesday evening I visited the club for the first time to see what all the excitement was about. Upon arriving, you will notice the serenity surroundingContinueContinue reading “The Menlo Park Chess Club”
Francisco Friday for 6/3/2022
Popular with beginners who strictly follow the time honored opening principles they have been taught, The Four Knights Opening has a reputation of leading to a rather dull positional game. However, Francisco Anchondo makes a habit of taking an opening with a dull reputation and running it through a metaphoric knife sharpener until it canContinueContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 6/3/2022”
Girls K-12 CalChess State Championship 2022
A friendly reminder that the 2022 Girls Calchess State Championship is this Saturday (June 4th). The Berkeley Chess School does a wonderful job organizing this prestigious event and I highly recommend that all the young ladies in the Northern California chess community consider attending. All participants will be broken into sections by school grade: Kindergarten-3rdContinueContinue reading “Girls K-12 CalChess State Championship 2022”
IM Invitational Norm Tournament 2022 Standings
Mission 360 and Bay Area Chess have teamed up for another IM Norm Tournament in San Jose, California. These prestigious FIDE rated tournaments give much needed opportunities for California’s rising chess stars to earn internationally recognized chess titles. Below is the cross table after the fourth round. As you can see, this event is talentContinueContinue reading “IM Invitational Norm Tournament 2022 Standings”
Francisco Friday for 5/13/2022
Long established San Francisco Bay Area chess instructor Francisco Anchondo turns the tables on the Fried Liver Attack by using the good old Traxler Variation. [Event “Casual Blitz game”] [Date “2022.03.04”] [White “Anonymous”] [Black “Francisco Anchondo”] [Result “0-1”] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6.Kf1 Qe7 7.Nxh8 d5 8.exd5 Nd4 9.c3ContinueContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 5/13/2022”
Francisco Friday for 5/6/2022
Attacking maestro Francisco Anchondo had the black pieces in the chess game below. As for white, “Le fue como a los perros en misa.” [Event “Casual Blitz game”] [Date “2022.03.02”] [White “Anonymous”] [Black “Francisco Anchondo”] [Result “0-1”] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.c3 f5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Qc2 Bc5 6.Be2 Bb6 7.Na3 a6 8.b4 d6 9.Bb2 f4ContinueContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 5/6/2022”
Chess Position Worth Sharing 142
Tonight I showed Werner Springe vs Hans Gebhardt, Munich 1927 to my chess students at Gomes Elementary School in Fremont, California. This game, played by relatively unknown players, is a delightful choice for a chess lesson. In the position below, black has just played pawn to h6 threatening white’s bishop. What is white’s best move?ContinueContinue reading “Chess Position Worth Sharing 142”
Winning Chess Moves: Koltanowski vs. Tholfsen, 1928
GM George Koltanowski, simply known as Kolty to his many friends, was the most passionate chess player I have ever met. He was always sharing his love for chess through his daily San Francisco chess column that ran for over five decades straight. His blindfold simultaneous exhibitions set world records and many new chess fansContinueContinue reading “Winning Chess Moves: Koltanowski vs. Tholfsen, 1928”
Francisco Friday for 4/22/22
There’s not a lot of crossover between groups of chess and boxing aficionados despite the two activities sharing many similarities. For example, watching white’s queen movement at the end of this game brings to mind the famous Muhammad Ali quote, “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” Also, perhaps the best way to describeContinueContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 4/22/22”
Don’t Miss Out on These Exciting FIDE Events from Mission 360 and Bay Area Chess!
https://youtu.be/91tmuvrXwqg Organizing a successful IM or GM norm chess tournament is no easy feat. During the planning and lead up there are lots of things that organizers need to pay attention to and keep track of. Whether it’s sending invitations to foreign titled chess players, meeting all of FIDE’s technical requirements, calculating theContinueContinue reading “Don’t Miss Out on These Exciting FIDE Events from Mission 360 and Bay Area Chess!”