Musings on chess, and lesser things
Posts on chess
After a usual day of class at Tinbergen, I’m exhausted. Not physically, of course, but that part of my brain that calculates anything is completely spent. This means that I basically haven’t picked up a chess book in a couple of months. So you can imagine that after the exam week just passed, I was …
Hearty congratulations to Russian grandmaster Peter Svidler, who today won the final of the World Chess Cup against compatriot and friend Alexander Grischuk. After a tenacious month of cut throat knockout chess in the tiny Siberian town of Khanty Mansiysk, Svidler emerged as clearly the best player of the 128-strong event. And it couldn’t have …
A very quick note to say that I’ll be one of the Chess.FM commentators for tomorrow’s semi final matches in the World Chess Cup in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia. Feel free to chuck the online radio stream on in the background to add a little ambience to your day as I wax lyrical about all things …
(EDIT: I should throw a bit of a shout-out to our new ChessVibes readers. The best chess-news website on the planet has undertaken a revamp and somewhat naively decided to include davidsmerdon.com in its new chess grandmaster blog section. Fortunately, the editor has agreed to tolerate my very non-chess musings, so you’ll still be getting …
No, it’s not what you think. Amsterdam is quite a city, and although it’s been over five years, I’m gradually remembering all the reasons I love this place. Of course, you’ve got your museums, canals, tulips, art galleries and clogs, but we all know the real reason to travel to Amsterdam: The chess. There are …
It’s been an eventful week in the volunteer house since the Cusco sojourn. I’m sitting at the breakfast table at 8am as I do almost every day here, but today is the first day I’m alone. Sarah, our stalwart house manager and the only other early riser in the house, finished her term here and …
LLI’s program consists of teaching the children of Huaycan in various ’zones’, sort of mini-suburbs. Some of these zones are really very poor, consisting of basic tin and brick shacks high up in the dusty hills along dirt paths that are inaccessible to most transportation. The volunteers teach basic English, French, math, sport, art, dance …
A brief interlude from my Peruvian reports. Many of you complain that my blog does not have enough chess in it (an equal number regularly complains that it contains too much chess). Rather than pander to your wishes, I’ll react as any good politician should: deflect, deflect, deflect. Four young Aussie guys, Andrew Brown, Moulthun Ly, …
Thus ends another Commonwealth Chess Championships, and my sojourn into Africa. It’s been nothing like I expected, which for a seasoned chess tourist is quite unusual. It’s been crazier, more dangerous and far more dramatic than I could have possibly predicted. But, in fact, it’s been incredible. Tomorrow morning I fly off to Peru, but …
A lightning quick update before I head off for the tournament after-party. A big congratulations to Gawain Jones, the 2011 Commonwealth Chess Champion! Gawain won the title from Nigel Short on tie-break, due to, bizarrely, me beating one of Nigel’s previous opponents in the last round. In an even crueller and more unfair twist of …