Saturday, March 29, 2008

20 Seconds Chess


Old friend IM Malclom Pein of Great Britain reported in a recent column in the London Telegraph that a new idea is sweeping across the UK.

"It promises to be a lot of fun and perhaps somewhat more pressured than conventional speed chess", Pein said. "The clocks will be in what could be described as egg timer mode ".

"Both players start with 20 seconds for the entire game. When play commences and White's clock is started his twenty seconds reduces as normal but the time elapsed is added to Black's clock. When White has moved and pressed his clock, Black's clock begins to run down and White's clock increases. If either side runs out of time they lose."

So, assuming I understand Malcolm's comments correctly, there will always be 40 seconds total time available, split anywhere from 39 vs. 1 to 1 vs. 39 depending on how much time was used by the players on previous moves. Obviously, no player will ever have more than 39 seconds for a single move. Sounds like fun....to watch!

Thanks to Chess Horizons, the official publication of the Massachusetts Chess Association, for passing the word in the April-June 2008 issue of the awarding winning magazine. I was privileged to serve as editor of Chess Horizons from 1984 to 1986. Current editor is Mark C. Donlon.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Chess Blogosphere


I would like to put together a list of chess blogs currently out there in cyberspace. Send your suggestions/additions to ChessSafari@yahoo.co.

I'll start with the best of the best:
Susan Polgar's Blog

U.S. Chess Trust blog.

The Chess Blog of the Boylston Chess Club ... The Boylston Chess Club (BCC) is a part of the Boylston Chess Foundation (BCF).

The Daily Dirt Chess Blog. Insider news and views from chess writer Mig Greengard on ChessNinja.com

The Chess Mind
by Dennis Monokroussos.
This is a blog for chess fans by a chess fan, one who loves the beauty of the game and wants to share it with those who are like-minded.
Yet the chess mind is not only a chess mind, and other topics, such as philosophy, may appear from time to time.

Chess, Goddess and Everything. See for yourself!

The Kenilworthian. A frequently updated blog for the Kenilworth NJ Chess Club

Jim West on Chess. Jim uses his site to reprint many of his articles on opening analysis (especially of the Philidor Counter Gambit) from issues of the Atlantic Chess News, to annotate recent games, and to comment on various chess-related things.

Confessions of a Chess Novice by Eric Thomson (a.k.a. Blue Devil Knight)
"The trials and tribulations of an F-class Player..." Lots of intelligent and interesting commentary on the author's quest for chess improvement.

Scholastic Chess Gateway by Steve Goldberg. An excellent source for U.S. scholastic chess info and discussion.

Chess Notes by Edward Winter
The chess historian's web log of recent archival discoveries. Features excellent historical photos and book references.

The Closet Grandmaster from Australia. This site features frequent updates of Australia-area tournament news, links to news items, and occasional first-hand reports and games.

Open Chess Diary by Tim Krabbe. This long-standing and well written blog by noted author Tim Krabbe features his collection of discoveries and off-beat "world chess records".

Jim Eade's Chess Journal by FM Jim Eade. Weekly postings offer current links to chess news from a FIDE Master, author of Chess for Dummies.

Mark Weeks on about.com: chess

More to come...please bookmark this page

Monday, March 3, 2008

Chessville interview with Paul Truong

Part of the family of Susan Polgar and Paul Truong.
Go here to see the interview with Paul Truong published yesterday on Chessville. Paul is a former chess champion of South Vietnam and is now married to Women's World Chess Champion Susan Polgar. Both Paul and Susan are good friends of mine, and the inspirational lives of both are presented in my upcoming book. Both are currently serving as elected members of the 7-member Executive Board of the United States Chess Federation.

Typical of the world of chess politics known as the "Black & White Jungle", Susan & Paul are hounded by a nemesis...a convicted felon by the name of Sam Sloan who appears to have no other purpose in life than to make trouble for others.

Since he has recently began attcking me, I will be giving my view of the situation during the coming weeks. In addition, I have agreed to contriute material to the Chessville web site, which is one of the best web sites out there concerning the game of chess and its colorful personalities.