Games offer practice in conquering fearSaturday January 26, 2013 9:55 AM “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” President Franklin D. Roosevelt told Depression-era Americans in 1933. The sentiment has been expressed by many other people....
Practice makes perfect
Internet practice spurring bigger fields Saturday January 19, 2013 11:06 AM A new crop of young, full-time professional chess players is appearing in international tournaments. The Internet can take substantial credit as a pipeline that fosters and feeds competitive...
The internet revolutionizes chess
Talent rises quickly in Internet era Saturday January 12, 2013 8:11 AMShelby Lyman Happily, chess is democratic. In many open tournaments, matching an unknown and unrated player against experienced grandmasters is possible. Ratings can soar in short order. The advent...
It’s chess anytime
In Internet age, who needs board, pieces?Saturday January 5, 2013 8:51 AMBy NM Shelby Lyman It’s 5:30 in the morning. I have just completed a game on the Internet against an unknown player identified only as “darkinvader.” I lost...
A rare breed
Fischer needed little time to winSaturday December 15, 2012 9:32 AM Great chess players have exceptional, rapidly adjusting vision at the board. This ability allows them to excel at speed chess as well as much slower traditional chess. When...
Most of mankind “loves a good fight.”
Embracing conflict central to gameSaturday December 1, 2012 5:46 AMBy Shelby Lyman Emanuel Lasker, who reigned as world champion for 27 years (1894-1921), was convinced that most of mankind “loves a good fight.” That instinct was, he thought, the...
A curious phenomenon
Bursts of popularity an odd trait of gameSaturday November 3, 2012 8:06 AMShelby Lyman At age 9, I witnessed a curious phenomenon. As a summer camper bunking with 40 other boys, only one of whom initially played chess, I...
Chess is contagious
Children in Fresno not bored by boardSaturday October 27, 2012 8:49 AM It’s not rock ’n’ roll or a deadly disease, but chess is contagious. The richness of the game attracts young people in many ways. And, once they...
Mutually enriching talks
Einstein appreciated champ’s intellectSaturday October 20, 2012 8:18 AM Emanuel Lasker might have been the most impressive chess player ever. Not only did he reign as world champion for 27 years, but he also possessed a powerful and spirited...
A new breed of conquerer
Carlsen a new breed of conquerorSaturday September 22, 2012 8:02 AMhttp://www.dispatch.com Like other performers, chess players have a way of putting their signature on an era. Bobby Fischer’s reign in the early 1970s was brief, but his ascendancy to...