Chess by Shelby Lyman on May 7, 2016 – 12:01 I recall with almost a kind of dread a scene from the late ’60s: an early confrontation between man and machine. The human was John Curdo, a gifted and...
Lyman: “Karjakin is no patsy…”
Chess by Shelby Lyman on April 9, 2016 – 12:01 AM It should be a signature chess event. A 12-game world championship match in which Magnus Carlsen of Norway will defend his title against Sergey Karjakin of Russia. The...
Growing list of chess grants and scholarships
Shelby Lyman on Chess: Candy Is Dandy, but Chess Is Better Sunday, February 28, 2016 (Published in print: Sunday, February 28, 2016) As a kid, the chance to play chess was no less welcome than a free bag of...
Pioneer palaces produced world class players
Shelby Lyman on Chess: Children Were the Key Sunday, February 14, 2016 (Published in print: Sunday, February 14, 2016) The secret of Soviet chess supremacy lay in numbers — particularly of school children actively engaged in chess groups and...
Secret of Soviet chess success
Chess: Secret of Soviet chess supremacy on February 6, 2016 – 12:01 AM Shelby Lyman The secret of Soviet chess supremacy was in numbers, particularly of schoolchildren actively engaged in chess groups and competition. Pioneer Palaces, venues for various...
“I could give that patzer the odds of a knight.”
Shelby Lyman on Chess: I Could Give Him a Knight Sunday, February 7, 2016 (Published in print: Sunday, February 7, 2016) Chess has been banned by religious authorities numerous times because of an association with gambling. With the exception...
“We Fischers do not like to lose!”
Shelby Lyman on Chess: The Apple Did Not Fall Far Sunday, January 3, 2016 (Published in print: Sunday, January 3, 2016) To all appearances, Bobby Fischer was an alpha male in the extreme. His early teachers were astonished by...
Chess benefits for seniors?
Shelby Lyman on Chess: A Help for Seniors? The notion that games such as chess can be at least a partial antidote to the mental ravages of aging is a common one, and it may be true. The argument...
Fischer’s natural inclination to explain and teach
Shelby Lyman on Chess: An Engaging Teacher Sunday, November 29, 2015 (Published in print: Sunday, November 29, 2015) As we have discussed before, Bobby Fischer had a natural inclination to explain and teach. His columns in the magazine Boys’...
A chess archipelago of irresistible allure
Shelby Lyman on Chess: The New York Chess Archipelago Sunday, November 15, 2015 (Published in print: Sunday, November 15, 2015) For the young Bobby Fischer, chess was a world of enchantment, and adventure. Physically at its epicenter was a...