Shelby Lyman on Chess: Pawn-in-Mouth Disease Sunday, May 17, 2015 (Published in print: Sunday, May 17, 2015) Nigel Short, the usually witty and insightful English grandmaster, plunged off a very high cliff into a very dark void beset with...
Cheaters never win
Shelby Lyman on Chess: The High Price of Cheating Sunday, May 10, 2015 (Published in print: Sunday, May 10, 2015) It would seem that the chess career of grandmaster Gaioz Nigalidze is effectively over. Allegedly caught cheating — with...
The Boy who would be the King of Chess
Shelby Lyman on Chess: A Fateful Meeting Sunday, April 26, 2015 (Published in print: Sunday, April 26, 2015) In 1954, an American chess team suffered its second of three brutal postwar defeats at the hands of a group of...
Computer age has been notable in its contribution to the democratization of chess
Shelby Lyman on Chess: Chess Everywhere Sunday, April 19, 2015 The computer age has been notable in its contribution to the democratization of chess. The availability of inexpensive computer players and easy access to software for the downloading and...
Missing out on the human element of the struggle in chess
Chess by Shelby Lymanon January 24, 2015 – 12:01 AM Watching and commenting on a chess game that others are playing can be a rollicking, fun experience for both players and onlookers. Witticism and repartee – brilliant or embarrassing...
Chess in the Computer Age
Shelby Lyman on Chess: The Computer Age in ChessSunday, January 18, 2015 (Published in print: Sunday, January 18, 2015) The time is long gone when a combination of human sweat, effort and smarts was the final word in chess....
The process of sharing ideas can be both exhilarating and empowering
Chess / by Shelby Lymanon January 10, 2015 – 12:01 AM Memory is limiting. It can be either protective or adventurous. We can shy from the past or engage it, reflect on it, and move forward. One of the...
Chess tournament is a physical trial
Shelby Lyman on Chess: Always BobbySunday, December 2014 A chess tournament is a physical trial. Even a single game — particularly a hard-fought one that can last five or six hours — can extend competitors to their limit and...
Passion or Obsession?
Chess by Shelby Lymanon January 3, 2015 – 12:01 AM Dedicated though he is, Magnus Carlsen, the world champion of chess, insists that his passion for the game is not an obsession. If true, his testimony illustrates that even...
Missed opportunities
Chess By Shelby Lymanon December 13, 2014 – 12:01 AM For many, the ability of Viswanathan Anand to make the recent title match with Magnus Carlsen in Sochi, Russia, a true contest was somewhat of a surprise. In the...