Words aren't always what they seem. Sometimes longer words can be really small—like nasturtium, for instance—because it has only one meaning. It's a flower. On the other hand, some short words can be quite large—like bum. Bum has so many ... Read more »
When I wrote about the KID a couple of weeks ago jimthemagic posted the following quote from “The Main Line King's Indian” by John Nunn and Graham Burgess: The King's Indian is one of the most popular and electrifying of chess openings. Playe... Read more »
Some people start things later than others and I was thirty-four when I learned to play chess. Having absolutely no knowledge of the game I had thought that mastery came after decades at the board and that grandmasters would only achieve their ti... Read more »
In his introduction to The King's Indian Defence, (Fritz Trainer Series) Rustam Kazimdzhanov said that Russian chess players refer to the KID with some affection as “starushka” and, he said, that translates roughly as “my fair old lady”. ... Read more »
Who are the world's friendliest people? It's a matter of opinion, of course, but many nations qualify. I like the Irish who are a particularly cheerful lot—as long as you're not orange in a green pub, or vice versa; and the Kiwis are up there... Read more »
Is chess.com the best place in the galaxy to play chess, or not? No argument! And why? Because chess.com treats all us individuals like kings. Just a few days ago I completed my 1000th game and, to celebrate, Erik et al introduced Chess 960.... Read more »
Last week I was blundering through a game in my usual inimitable style when I overlooked a pawn fork and the loss of a knight. Normally, I'd have said, “Oops!” or something equally intelligent but on this occasion I said, “There's been a mu... Read more »
When I wrote the Assassins' Manual for the Black Shield Assassins Group I was sworn to secrecy by an oath of omerta signed in red ink—the Internet equivalent to blood! So I can't divulge the contents of the manual here but can probably expand a... Read more »
In The Court Jester, Danny Kaye found himself forced to fight to the death against an evil black knight. To help him out the heroine poisoned one of the two goblets from which the adversaries would drink and warned him by saying, “The pellet wi... Read more »
Two years ago I won the first three games of a Swiss tournament and found myself on Board 1 playing against GM Dejan Antic. I was determined not to wimp out and answered his 1.d4 with a King's Indian Defence—and that is the sort of opening that... Read more »
DozyAustralia
You won't find any advanced chess analysis here, but there'll be plenty of stories about chess and chess players -- often with an off-beat twist.
Feel free to add your comments (pro or con, I don't mind which) or drop me a message.
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The following chess stories appear on my personal web page, Tomorrowland. Some of them have already been published on chess.com, others have not. Click on the links to read them.
A Kind of Immortality
Chess for Grasshoppers
Chess Genie
Chess on the Internet
Chess with Mother Goose
It's About Time
Logic: The Knight's Tour
Maroczy Chess Club
New South Wales Open
Starting a Chess Club
Sweet and Sour Chess
Sydney Simuls
Xmas 2004: Natural Ability
Xmas 2005: The Santa Gambit
Xmas 2006: Die Götterdämmerung
Xmas 2008: Santa's Mate
Yogi Berra, Chess Guru
Mating Positions & Traps
The best selection of Mating Positions and Opening Traps I've seen anywhere can be found in Le Blog de la Batgirl.
They're well worth a visit.
To play through them, click on the link and locate them in the sidebar box at the right of her blog.