Review: The Sorcerer's Apprentice

First published by Cadogan Books in 1995, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, featured 222 games along with twenty or so photographs, and it quickly became a modern chess classic.

This new edition has 237 games along with more than 100 photographs, as well as offering a cleaner, more readable layout. David Bronstein was rather unique, as is the table of contents in the book by and about him ...

For the complete review of this fascinating book, see the ChessCafe book review page.
A "time graph" from the book

Ok, he's good, but can he play chess while hula-hooping?

C'mon, Jennifer, you can do this while playing chess, can't you?

If you don't know what I'm talking about, see this from Jennifer Shahade.

I'm too cool to be a chess master

Abby Marshall; Photo: Elizabeth Vicary

Abby Marshall stands oh, so close to the magic 2200 mark. How close? Try 2199. Read her brief comment about getting so close at my Chess Examiner site, which also includes her final round game from the World Open that brought her to 2199.

2009 Arctic Chess Challenge Includes IM Ray Robson

Gary Robson, father of phenom Ray Robson, mentioned to me that Ray's next tournament following his victory in the U.S. Junior Closed will be the Arctic Chess Challenge, taking place August 1-9, 2009. All the photos here are from the 2008 event, by photographer Bjørn Berg Johansen.

The All-Star Game Comes to St. Louis!

For the first time in 43 years, the Major League Baseball All-Star game returns to St. Louis, a baseball-crazy city. Listen for a moment to an ESPN radio interview with Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson, one of the most intimidating pitchers ever to take the mound.

Re-live the Launch and Flight of Apollo 11

It's another non-chess-related post, but take a look at http://www.wechoosethemoon.org/. It's apparently a site that, beginning this Thursday, will simulate how things might have looked had the internet been around 40 years ago when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Should be cool. It's a project of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Elliott Liu and the U.S. Championship

These are two different topics; both appear in my July Scholastic Chess column now posted online at ChessCafe.

Elliott Liu has a lot to say about combining an active college life with high-level chess, and I share a few thoughts and photos from the recent U.S. Championship. Enjoy!

Grand Canyon June 2009

Yes, this has nothing to do with chess - I just enjoy producing these musical photo montages. This one is of my brother, his family and some friends, and my father at the Grand Canyon in June:

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

2009 U.S. Junior Championship - Strong Field!

This year's U.S. Junior (Closed) Championship may be the strongest ever. Most of the nation's top players will be appearing:

1.IM Alex Lenderman (2654)
2.IM Sam Shankland (2564)
3.IM Ray Robson (2553)
4.IM Salvijus Bercys (2503)
5.FM Elliott Liu (2405)
6.FM Joel Banawa (2392)
7.FM Michael Lee (2384)
8.Maxx Coleman (2182, winner of the 2008 Junior Open)

The tournament is scheduled for July 13-16 in Milwaukee, with the winner slotted into the 2010 U.S. Championship.

Jennifer's Chess Scoop

Chess Life Online editor Jennifer Shahade has created a weekly "Chess Scoop" video. Here is her discussion of the recent New York International, which featured excellent results for a number of young players:

U.S. Chess Scoop, Episode 2 from DIM mak films on Vimeo.