LM Scott Massey to Lecture Tonight

Life Master Scott Massey, who was champion of the Kenilworth Chess Club for many years, will lecture tonight at the club on "Rubinstein's Endgames."  The entry fee for the lecture is $5 and it should begin by 8:15 p.m.  Scott's annual lectures are always well received and have covered Moscow 1925 and the Origins of the Soviet School of Chess (my favorite), Bobby Fischer, How to Analyze, The Games of Paul Keres, and King and Pawn Endings.  As Scott is very knowledgeable about endings and a big fan of Rubinstein's games, I expect this to be an excellent event -- one I am planning to attend.

"Fischer vs. Spassky" in The New Yorker

I was intrigued by Lara Vapnyar's short story "Fischer vs. Spassky" in The New Yorker (October 8, 2012), which provides an unusual perspective on the famous 1972 chess match, as seen through the eyes of a Jewish couple living in the Soviet Union who contemplate emigrating--with all the risks that entailed.  For those of us who have too easily accepted the black and white Cold War narrative of the match, the story provides some neat reversals.  Take this quote, for instance:

All the Russian Jews who considered themselves liberal had wanted Fischer to win. For them, the Soviet Union stood for everything that was vile and deceitful, while the United States held the promise of everything that was good. And Fischer was the face of that good. The enormous, warty face of democracy.

Read the full story online.  

The Breaking Bad Chess Match

I only discovered "Breaking Bad" this past year on Netflix.  It's an often frustrating and disturbing show, but something about its main character, Walter White, played by the superb actor Bryan Cranston, has kept me hooked right through the fourth season.  After watching the video above, I realize it has been "The Ultimate Chess Match" between Gus and Walt that has made season four so interesting for me as a chess player.  (Warning: violent scenes and spoilers.)

Welcome "Science on the Squares"

Some Kenilworth Chess Club members will remember Devin Camenares, who played regularly in our Summer Tournaments back in 2005 and 2006.  Devin -- soon to be "Dr." Devin -- has taken up chess blogging with Science on the Squares.  We wish him luck and will be following his chess adventures.

The End of Summer

Tomkovich - Balakrishnan
Black to play and win.

The annual Kenilworth Chess Club Summer tourney ended in August, with Bob Sherry running away with the title.  I have finally gotten around to annotating a couple of games from the earlier rounds in Memories of Summer 2012, which includes an interesting draw I had with NM Mark Kernighan and a great win by Praveen Balakrishnan, who has been invited to play for the NJ Knockouts in the USCL this year.