Category: On the pillory
In the Pillory (5) – You're Failing History, Mr Editor!
In the first part, we analyse and criticise another of the gems from the editor of the Chess Weekly, who – as is, after all, the custom nowadays not only in chess – apparently rewrites history to suit himself, until he starts to believe it. Primarily, however, we will focus on the origins and analysis of blunders! Why do they occur? How should they be classified? How can we try to defend against them? Is it possible that there is a connection between blunders on the chessboard and... travelling into the future?... Continue reading
In the Pillory (4) – Like Little Children
After the recent rapid and blitz tournaments in Paris and Leuven (June and July 2017), when I read the enthusiastic and celebratory articles about Carlsen, a memory came to mind from my early days as a coach... The article Like Little Children asks whether anyone today still makes a distinction between a classical game, a rapid game and blitz... Continue reading
In the Pillory (3) – A Brilliant Information System
In the next instalment of this polemical column, we will first return to the time when a group of Yugoslav chess players created a new, sophisticated information system. Their discovery not only paved the way for chess engines to enter the stage of history several decades later, but the two complement each other perfectly... We will learn (or revise) the basic principles of the system; we will discover that without it, it is practically impossible to analyse a game correctly and at the same time clearly.
In some of the reader exercises, focused specifically on the art of analysis, we will then – fear not – return to the original purpose of the column. Among other things, the reader can try to improve a somewhat poorly annotated game, apparently by the ever-present young master, who to this day still confuses the names of openings, some of which have been known for several hundred years! The game itself, however, has travelled the world, its charms making it a candidate for the crowning jewel of the past year!... Continue reading
In the Pillory (2) – A Shocking Change to the Chess Rules
Two stories: the knight's path and the Weekly editor at odds with notation. Continue reading
In the Pillory – Part One
The first part of the series "On the Pillory" features two stories. First, we look at an unfortunate case in which the author found himself almost entirely blameless – Jaroslav Hrabě, Isolated Pawn, PLISKA publishing house. The second example, entitled "the unfortunate first diagram", describes a fatal error by the author in the well-known book by Grandmaster Alexei Suetin, 'School of Chess Strategy and Tactics'.
I look forward to your comments in the discussion! Continue reading
Let Us Pillory, but Also Praise
The column "On the Pillory" aims to focus especially on exceptionally poor literary „gems“ produced mostly by our own – Czech, but also international – authors. The purpose of introducing this column is not only to entertain readers and to consider whether pillorying the author, that is, a particular work, is legal or even necessary, but also to learn from it, and in future to steer well clear of any author (or their works) who has become the target of our attention! Here we want to warn against work that is often unbelievably slapdash, carelessly submitted and then published... Continue reading
Chess quote
Chess is the touchstone of intellect.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Chess quote
Chess, like music and love, has the power to make a person happy.
Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch