Blog

In recent years, the way that chess is studied, played, and consumed by the general public has changed quite a bit. While chess books, magazines, clubs, and tournaments have their place, a lot of the attention has been shifted online where bullet and blitz chess are gaining popularity. Bullet chess is usually played with a time control of 1 minute with no increment, and blitz chess at either 3 minutes with no increment or 3 minutes with 2 seconds increment per move.

Just under a week after Valentine’s Day, I was very surprised to receive Valentine’s Day cards from two of my 4th grade students, Christa and Jessica.  I teach at a few schools, but have never received something like this!  It was very sweet, and it made me realize that I had a bigger impact on the students that I teach than I thought. Teaching at Halls Ferry, along with many other schools, has made it clear to me that I love what I do.  Although my main job is to teach the rules of chess and prepare students to compete in tournaments, I understand now that I must also show just how much work, creativity, and passion goes into achieving success in whatever they choose to do.

Grandmaster Pepe Cuenca showcases Paul Morphy, everyone's favorite from the Romantic era of chess.

2019.02.14

Since I teach, I keep saying to my students: one of the most basic things when calculating in chess is to analyze all possible checks, captures, and threats. We should also start with the checks that we intuitively think are more dangerous, captures of heavy pieces and the most important threats, starting with mate.