Chess in Israel

It's graduation day at our school. The students that I taught for six years have become adults. Their speeches invoked the struggles of the past that made them who they are today and those of the future that they'll have to overcome in order to become who they want to be. I joined Lichess in February 2022, closed above 2500 on Puzzles in May 2024, and only crossed 2600 this morning. As struggles go, reaching 2600 was more of a challenge than crossing 1600 on Chess.com Rapid or 1700 on Lichess Blitz. Some puzzles conclude too soon, others go on for too long. Some are instructive, others are an exercise in brute calculation. Some puzzles have a clear idea at their core, others are unfairly nuanced. Some are rewarding, others are disappointing. My least favorite puzzles are of the king-and-pawns endgame variety. Solving them requires holding in memory multiple branches of a decision tree simultaneously and calculating each branch six or seven moves deep. This report examines th...

It being a Saturday, I should not have been at school today, but circumstances were such that I was in the area and the school was open. Wedensday's milestone win, given my opponent's sub-1600 rating and awful time management, left an unsatisfied taste in my mouth. The coast was clear, i.e. I was alone and could bring my A-game, and shortly after one o'clock I settled in for a ten-minute Rapid. In this afternoon's game Chess.com matched me with one HardcoreHenrik, rated 1588 out of Poland. It was a Classical Nimzo-Indian that developed into a middlegame where I was down two pawns but had compensation in the form of two rooks on the seventh. The Nimzo-Indian is a sharp opening that I am endeavoring to master as Black and here got a taste of as White. Until opponent blundered his rook on move 39, it was a challenging and volatile game. At 1633, I have a cushion to absorb a loss without busting 1600 should I attempt a push to 1700. Position 1: White to move Assign...

If someone were to examine the games that got me from 1500 to 1600, they might reach the conclusion that I and my opponents always play chess tired, on weak wifi or surrounded by distractions. Even to me it feels as though reaching 1400 demanded more grit and consistency than the games I played recently. For this afternoon's game , Chess.com matched me against one HenriqueIncio, rated 1574 out of Angola. It took me thirty seconds to make the first three moves because the school's computer was lagging, and from there the opening developed into a Samisch King's Indian. Then it was opponent's turn to lag -- 0:20 for move 6, 1:20 for move 10, 3:28 for move 12. On move 13 I had nine minutes left to opponent's three and a half. It was an anticlimactic milestone, but in a way it was also recompense for my loss two games prior. Position 1: White to move Assigned the White pieces I opened 1.d4 , and Black's 1...Nf6 suggested he would defend with the Nimzo-Indian...

The school year is winding down. Regular classes ended last week, and all that's left are two weeks of final exams. Since it's only at school that I can bring my A-game, that leaves me roughly two weeks to hit 1600 on Chess.com Rapid. Failing in that endeavor and going through the summer still sub-1600 would be a disappointment. For this afternoon's game Chess.com matched me against one Nihad_Karimli, rated 1549 out of Azerbaijan. It was a game I was hesitant to play on account of a mosquito having disturbed my sleep at night, but everyone had left the school and I was feeling confident. We played five moves of theory a-la the Steinitz Variation of the Classical French, and on move fourteen opponent blundered his queen to a skewer. A move later he resigned, and for the third time I am a win away from 1600. Position 1: Black to move Assigned the Black pieces, I replied to White's 1.e4 with the French 1...e6 . The game continued 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 and as always ...

What makes climbing the rating ladder exciting, apart from the the bragging rights that come with reaching a new round number, is the opportunity to play against higher-rated opponents, get crushed by them, learn from the experience, and gradually improve to their level en-route to the next milestone. The cycle always begins with a feeling of hopelessness as the higher-rated players pick apart the opening, slice through the middlegame with razor-sharp tactics or navigate the endgame with near-flawless technique. In this morning's game Lichess matched me against one Sergei121, rated 1769. It was an Advance French in which I blundered my knight on move 14 and opponent returned the favor two moves later. On move 21 I skewered his queen and rook, and it was effectively game over after that. My previous rated Blitz game , a week before, was against one Sergey4404, rated 1607. It was an Exchange French in which I blundered into a drawn endgame but opponent flagged. Lichess awarded me...

Zedekiah's Cave is Jerusalem's ultimate hidden gem. Inconspicuous from the outside, its interior is a vast network of interconnecting chambers, a spring and ancient limestone blocks made all the more impressive by colorful atmospheric lighting. During the Second Temple period the site was a quarry for stones used in Jerusalem's construction, and since the nineteenth century it has served as a ceremonial hall for local Freemasons. Yesterday it was the site of a simultaneous chess exhibition where forty players gathered to take on Grandmaster Nitzan Steinberg . My first experience at a chess simul was in September 2024. Jerusalem hosted Israel's largest ever such event at Safra Square, and I played against GM Alexander Zlatin. That game was a Chigorin French Defense, and I not only held my own for most of it but had winning chances twice before carelessly blundering away my advantage. Yesterday's game was a Steinitz French, and this time opponent had the upper ha...