Chess in Israel

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...

This morning got off to an encouraging start. I beat my Lichess nemesis on the toilet at Blitz, and on the way to work I scared off a crow just as it was about to thump the back of my head. When I got to school, though, the place was deserted. I asked the cleaning lady where all the kids were and she said, "They're not here. No one's here." Somehow I'd missed the memo that school had been canceled on account of Jerusalem Day. Playing a game would be risky. The cleaners could abruptly shut off the electricity or the vice principal might start talking to me, but I took the chance. Chess.com matched me against one Pradipbelbase13, rated 1607 out of Nepal. My move six was classified as brilliant by Game Review, and already on move nine I had an advantage of +3.8. Poor play on my part flipped the eval in opponent's favor in the middlegame, but on move 20 he blundered his queen to a bish fork and I looked to be cruising to a win. On move 43 the vice principal c...

Yesterday was the last day of the Grand Chess Tour 2026 Super Rapid and Blitz tournament. Hans Moke Niemann, for whom I was rooting, won it all in dramatic fashion, just half a point ahead of second-place finisher Fabiano Caruana. I spent much of Friday and Saturday following the Blitz games, and it was the excitement of that event that led to this afternoon's game. For today's game Lichess matched me against one 1915-rated huddle, who over the past six days has played a staggering 271 Rapid games on Lichess. He stumped me on move one with the Bird Opening, which promptly transposed into the Canard, and had the advantage at numerous points throughout the game. A blunder on move 30, however, sealed his fate, and thirty-three points were added to my 1990 rating, pushing me over the 2000 level. Position 1: Black to move Assigned the Black pieces I replied to White's 1.f4 with 1...Nf6 . White and I pushed our d-pawns with 2.d4 d5 , and after 3.e3 I struck with 3...c...

Last night while sitting at home I heard a minor commotion outside my bedroom window like a neighbor was frantically clearing out storage. When I left the house in the morning there was a package of sliced turkey on the stairs. A cat must have been struggling to tear it open and get at the meat inside. I debated if I should bother throwing the package out or leave it for the cats, ultimately deciding on the latter. On the way to work, however, it occurred to me the meat might attract sewer rats. In this morning's Blitz game Lichess matched me against one arcolombo698, rated 1665 out of the U.S. Lichess classifies the opening he played against me as the Rat Defense: English Variation. Unfamiliar as it was to me, I couldn't tell if opponent knew what he was doing or was trolling. He knew what he was doing -- but that is the kind of opening the Rat is. When Black loses castling rights on move four, White can't help feeling he's gained an advantage, and that makes the i...