The sidekick reappears

Sancho Pawnza, one of the founding Knights Errant, has returned with his first new post in almost ten months.

...this may just be a one off deal or I may decide to post on a weekly, semi-weekly or even monthly basis.

Lithium calls it quits

It just got to a point where my enthusiasm was shot to hell and I just couldn't be bothered with it anymore....

I know some people can take a positive from their losses, but for me, well it just pisses me off. There's a dozen other pastimes out there I can excel in in only a few months of practise and I'd rather spend my rather limited time, patience and enjoyment on those than constantly bang my head against a brick wall that is the Australian chess scene.

Do I love Chess? my oath. On design and principle it's strategic gaming at the absolute pinnacle with a rich and fascinating history.

But if you want to learn to play to win, you better start before you grow pubic hair because it's one hell of a bloody competitive game and for a late bloomer like me, I'm way way too late to the game to hold my own against the top dogs.

So with regret and sadness I am withdrawing from the Knights. I was foolish to think that it would help me get a leg up on the competition but really, I was just fooling myself.

Read his complete post, "It's not cricket...".

A Call To Arms

Chess Tyro argues against the efficacy of tactical training (not once, but twice).

Knights! ... Lances Ready! ... March!!

Knight Time

• Farhad puts it all in perspective. While you might be miffed about another flawed problem in CT-Art, he has to deal with violent protests, government imposed curfews, sabotaged internet lines and blocked mobile phone connections, all while needing to be "...careful with my words..." Oh, and as a result, he's "...really fallen behind on the microdrills." I think we can give him a pass.
  
  
• Phorku shares an example of the thoughtful, gentlemanly banter you can experience at many online chess sites.
  
  
• I'm trying to remember why I decided to include this link to Pale Morning Dun's blog. Was it because I agreed with his point of view or because I enjoyed "reading" his post? I guess I'll have to "read" it a few more times to jog my memory.
  
  
• J'adoube's new job forces him to call it quits -- following in De La Maza's footsteps to the very end.
  
  
• Keystor and Sir Rocky Rook have been placed in cold storage (read: hiatus).
  

Here and There

• For those of you who were amused by the fact that the BCC players who answered Blue Devil's questionnaire were reluctant to share their opening repertoires, consider Chess Tyro's recent experience at a local club tournament.
  
  
• Atomic Patzer wraps up a remarkable US Open - 4.5/9 and tied for first for the Class D prize. Here's hoping this doesn't turn out to be the pinnacle of his tournament career.
  
  
• The Chess Goddess already seems ready to declare Susan Polgar's USCF revolution a failure. Wow, that was fast!
  
  
• The Goddess also has some fun reviewing the 2007 USCF Annual Awards.
  
  
• Patzer's Corner compares Michael De La Maza to Dr. Atkins. Atkins is a hero of mine, since I lost 50 lbs following his diet. Perhaps proportional chess improvement results are achievable through intensive tactical training.
  
  
• I know y'all like rules disputes, so here's one from Chessbuff. Had the same thing happened to Rihel, I'm sure it would have been good for 40 or so comments here.
  
  
• Gila Chess Patzer points us to some music for chess computers.
  
  
• Meanwhile, Montse channels Pink Floyd; apparently, he is giving up the fight.... In a related note, Knights Errant Mousetrapper, Abend, and Pawn Sensei have all been quiet since June.
  

Chessdom Interview Part 4: Knights Errant

Chessdom: Can you introduce Knights Errant group?

DG: Soon after I started BCC Weblog, I was trolling around trying to find other chess blogs to share links with. Unlike today when it’s almost impossible to avoid tripping over a new chess blog, back then it was quite a challenge finding them. In any case, I came across two blogs who seemed mostly to be talking to each other – Don Q’s Mandelamaza and Sancho Pawnza’s Tactics Tactics Tactics!?. Both were pursuing the intense tactical training regimen advocated by Michael De La Maza in his book “Rapid Chess Improvement”. They had chosen to blog about their quest using the story of Don Quixote as a thematic backdrop. I contacted them, offered to share links and they gladly accepted.

Within days I came across Pale Morning Dun’s Self Flagellation to the Goddess Caissa where he wrote that his blog was “…In the tradition of (Don) Man de la Maza and Sancho Pawnza…”. At that moment, I realized that something really interesting was going on, though I couldn’t have known how big it would turn out to be. I decided to document the goings-on of this little band of chess bloggers at BCC Weblog. Every few weeks or so, I put up a post summarizing some of their more interesting posts and as new blogs joined the group I sought them out and maintained a list of their members.

For a short time, the group stayed relatively small. I still retain a soft spot for the original six – those mentioned above plus Pawn Sensei, Generalkaia and J’adoube (who I named “the off-center knight”, despite the fact that he has since trademarked the phrase – I’m sure the royalty checks will be arriving soon :) ). Each was also pursuing the De La Maza program and posting about their plans, progress, thoughts on improvement, issues with CT-Art, etc.

And then, things just exploded. Suddenly there were 18 to 20 active Knights. We were finding new ones almost every week. Some blogs started strong and fizzled out quickly, but many have stayed active and strong to this day like Temposchlucker, Takchess and BlueDevil. Over time the Knights Errant group has evolved – while it is still focused on chess improvement, its members have broadened their approaches beyond De La Maza’s narrow prescription. As long time members have left, new “leaders” have emerged. As disputes among members have occasionally risen, it has been remarkable to watch how the community has self-regulated itself.

The Knights Errant is truly a remarkable example of the development and strength of a virtual on-line community existing in the blogosphere. It’s continued growth and prosperity is a testament to its founders.

*****
You can read the entire interview here.

Engaging Reviews

The first review of Howard Goldowsky's new book "Engaging Pieces" that I found comes from the blogosphere (since then, I also happened upon this Worcester Telegram article which is part preview, part review). Hisbestfriend's point of view on the book is... well... decidedly mixed:

Do I recommend it? Hell no! But I read it cover to cover, learned something, and I am having a tough time getting rid of it. Take that however you want.

From another of Hisbestfriend's posts, I learned that the book includes a reference to the Knights Errant and Boylston Chess Club Weblog:

The first chapter is an interview with de la Maza, and in the Postscript on Page 17...

Since the publication of Michael de la Maza's book, Rapid Chess Improvement (Everyman Chess, 2003) there has been a growing cohort of de la Maza disciples populating the Internet (many of them listed at the Boylston Chess Club Weblog: http://boylston-chess-club.blogspot.com/).

Unread, that's enough for me to heartily endorse it. :)

Here's a pleasant surprise...

Don Q. has posted a rare update at Mandelamaza.

This and $1.50 will buy me a cup of coffee

Chessdom has just published an interview with my favorite chess blogger. Me!

We discussed BCC Weblog, the Chess Blogosphere, the Knights Errant, Chess Clubs in the States, the US Chess League, and much more.

Chessdom: What are the motives behind one's decision to start a chess blog?

DG: One things for sure, it’s not for the money or the girls....

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be reposting some of the questions and answers here.

Hard times for the sidebar

This month's cleanup of inactive chess blogs took a heavy toll on the sidebar. No longer listed are Patzer's Mind, Globular, JG's Master Quest, Strong In Mind, Chess Vault, and The Chess House. Several of these were active, high quality blogs in their day. Hopefully some will find their way back to the sphere.

Among the Knights Errant, co-founder Sancho Pawnza has been quiet for awhile. In addition, Temposchlucker, who previously announced he was done, was removed from the active list. Of course, new Knights are always joining the path like recent additions The Common Man, Korsmonaut, and Hisbestfriend.

Beyond the sidebar, 15 other blogs went silent including Strong Among the Weak, ChessVista, Chess Boxing Club Berlin, and The Chessmill. No need to fret though, as new chess blog finds continue to be added to the listings. Besides those found during "The Bet", recent additions include The Chess Buzzard, Secrets of Grandpatzer Chess, Kenyan Chess Blog, Lansing Chess Club, The Chess Archives, Steve's Correspondence Chess Adventure, and Potentially boring chess blog.

Stream of Blogiousness

• It's nice to see that disgraced talk show host Don Imus has landed a new gig -- involving chess, no less.
  
  
• Ben is back! Thanks to a post on Heather Swan's Blog, I found IM Ben Finegold's new blog.
  
  
• Having caught a bit of the poker bug myself, I found this Chess Vibes' post on the attractiveness of poker to chess players quite interesting -- until they spoiled it at the end with an advertising pitch.
  
  
• Steve Eddins offered a thoughtful and thought-provoking response to Patrick's Chess For Blood closing post.
  
  
• I've finally decided to throw in the towel on Nezha. I must admit that I actually enjoy reading his posts on the trials and tribulations of job hunting in Japan. However, interview tactics and chess tactics are not one in the same. You can now find his blog listed in the Kibitzers section.
  
  
• Alec is giving up on online chess playing due to the prevalence of cheating opponents and other bad behavior.
  
  
• The Washington Post has annointed GM Alexei Shirov the Don Quixote of Chess. Those of us who know the original, realize that the prestigous newspaper has been duped by an imposter.
  

The rest of the story

Like About Chess, I too have noticed a recent trend of defections from the chess blogosphere:

• Temposhlucker's decision to go on (permanent?) hiatus from the ranks of the Knights Errant is a monumental loss, perhaps second only to the day that Don Q did the same.


• Losing Goran at Chess News & Events was tempered by the fact that he continues to post at Chess Strategy. Since then, things have improved further with a new blogger taking over the reins of the original blog.


• Patrick at Chess For Blood has decided that he is "due for a break from chess and chess blogging for awhile" and the Underpromoted Knight has decided to make school a priority over chess.
  

Then there is the case of Strong In Mind's Fierabras. About Chess gave you the facts, but only here will you find the story behind the story (thanks to a tip from an unnamed Knight).

As many of you may be aware, J'adoube has been advocating the somewhat provocative position that endeavoring to play moves highly rated by top chess computers (specifically Rybka in his case) is a good path to improvement. This has resulted in some healthy and spirited debate across several posts. However, it seems that somewhere along the way Fierabras' and J'adoube's point counter-point turned heated, personal and anything but healthy. Shortly thereafter Fierabras announced his intent to leave the Knights. It isn't too hard to connect the dots.

Now, I'm certainly not here to point a finger of blame at anyone. You can read the thread and draw your own conclusions. In fact, I believe that a bit of controversy can often be a good thing in terms of generating interest and readership. Nevertheless, as a general rule it would be hard to go wrong taking to heart Sancho's previous "Can't we all just get along" appeal.

Update (3/7): Comment threads at J'adoube's blog are not currently no longer available.

Bringing two quests together

Don Q has managed to build thriving blogging communities around two different quests, Chess - The Knights Errant and Weight Loss - The Knights of the Round Bottoms. While the two groups do share several members in common, the quests have never been fully integrated. Not so for Gretchen Zaitzeff of Normal, Illinois:

Gretchen ... had two problems: how to stick to her diet and how to raise money for the state chess championships....

"Chess season is hard, you tend to eat more," said Gretchen Zaitzeff. "At tournaments, the kids play chess all day while the parents sit and wait and snack. I had lost a total of 12 inches ... since the beginning of the chess season, but I needed more motivation to stick to it all winter."

... she decided to donate $10 for every inch she lost since the beginning of chess season until March 1 to the local chess association to help its fundraising efforts.

"I knew that the Bloomington Normal Area Scholastic Chess Association (BNASC) was trying to raise money to buy additional chess boards for the IL State K-8 Chess Tournament at ISU in March," said Gretchen Zaitzeff. "It seemed the natural thing to do. $10 would buy one chessboard, and they need four hundred more. I know I can't lose 388 inches in a month. My goal is six to eight more inches. It's not a lot of money, but maybe kids from our Grove team will play on a board I helped pay for."

I wonder if Gretchen is a neighbor of CD's.

More Knight Moves

As Blue Devil points out, change is constant among the Knights Errant. Some come, some go, some finish, some quit, some disappear, and some get hijacked. In particular, many of the foundational Knights' blogs are now inactive. Of what I generally think of as the original six -- Mandelamaza, Sancho Pawnza, Pale Morning Dun, Generalkaia, Pawn Sensei and J'adoube -- only three remain on the active list (including the General who was just added back after a long period of inactivity). We have not heard from either of the original founders -- The Man and Sancho -- in several months.

Here's a summary of recent changes among the Knights:

• Recently added to the inactive list: Mandelamaza
• Recently moved from inactive to active: Generalkaia
• New Knight: Underpromoted
• Recently hijacked: Grande Merda
  

Another LaMazan tests his mettle at the club

Knight Errant Blunder Prone journeyed in from the safety of the MetroWest suburbs to play in this past Saturday's BCC $10 Open. Here is his report.

Related Post: Takchess at the Herb Healy

Takchess at the Herb Healy

Chess bloggers don't naturally congregate in groups, at least in the "real" world, though a few were sighted on New Year's day at the Boylston Chess Club. The larger of the two people wearing red in the picture above is Knight Errant Takchess. Jim again found the competition at the club a bit stiffer than his typical PlayChess opponents. Check out his report on his day at the BCC.

Searching for BCC Weblog

Sorry, but this post does not star Ben Kingsley as Bruce Pandolfini....

November 13th marked the two year anniversary of this blog. As a result, I now have access to quite a bit of data on visitors, referrers, and search terms. Today, I thought I might share the search related information.

As the blog's content has continued to grow and its page rank increased, more and more visitors have arrived through search engine queries. During the first year or so search engines accounted for less than 15% of visitors; more recently, the number is definitely above 25%. For the full two years, searches account for 23.3% of visitors with known referrals.

The top 5 or so search terms that lead surfers to BCC Weblog bring few surprises, but as you continue down the list interesting insights emerge as to what attracts visitors here. Here are the top 25 search terms for this blog over the past two years:

1. chess (19.0%) - I bet this came as a shock!


2. club (3.5%) - No surprise.


3. boylston (3.0%) - ditto


4. blog (2.7%) - ditto


5. and (2.5%)


6. the (2.3%)


7. beauty (1.3%) - Finally things get more interesting. Beauty and the Geek first made these pages when the show's production company called the club looking for "chess geeks" to try out for the show. Then, as you may recall, one of the show's contestants -- Joe Block -- was introduced as a chess champion and chess was included in several episodes. Well it turns out that a mediocre FOX reality series has much broader appeal than chess to the point where it can become a major driver of visitors to a chess blog.


8. geek (1.3%) - See "beauty"


9. bcc (1.0%) - Surprised this wasn't higher?


10. erikson (0.9%) - I have one post which includes a picture of a statue of Leif Erikson. I never realized he was so popular.


11. tricks (0.8%) - The blog gets a lot of searches for "chess tricks." They must be disappointed when they click on the link in this post.


12. pastrami (0.8%) - Maybe Philadelphia should have renamed their team the Pastrami. Masterminds is nowhere to be found in the list.


13. wamala (0.7%) - Given that this story broke only a couple of months ago, it is amazing how quickly it has shot up the list.


14. leif (0.7%) - See "erikson"


15. boston (0.7%) - People searching for "chess club boston" often find their way here.


16. severine (0.6%) - See "wamala"


17. blogs (0.6%) - Not much to say here.


18. rules (0.6%) - Many people search for "rules and regulations of chess." I'm sure they are not particularly happy when they get this.


19. weblog (0.5%) - Just goes to prove that "blog" is more popular than "weblog."


20. knights (0.4%) - Mostly "Knights Errant", but the chess piece itself generates some traffic.


21. regulations (0.4%) - See "rules"


22. krasik (0.4%) - Either he's the most popular member of the Boston Blitz or this is how he usually linked to the blog during the 2005 season. You decide.


23. dedijer (0.4%) - Everyone likes to look at a pretty face.


24. lief (0.4%) - A lot of people have trouble spelling the Viking explorer's first name.


25. sanja (0.4%) - See "dedijer"
    

Couldn't say it better myself

I've written several times about the development of community within the blogosphere, particularly when trying to promote cross-linking. In the chess blogosphere there is no better example of this than the Knights Errant, still growing and evolving more than two years after Don and Sancho started their lonely quest.

Now, Samurai Pawn poignantly articulates the value of this community and the impact it has had on him.

Highbrow Tactics

Most everyone knows that there is a strong connection between the Knights Errant and Cervantes' Don Quixote. However, how many Knights actually integrate parts of the story into their posts?

Welcome to the fold the Literary Knight, Fierabras.

Other Knights Errant

Quest completed and no longer actively blogging: Man de la Maza - Sancho Pawnza - Pawn Sensei - CelticDeath - Pomaranch Captain - Salcido - Fussy Lizard - King of the Spill - Underpromoted - Rise and Shine - J'adoube

Quest on hiatus or abandoned: Lithium - Hisbestfriend - Cratercat - Allegro - Farhad - Keystor - Sir Rocky Rook - Montse - Grande Merda - Korsmonaut - Hard Days Knight - Karpyan - Abend - Sir Piño - Dr. Munky - Generalkaia - Pendrax - Born Again - Samurai Pawn - Board Scholar - LuckyBobby - Guru - SirJ - Gregory - Druss - JavaManIssa - Smith-Morra - Knightwiz - Hooked - Silver Dragon - Fatboy - Viking Sword - Desperate Measures - Yet Another Patzer

Knight's blogs which went 404: The Common Man - Zeon - Harmless - Pawned No More

Knight's blogs which were hijacked: Blue Rook - Vic (endgame) - Dragonslayer - Dluzewski - St. Patzer - SiliconPawn - Daland - Funkyfantom - Old Fart - Mate in Three - Orange Knight