Today’s column is about sacrifices and the exchange in particular. If you’re shown a chess position cold, then the first thing you do normally is to count the pieces just to check that the material is fairly balanced. But the relative activity is at least as important. The “joy of innumeracy” might turn out to be a valuable (in)ability in many chess positions! | Pictured: Lu Miaoyi at the 2023 Rapid and Blitz World Championships. | Photo: Lennart Ootes
The secrets of raising an eight-year-old chess prodigy stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In September 2020, Sivanandan Velayutham was helping to clear out a friend’s garage when he uncovered a dusty magnetic chess set. He packed the folding brown and cream board into a bag, along with a collection of old books, brought it home and thought little about it. That is, until his five-year-old daughter, Bodhana, discovered a peculiar figurine lying loose inside. “I want the horsey,” she said.