The American Rex Sinquefield, courtesy of his untold riches, has made St. Louis, Missouri the chess capital of the USA world according to the BBC http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36257742. How long that will last we don’t know (probably not long) nevertheless for the time being he is certainly making things happen.
We all enjoyed the Kasparov Blitz Challenge and whilst on youtube I noticed that a channel dedicated to the efforts of our American friends has appeared with some lovely content. All-round nice guy GM Yasser Seirawan, who as well as being a great player is also a great commentator, lectures for us. His history is solid enough in its employed role and the chess, as you would expect, is there to be enjoyed. I took great pleasure in watching the following, having just read Botvinnik’s ‘Achieving the Aim’. If you want to see how much chess has changed at the very top level since the 50s, this makes for good viewing.
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