It is the ability to mentally picture things. That seems the most natural thing in the world, but some people are unable to do it at all. They cannot imagine a sunset, see any vivid details, vibrant colours, in their minds. Or they may only produce a mental image that is blurry and lacks detail. Michael Bacon, the Armchair Warrior, is a USCF Expert with aphantasia. He has written about how the condition relates to chess. | Image Credit: Andrew Mason
Nowadays when we talk about Bullet Chess definitely we refer to timing, and we mean a one-minute game. But there were times when this term could have a completely different meaning! .
The name "Hastings" has a very special ring to it in the chess world. In 1895 one of the most important tournaments in chess history took place in the seaside resort on the south-east coast of England, and chess tournaments are still regularly held there today - no tournament in chess history has a longer tradition. The Berlin FM Jürgen Brustkern is a great expert on Hastings and has written a book on the history of this tradition together with Norbert Wallet. In an interview with ChessBase he reveals what fascinates him so much about Hastings.
Few individuals have had as great an influence on American chess as IM Jeremy Silman, who died on September 21 in Los Angeles, California. The cause was complications from primary progressive aphasia frontotemporal dementia.