I.M. Jeremy Silman: 1954-2023

I remember Jeremy from his OTB battles with I.M. John Donaldson, G.M. Seirawan and others in the Seattle area. Jeremy's many books were widely praised by players around the world. He passed away on 9/21/2023.

R.I.P. Jeremy. The chess world will miss you. 😢

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@mchill

The leap forward in strategical explanations from Silman was astounding. To focus on imbalances leading to advantages instead of just advantages is probably the biggest difference between Silman and those who came before.

I might have to go on a Silman book binge to honor his legacy!

He had a great column in Chess Life called "The Amateur's Mind" that was annotated training games with his students. There were comments from the students about what they were thinking, and comments from Silman, mostly pointing out the flaws in their thinking, but in an entertaining way.

He was a quality writer who could keep an audience engaged.

My favorite story of Silman's is about the chess puzzle scene he made for the Harry Potter movie.

From my memory....

"They had me design a chess puzzle with a lot of parameters to it, and I took a long time to make a position that works. In the end they clipped certain parts out of the movie, and it didn't work anymore. . . I was furious!" 😆

Yes, that what happens when individuals do not know the game well. Just seeing commercials with the Queens set up wrong or even the boards! All you can do is do your best!

@BoggyD Thank you for sharing the sad news.