Try substituting 'chess game' for 'life' in the following 'graph from a meaty post titled Holy Creation, Shabbatman, Time to Rejewvenate over at One Cosmos:
After all, this present moment of your life is the end result of thousands and thousands of little plans, goals, choices, and decisions you have made over the course of your life. Are you able to step back for a moment and realize that this is it, that this moment is the result of your plans coming to fruition? Or are you in reality simply addicted to “planning” as a way to escape the moment?
Friday, August 18, 2006
The New Chess Journalism
The excellent Michael Goeller at The Kenilworthian on The New Chess Journalism:
Reading the posts of bloggers attending this year's U.S. Open Chess Championship has made me reflect a bit on blogging generally, and to observe that quite a few bloggers write only for themselves (as they would in keeping a diary), with little thought that they might attract a wider audience or serve the role of journalists communicating facts and perspectives to readers. As one U.S. Open chess blogger wrote in the comments area of my blog: "Thanks for linking to my blog. I never thought anyone other than friends and family would want to read it...."
(...)
Chess players would welcome the most interesting stories from the world of chess, even if they had to be reported by "amateurs." Gens una sumus, after all. But they won't get those stories until chess bloggers start looking beyond their own experiences from time to time. Maybe more chess bloggers should ask themselves not "what do I feel like writing?" but "what stories do I know that are in need of telling?" The "internet's new storytellers" and their readers are going to get bored if too many of us just keep talking about ourselves all the time....
I think I'm going to try out some more journalistic writing in my blog in the coming year. Maybe more profiles of chessplayers, some interviews. We'll see where it leads. I hope others will be inspired to do the same.
Well, consider me inspired, Michael, though I don't think my last post on the Hot August Knights tournament was very journalistic. Two much whiny navel-gazing, I'd say.
Still, I do have greater ambitions here than just describing my own games. I think I need to introduce more players, more games and more color.
Stay tuned.
Reading the posts of bloggers attending this year's U.S. Open Chess Championship has made me reflect a bit on blogging generally, and to observe that quite a few bloggers write only for themselves (as they would in keeping a diary), with little thought that they might attract a wider audience or serve the role of journalists communicating facts and perspectives to readers. As one U.S. Open chess blogger wrote in the comments area of my blog: "Thanks for linking to my blog. I never thought anyone other than friends and family would want to read it...."
(...)
Chess players would welcome the most interesting stories from the world of chess, even if they had to be reported by "amateurs." Gens una sumus, after all. But they won't get those stories until chess bloggers start looking beyond their own experiences from time to time. Maybe more chess bloggers should ask themselves not "what do I feel like writing?" but "what stories do I know that are in need of telling?" The "internet's new storytellers" and their readers are going to get bored if too many of us just keep talking about ourselves all the time....
I think I'm going to try out some more journalistic writing in my blog in the coming year. Maybe more profiles of chessplayers, some interviews. We'll see where it leads. I hope others will be inspired to do the same.
Well, consider me inspired, Michael, though I don't think my last post on the Hot August Knights tournament was very journalistic. Two much whiny navel-gazing, I'd say.
Still, I do have greater ambitions here than just describing my own games. I think I need to introduce more players, more games and more color.
Stay tuned.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Tournament Report
The Hot August Knights weekend tournament of the Reno CC was held Aug. 11-13 and produced plenty of exciting chess and some big upsets. (I don't know why the Reno CC site doesn't open new windows to view the tournament report, game scores etc. but everything is on a link from the main page, including crosstables and 34 games to play through).
The tournament was somewhat of a personal disappointment for me, as I lost in the last round against P. Gafni (1557) when a win would have given me the 'Under-1601' prize and some ratings gain. Instead, I faltered from an excellent position a pawn up and eventually even lost.
This is the continuation of a disturbing trend, which you'll also note if you play over Hong-Pearson from Round 3. Against club secretary and the very generous sponsor of this tournament, Ernie Hong (2051), I played very well for awhile and then could not sustain the level of play required and eventually lost. I just don't have the stamina to play good tournament chess against the higher-rated; the only games I win are against opponents that I'm expected to win against based on rating.
Due to the rest of my life away from the board I can only play for about three hours in the evening at any kind of decent level, so for the near future I'm taking some time off from the 30/90, G/60 circuit. I know some of the other players probably have similar circumstances with job and family that interfere with their best chess--but I've about reached my limit for the time being of fading after a promising beginning. It doesn't help when besides a lack of rest there is also, let us call it, lukewarm family support for my chess career, as well.
Overall it was a very fun tournament with food and a fine spirit of comraderie and competition. I urge you to check out the games at the Game Archive on the menu at the above link.
And thanks very much to Ernie for all of his work, financial support and the Saturday evening pizza!
The tournament was somewhat of a personal disappointment for me, as I lost in the last round against P. Gafni (1557) when a win would have given me the 'Under-1601' prize and some ratings gain. Instead, I faltered from an excellent position a pawn up and eventually even lost.
This is the continuation of a disturbing trend, which you'll also note if you play over Hong-Pearson from Round 3. Against club secretary and the very generous sponsor of this tournament, Ernie Hong (2051), I played very well for awhile and then could not sustain the level of play required and eventually lost. I just don't have the stamina to play good tournament chess against the higher-rated; the only games I win are against opponents that I'm expected to win against based on rating.
Due to the rest of my life away from the board I can only play for about three hours in the evening at any kind of decent level, so for the near future I'm taking some time off from the 30/90, G/60 circuit. I know some of the other players probably have similar circumstances with job and family that interfere with their best chess--but I've about reached my limit for the time being of fading after a promising beginning. It doesn't help when besides a lack of rest there is also, let us call it, lukewarm family support for my chess career, as well.
Overall it was a very fun tournament with food and a fine spirit of comraderie and competition. I urge you to check out the games at the Game Archive on the menu at the above link.
And thanks very much to Ernie for all of his work, financial support and the Saturday evening pizza!
Friday, August 11, 2006
Hot August Knights
The annual Hot August Knights tournament of the Reno CC starts tonight! I'll have a report on the atmosphere, the results and the Saturday pizza party next week. Promise!
Friday, July 14, 2006
I'm Still Here!
Picking up where I left off almost a month ago, after my ugly thrashing at the hands of A. Mann in the Reno CC June Swiss I played the son of Arlo, James Mann (1538) the following week and for perhaps the third time since 1983 (in a tournament game) I ventured 1. e4 and ended up losing an interesting Sicilian where I played a kind of English Attack (f3, g4) and finally came out second-best in the wild and wooly complications that followed.
That at least was a fight, but the next week as black against R. Arteaga (1407) things reached a nadir, a low point, a climax of bad form. Or just idiocy:
1. e4 d5 2. ed Nf6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Nc3? Nxd5 5. Nxd5 Bxb5 6. c4 Bxc4 7. Qa4+? b5 8. Qa5 Qxd5 9. Qxc7 and now any reasonable move stays a piece up with what I would certainly characterize as a dream position after nine moves as black...and of course his Queen can't do anything all by itself (can it?); so let's look for the killer...9. ... Qxg2 ????????????? 10. Qc8 mate 1-0
Okay, I won't even try to explain. The game will live in infamy.
After a week off with some traveling and participation in a wedding in Seattle I was back last night, playing C. Christiansen (1525) with black and drawing. He had an edge the whole game, won a pawn and was probably winning, but I scatched and clawed and fought and finally he went into a pawn ending and it turned out that despite appearances, it was a draw! So kudos for fighting spirit, but it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. I wanted to whup up on somebody. But a lot better than two weeks ago!
Some games, and Part II of my thoughts on annotations coming soon.
That at least was a fight, but the next week as black against R. Arteaga (1407) things reached a nadir, a low point, a climax of bad form. Or just idiocy:
1. e4 d5 2. ed Nf6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Nc3? Nxd5 5. Nxd5 Bxb5 6. c4 Bxc4 7. Qa4+? b5 8. Qa5 Qxd5 9. Qxc7 and now any reasonable move stays a piece up with what I would certainly characterize as a dream position after nine moves as black...and of course his Queen can't do anything all by itself (can it?); so let's look for the killer...9. ... Qxg2 ????????????? 10. Qc8 mate 1-0
Okay, I won't even try to explain. The game will live in infamy.
After a week off with some traveling and participation in a wedding in Seattle I was back last night, playing C. Christiansen (1525) with black and drawing. He had an edge the whole game, won a pawn and was probably winning, but I scatched and clawed and fought and finally he went into a pawn ending and it turned out that despite appearances, it was a draw! So kudos for fighting spirit, but it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. I wanted to whup up on somebody. But a lot better than two weeks ago!
Some games, and Part II of my thoughts on annotations coming soon.
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