Hello everyone! It's been nearly three years since my last blog post! (Life goes by so quickly!) Chess used to be my entire focus in life; I didn't want to do any extracurricular activities or do any homework because I loved chess so much. My rating was very important to me; I would stress after every bad tournament in dread of how many points it would decrease. I think I've come to a more balanced point in my life since then. I still enjoy chess, but it's not my all-consuming passion that it once was. Instead of a passion, chess has become more of an amusing hobby to me. I no longer care about the soundness of moves anymore...I sacrifice and gambit just to add a little spice to the game. After all, it doesn't really matter in the scheme of things whether or not you win or lose! Chess is meant to be a fun game, so why not let loose a little bit?
So last Saturday, I participated in the State Championship, even though I hadn't played more than a few games of chess the entire year. I was able to tie for first and qualify for the Denker Tournament of Champions held this summer. In this game, I decided to play an old favorite of mine: the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. Sure, it's not sound, but it's really fun to play and chances are, you'll know it better than your opponent who will have to refute it OTB.