Charles Atlas shrugged

Those weight lifting ads in comic books made a big impression on me. Remember the guy at the beach with his girlfriend? Another guy comes up and kicks sand in his face and makes fun of him. The ad promises to make a man out of you with Charles Atlas'  body building program.

I wanna be a chess hero. I'm playing correspondence games, doing a few tactics training puzzles every day, playing some live chess every day. Today I feel like the guy getting the sand kicked in his face.

But here are some week 2 observations. The board grows more familiar everyday.  I know what folks mean by 'Sicilian Defense.' The simple mistakes look more obvious. Strategies are growing. And the game is more enjoyable now than it was a month ago.