Yes, another blog from an unremarkable chess player

Why do we need them? 

I mean, all these blogs and vlogs detailing the struggles of average chess players playing ordinary (perhaps just bad?!) games - do we really need them? And, it is definitely worth asking whether we need another one from me! 

Actually, I would like to suggest that we do and here is why. When I started playing chess the hub was without doubt the chess club. First at school and then at my hometown club. Ahhh, The PE Chess Club at the YMCA in Havelock Street. That brings back memories, some of which I do plan to share, others might be best forgotten. But chess clubs are not the hub anymore. The internet is.

The internet provides platforms to gather and play casual games or tournaments at a dizzying array of time controls.  It allows us to watch top chess with commentary. And you have the possibility of chess lessons and lectures for free. These are all wonderful opportunities, which have expanded our personal chess universes in a way that I never would have imagined possible when I started playing.

But what about blogs? How do they fit in to all of this? I would suggest that this is the mechanism by which we have group conversations within our virtual community. When I started playing, listening in on the post match analysis of the top players at the club was a wonderful way to gain new insights and learn about how these players thought. It seems to me that this a function that blogs can now perform. 

The posts are the starting points for the exploration of a new line of thought or conversation and comment threads became a space for exploring the ideas together. Also, rather like there would be perennial kibbitzers, some comments may aim just to be witty or sometimes even downright annoying. There were trolls long before the internet was a thing! 

In this context, starting a blog is really just introducing yourself and beginning a conversation with a new group of players at a club you have just joined. 

So here I am joining the club and I hope in time offering something positive, whether it is by way of observation or by posing an appropriate question. I do hope you join me in the conversation.