Rest

I am pretty much obsessed with chess.  I can do it anytime anywhere and rarely tire of looking into the classic game.  But as my wife says, "There's more to life than chess!"  And I heartily agree. 

I'm just back from a 7 day cruise in the Caribbean.  We saw Haiti, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.  Wonderful time and I did not look at chess for a moment during that trip. 

The beautiful truth is that our lives need to multidimensional.  And when it is it actually improves our chess game, too.  I always play noticably better after an extended break from chess.  While away I did read Karpov's book Karpov on Karpov.  It's wonderfully written and reveals so much of the psycological side of chess.  Yes, I did read a chess book but there was not one ounce of chess notation in it.  It was simply Karpov's life and how he saw the great opponent's he has faced (Korchnoi, Kasparov, and even a chapter on Fisccher whom he never played).

Now I'm back and I am ready to study and play anew.  Rest is important, absolutely necessary for one's best chess play.  As Karpov says, he could always tell when fatigue was getting the better of him because his desire to play and study would go down.  I've been there, it's like a foul mood that overshadows all my efforts.

In about two weeks I'll be playing in Reno's Far West Open.  Hope to see you there.

Brian Morris
Auburn CA