A Nice Day

My OTB USCF rating, lifetime, is hovering in the upper 1500's. I don't play regularly. I phase in and out, grow aspirations and give up. The moments that send me away need not be described, but I'm sure many of us have experienced them....inexplicable decisions we have made over the board, and especially the mental paralysis under pressure. 

The game above was played in a very relaxed situation, on my sofa, when I was feeling very good in a High Times kinda way. I had no distractions, and little thought outside what was happening in the game. When a move played by Black felt wrong, I attended to the position until I felt like I had made the best decision I could. I got into a zone of feeling my way through the game...by feeling which decisions were important, and which were automatic. I had a clear plan, and my opponent helped me achieve it. I know there's nothing special about the game, but the experience of the game, for me, was a very happy moment. I experienced a joy not just at victory, but at having played well. 

My observation is that this experience has no less value than all the titles and trophies that might be collected. A moment of being fully engaged in expressing the best of ourselves, and remaining in that moment through an entire adventure, is the best we can hope for in the human condition.