Spreading the wealth

     I have recently moved to Charleston, SC with my beautiful wife and my aging yet eternally cute Rotweagle Jedd. After three years in Atlanta, I have become spoiled by the constant access to strong and enthusiastic chess players. Upon my arrival here I have come to realize that chess does not yet have a strong foothold in this beautiful city. Instead of sobbing over this unfortunate discovery, I have made a decision to look at this as an opportunity to be of service. I have put my name and number in the Charleston paper offering chess lessons on the cheap for those who would like to learn how to play, and for those who would like to learn to play better. 

     After a substantial amount of digging, I have discovered that there is only one chess club in this city and it plays only for a couple of hours every Thursday night. I think that we can do better than that! Do they not know that the only way to get better is to immerse themselves in this glorious game? Sure. It is true that I have become a shameless advocate for chess. I see no difference between chess and a fine art. Sure in the beginning it is overwhelming and hard to enjoy. But allow yourself a few mental calluses and you will have that first "ah-haaa!!" moment. You will have that first breakthrough. From that point on the more you play the better you get,  the better you get the more fun you'll have, and the more fun you have the more you'll play. Are we all beginning to see a pattern here. It is, for me, the best addiction that I have ever had and trust me I have had my fair share.

      Similar to the recovery network that helped me get sober, is the network of chess players. Although we are adversaries when we sit across the board from one another, we are still all traveling the same road to intellectual stimulation and enlightenment. In AA I had a sponsor, and my sponsor had a sponsor and his sponsor had a sponsor. Iron sharpens Iron, and one man sharpens another. We give away what we were given. I have a chess coach, he has a chess coach, etc. . . All I am saying, is that although I do not know everything, I do know enough to spread the wealth. I love you guys. Good luck in your journey of intellectual expansion.