After reading WGM Natalia_Pogonina's excellent article on "Chess and Physical Wellbeing", I felt that I should update my blog (Especially since I haven't posted anything in many months). I took a bit of hiatus from chess, perhaps three months wit...
Some of you may have read my plan for chess improvement and I think it was a good plan.... However, It was a bit naive and in need of revision. After reviewing my games, both the wins and the losses, I have determined that the root of most of my...
For those of you who have never been to Denton TX there is an opera house just off the square. Opera, however, is no longer the building's attraction. The upper floors and galleries have been converted to apartments and cordoned off from the re...
What in chess motivates us, what makes us want to play more, what makes us proud? For me, each game of chess is a chance to create. Sometimes, what I create is a Monet or a Da Vinci and sometimes it looks like the work of a two year old with a f...
I played my first game today selecting two candidate moves for each move and carrying the variations two moves deep. The game was a resounding win, and against an opponent with a rating nearly 100 points above mine. This was a lot more effort th...
I played a game with my roommate that makes me think I have played too much chess online and not enough on a real board since it took me quite a while (at least 7 moves) to begin to visualize the way the board would work with 3-dimensional play. ...
I finished the book by David Shenk named the Immortal Game today. It was recommended to me by another chess.com member. It proved to be a fascinating exposition on the basic history of chess, with an annotated and fascinating tactical game. I i...
Do my daily tactics trainer (all 25) and the daily puzzle... Continue to play at least 3 hours a day until the fall semester.... Consistently challenge players stronger than myself (as determined by rating)... Finish reading the chess books I h...
I find it strange that in the midst of personal chaos and turmoil I still find time daily to play chess. It is unlikely to solve my problems, fund my college, or get work done and yet it helps to play.... lost in the contemplation of the postions...
