trysts wrote:
I talked to him, and it became the only reasonable conclusion I could come up with.
In which case I may have met a few extraterrestrials myself... Especially along Venice beach...
Siduri's kiss
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Pelikan_Player wrote:
Tell us what what's-her-name looks like. Do you actually see her or only feel her presence? How do you know she's a she if you don't see her? Maybe you're kissing some 300-pound guy with a hairy back
This is one contemporary interpretation of "what's-her-name"'s appearance, although there are many different versions... typically all of them include a very attractive female and wine, although it is possible there are some versions that represent her as a 300-pound guy with a hairy back :)
LisaV wrote:
That's right. He is a doctor. So....you run from Venice Beach to Santa Monica, then.
Actually the research venue is in Venice Beach, so I run from Santa Monica to Venice Beach...
TheGrobe wrote:
Yes. Humourous.
Not the slightest bit disturbing..., just humourous.
My heartfelt apologies if my scriblings have caused any unintended consternation...
trysts wrote:
If you get 12 members drinking and following you on a path to the soul of chess, then you're getting pretty close to washing each other's feet and having supper together.
Once you learn how to change water into wine, you can open a spirits store and make a fortune.
Very low overhead, in that case. 
1. Heat water
2. Add crushed grapes and yeast
3. Wait a month... drink...
A month? No.
1. Go to store.
2. Buy beer
3. Drink beer.
4. Play chess.
Ok, how about...
1. Run 6 miles on hot day
2. Rapidly drink three pints of beer
3. Play 30/0 live chess in anticipation of a kiss...
Clarification and warning regarding “Siduri’s kiss”…
First of all, I somewhat regret using the term “the soul of chess” in one of my original responses, although I very much like the poetry of the term, and felt at the time that it did indeed accurately capture my feelings in that moment; after more thought and reflection I feel it may have been a somewhat misleading term to use. It should be clarified that what I am seeking (“Siduri’s kiss”) is more of a chess-induced euphoria triggered by a profound (or perceived as profound) revelation during a specific key moment in a chess game. While the “soul of chess”, if such a thing exists, would probably not manifest itself as such a strong physical physiological reaction, would probably not be dependent on rapid alcohol consumption on an essentially empty stomach, mild-to-moderate dehydration, exercise-based fatigue, performance-based stress, and the host of other more subtle variables playing a role on that day and would probably only be perceivable by the highest rated grandmasters after a lifetime of study and analysis, not to a lowly 1400 player such as I. No, I suspect what I am actually looking for, despite my attempts to classify, glorify and gentrify it by associating it with my favorite Mesopotamian Goddess (Siduri), is actually far more basal than that, and closer to the induced euphoria drug users experience. And thus, the second part of this post, the warning. Since experiencing Siduri’s kiss I have thought of very little else, thinking, planning, dreaming of the moment when I will (hopefully) be able to experience it again. Forget about regular chess, I have not played a single game, as the rush of winning in a regular game of chess pales in comparison. But more than that, my work has suffered. I have an important research proposal that I really need to be working on… indeed, I should be working on it right now… but find myself distracted by the thought of her kiss at every turn, and drawn back to this forum of my chess-playing peers, both to try to explain how I feel and in the hope that I am not alone in this world and that others have experienced the same chess-induced euphoria before. The warning for those of you who haven’t, and wish to try and replicate my experience, I would say caveat emptor; I have only experienced Siduri’s kiss once, and I don’t know if the same conditions will work again, and even if they do, be careful what you wish for, the memory of her kiss may well haunt your mind, as she has mine, and you may find yourself dangerously close to a level of infatuation that borders on love…
Yes, I can see how my words may have been perceived in that way. It is certainly not my intention to frighten anyone! The reason I refer to it as "Siduri's kiss" is because: (1) I was already very fond of Siduri after reading the original Old Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, (2) I think the term "Siduri's kiss" holds a certain romantic, esoteric and poetic beauty, and (3) I can think of no better term to describe the euphoric revelation (wisdom) associated with consuming beer (alcohol) and playing chess (merry-making); Siduri is after all the original goddess of wisdom, alcohol and merry-making. Other terms that were suggested earlier in this thread, such as "Lightening strike", "Fugue", "Pauline conversion" and others, all seemed a lot less specific to inebriated chess-based euphoric revelations, at least to me, thus I am sticking with "Siduri's kiss". Others are of course free to pick and use their own terminology. I should clarify that my infatuation, which has led to my distraction from my work, is directly linked to me wishing to again experience "Siduri's kiss". Your confusion is warranted due to my, some might argue, over-usage of hyperbolic anthropomorphic descriptors. Regarding your categorizations, while I find usage of humor can, on occasion, increase my admittedly self-realized mirth and possibly, although I suspect rarely, contribute to the edification of others, I assure you, I am not "pulling your leg", and even if I was, I would not put myself in such impressive company. Regarding your second categorization, yes, I suspect we are all, in our own ways, candidates for some sort of therapy, and I would in no way exclude myself from this category; but I lack the motivation, time or money, to seek such a path, plus I am somewhat concerned that the psychiatrist might potentially try to dissuade me from seeking a second kiss from Siduri. That alone keeps me out of the psychiatrist's office and relying on you and your colleagues to keep me grounded in this mundane reality. Regarding your final proposed methodology towards chess-induced euphoria, and leaving aside, for one moment, the practical difficulties in persuading some random attractive female to kiss me, while I stare intently at my iPhone, at the exact moment I make a crucial chess-based discovery/realization, I strongly suspect my wife might wish to contribute her own thoughts on this approach...
[It's finally here! Will she come down from the heavens to again place her inspirational lips on mine... or will I dwell in darkness without her? Excited. Fearful. A bit tired... Woke up too early in all the excitement... Should really try to get another hour of sleep... No girl likes a guy with bags under his eyes...]
Some may call it "needy", others devotion... others infatuation... I call it love...
I'm not sure if "trolling" is the term I would use, mainly because I am not exactly sure what that entails... I hope this does not mean you are implying that I am being in any way disingenuous? That would, if it's the case, put a serious downer on this all important day... but in any case... I will bounce back and soon be off to Venice beach to see if I will experience her kiss again...
Love... perhaps I did overstep again with my terminology... but I ask you... if you are willing to get out of bed early on a weekend, indeed are unable to get back to sleep when the big day arrives, run several miles through the heat, embrace the pain and suffering of mild dehydration, and repeatedly defend her good name, honor and even existence... what would you call it? I call it love...
I pray she will visit me again... very shortly...
Fear. Apprehension. The moment of truth approaches...
* Update for all relevant chess.com threads - The Great Beer/Chess Experiment, Game 3 - Saturday June 15th 2013 *
Thanks to everyone who helped with this third game, including those who provided valuable advice on experimental assessment and consistency, discussion regarding the chess-inducing euphoric state (Siduri's kiss) as well as my more technically savvy colleagues who helped me get the somewhat weird chess.com PGN of the third game working in "Hal" (ChessPro). Unfortunately, the truly epic nature of the battle that occurred today between myself and brother Saeed (comprising of over 120 ply) has taken a very long time to analyze, think about and write up, and my wife has firmly "requested" that I now stop working on, what essentially amounts to, this PGN mini-novel, and spend some quality time with her... Torn between my commitment to bring you, my fine chess.com colleagues, the promised annotated game at the earliest possible time point, and my desire to be a reasonably decent husband, I have decided, probably wisely, to focus on the latter path and will have to postpone the completion and posting of this third epic chess game till tomorrow, at which point I will post it to the beginning of the main Beer/Chess experiment thread:
Have a good evening fellow chess lovers...
Ha, no, my wife rolls her eyes whenever I mention "what's her name"... I should have the fully annotated game up shortly... I think, or at least hope, it will answer your questions...
* Update for all relevant threads - The Great Beer/Chess Experiment, Game 3 *
Dear colleagues, as promised, I now submit for your scientific review, the fully annotated Game 3 of our Great Beer/Chess Experiment. The aforementioned game has now been posted to the beginning of the main experimental thread:
http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/chess-experiment-how-much-does-three-pints-of-beer-impact-your-chess-ability
I hope to add Game 4 to our data archive this coming weekend.
I talked to him, and it became the only reasonable conclusion I could come up with.