Yes, to all of you, I am Russian, musician and now live in US. I have many friends, and that's awesome. My English is improving, so I will try not to offend you with my grammar. My dad taught me chess, but I didn't play it since 6yo, that's when he passed. He introduced me to the spirit of the game, in following poem I think it expressed beautifully:

What a game. Complicated, intricate, demanding and consuming.

Sometimes it has been a challenge, an escape, a distraction mostly a passion. There is beauty in this game.

The coordination of pieces, their individual movement and power. The sometimes surgical precision of a Checkmate or the fierceness of a long drawn out battle to the very last piece.

The game being the door to many friendships, drawn to each other by the basic love of a complicated game. That invokes comraderie, companionship and respect for you learn just as much from your opponent as you do the game.

Chess grabs you by the throat , forces you to live by that most basic of principles "Thou shalt think" Always a measurement of skill and knowledge, but knowledge is never enough. A true lesson of life how to utilize knowledge and skill............. poem by Elizabeth L. Scott Casper

zetamarina