friday general update and such
wednesday night drunknknight showed me how much i suck at chess as i lost to him in the first round of the soon to be world famous tournament of leppers. it’s no surprise that i lost, i just i just think i could have given a better fight, maybe waited until move 15 to really fuck things up.
so yesterday i had off and it was gray and snowy. what do you do with a day off? well, i would like to say that i spent an hour and a half on chess tactics server, then went over about 5 master’s games, picking them apart, seeing why they made the moves they made, and then played a slow game on ICC.
i’d like to say that, but what i really did was go snowboarding. i didn’t even get online yesterday. i went snowboarding, then came home and made chocolate meringue cups to hold raspberries and chocolate zabaglione (a custard made with hooch, it’s italian) and topped with strawberries. this was for valentines day, but really i just used the day as an excuse to make a decadent chocolate dessert.
last night i did go over some petrosian games. i like petrosian, you don’t hear too much about him (at least, i don’t). people never mention him as a great chess player but he had an interesting style. he just seemed to make simple direct basic moves, and then win.
today i have to work, then i don’t know what. i went over a petrosian game or two this morning, this evening i will study some more.
on an up note, i finally managed to hit 73% correct on CTS, so i got that. yippee.
it’s gray and shitty outside now. i think if i didn’t have to go to work, i’d stay home and study all day. that’s what i really want to do.
drunknknite said,
February 15, 2008 at 10:24 am
Snowboarding has gotten in the way of studying chess for me too, but it’s so worth it.
I like Petrosian a lot, his games are very instructive.
I’d study all day too if I wasn’t at work.
Liquid Egg Product said,
February 15, 2008 at 11:00 am
Kevin will be a tough match-up for everyone. Just have to play solid, and hope that he gets into one of those chess car accidents when you play him.
David K, Seattle said,
February 15, 2008 at 4:27 pm
nice post man. talk to you late this afternoon or tonight when you have a moment?
did you use the gamefile that i sent or some other source for Petrosian? that man is a wizard. tragic but great. he is the least known emotionally of all the world champs, i think. back then, you had to be super tough to get through the candidate matches, so whether you be Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Polugaevsky, Karpov, Kortchnoi, Portisch, or Kasparov, you were steeped in an ambiance of universality, had to be familar with a wide range of material, and capable of a universal style depending on cirumstance.
warmest, dk
BudMan said,
February 15, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Hey CL, are ya some kind of gourmet chef?
tanc (happyhippo) said,
February 15, 2008 at 7:03 pm
cl:
I have the most problems in understanding Petrosian’s games mainly because his moves are so deep in calculation and strategy and not enough books have been published wrt analysing Petrosian’s games nor providing satisfactory commentaries about them.
Petrosian is a most dangerous tactician and an endgame strategist. Suetin, Petrosian’s 2nd during the 60s, often remarked that Petrosian would usually prepare himself for his games by searching for head spinning combinations. His exchange sacrifices could not be fathomed by his opponents for many moves until it’s too late.
How I sometimes wish I could figure out the enormous complexities that goes on in the 9th World Champion’s brain. If I have 1% of his calculative prowess, I’d be happy.
Speaking of gray, it’s cloudy and miserable down here in Sydney as well. I’m nursing a very persistent cough and spending time at home resting. Would love to work on chess like you did but the missus won’t allow it. Bummer.
Polly said,
February 15, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Good for you! You’re entitled to having some outdoor fun. Fresh air and exercise is good for what ails us.
Blunderprone said,
February 16, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Now get back in there and train for Sturbirdge. Put cutouts of 10-12 year old brats in front of you while doing tactics. You’ll need it.
chessloser said,
February 18, 2008 at 8:08 am
drunknknight - i wish snowboarding would somehow help my chess…then i’d be super awesome…
liquid egg product - i think even with a chess car accident, he would still manage to win…
david - yes, i looked at the file, thanks. why was petrosian tragic?…
Budman - no, not a gourmet chef, i just love to cook. if i were a gourmet chef, all my stuff would actually taste good…
tanc - i love to see how petrosian played, it’s just so beautiful. i can’t believe its gray there. australia is the sunniest place i’ve ever seen. even when it rains it’s beautiful. i hope you feel better.
polly - coming from a triathalete, i’m not surprised you feel that way. thanks….
blunderprone - that’s a good idea, thanks for getting me back on track…
Ivan said,
February 18, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Is it too late to get into the Leppers Tourney
chessloser said,
February 20, 2008 at 8:42 am
ivan - i’m not sure, ask liquid egg product