last post before the tournment
a bunny is hopping through the woods and comes upon a bear who stops him and says “hey mr rabbit, mind if i ask you a question?” rabbit says “sure mr bear, what’s up?” bear asks “mr rabbit, when you poop, do you have problems with it sticking to your fur?” rabbit says “why, no, not at all mr bear.” bear says “that’s great!” and picks up the bunny and wipes his ass with him.
last night, playing the founder of the soon to be world famous tourmanet of leppers, mr liquid egg product himself, i was the rabbit. he just got off work and was tired, and i should have won, but i think the mascot was helping him. he spent lots of time on each move, as if the egg was looking up the position in fritz and telling him what moves to make. i tried to throw him off with a tactic of playing really crappy illogical moves that weakened my position, or as i call it, “how i play chess,” but as usual, it didn’t work. it was a really fun game, it just turns out my kung fu, while very good, was no match for his drunken crane style, so to speak.
so tomorrow morning i wake up and drive drive drive to reno. i’m pumped, i’m excited.
you know that moment of energy at the first note of a concert? right before the band takes the stage, everyone is standing around, then the lights go out, you feel it building, the band walks on the stage, the tension is palpable, and when the first note is played everything erupts and you all surge forward and it’s crazy?
that moment right there, that is how i feel.
i am going to throw down some violent attacking decisive chess. my hope is that if i play violent attacking chess, my opponent will be too busy reacting to my moves and won’t be able to get his own plan going. i will keep him off balance until he falls. i’m planning on having a damn good time no matter what. it’s freakin reno, how can i not have a good time?
i’m hoping that for most of my games, i’m the bear, not the rabbit.
no computer or internet until i get back, i drive back monday, so there will be no posts until tuesday, when i’ll have the tournament report. seeing as sunday is easter and all, happy easter to everyone. i leave you with my two favorite internet easter bunny pics. click on the pictures and enjoy the easter feeling.
es_trick said,
March 19, 2008 at 9:02 am
It’s good to feel pumped up for a tournament. Hope you can keep some of that feeling throughout.
In case you look at your blog one more time before heading out, here a a few more thoughts on taking your time.
My last round game at Sturbridge lasted about 4 hours. I nearly blew an easily won end game because I started moving too fast as soon as I thought it was “a routine win.” Once I realized that my opponent could still escape with a draw, the way things were going, I slowed down again. The two guys I was car pooling with had to wait more than an hour for me as I struggled to squeeze that last half point out of the game.
On the way out I apologized for taking so long. My friend, who’s a Class A player (and who had apparently taken a relatively quick draw in round 5) said
“Winning takes time.”
If I didn’t care about that game (I already knew that a win would not garner me any cash, as five players finished with 4 or 4-and-a-half points), or if I didn’t care about my rating, and had just wanted to get out of there and be on the road back to Vermont, it would have been easy to offer a draw.
But I kept remembering how much study and day-dream time I had invested over the past several months leading up to this tournament. I knew that that last half point would make the difference between my rating going up a bit, or staying flat. In the end, it was well worth it to keep battling on. So, while I fell short of snagging the big cash prize I had been fantasizing about, a rating gain of 20 points was still a powerful psychological reward.
Attacking chess is great. I tend to play that way myself. Tal is definitely my favorite player of all time. Nevertheless, do try to check and double check the soundness of your violent attacks before unleashing them. Unbridled wrecklessness will get you a lot of “L’s”
Do Not Lose to anyone rated below 1250. Anyone below that level is “a must win” game. Be prepared to grind it out, gut it out, wear the other guy down. Chess is not a series of 3 minute rounds (unless you could put the blow for blow in ultra slow motion). Be decisive when the situation calls for it. Determination and patience are also important.
I want to see you bring home some of the cash.
wang said,
March 19, 2008 at 10:57 am
This is what I like to hear man! Comitting to playing chessloser chess and having a good time. Good luck and godspeed and all of that. I speak for many when I say that I’m very much looking forward to yourreport of the weekend’s activities.
Wahrheit said,
March 19, 2008 at 10:58 am
Talk to you tomorrow!!!
Blunderprone said,
March 19, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Don’t forget your mouth guard!
d! said,
March 19, 2008 at 6:22 pm
great idea, BE THE AGGRESSOR ! clever …
reno and i dont mix. it always takes my money and makes run back to tahoe. kick ass and take names
chessloser said,
March 20, 2008 at 3:07 am
es_trick – great words of advice, seriously, thanks….
wang – thanks, wish you would be there, but someday i’ll make it back down to tucson…
wahrheit – sweet!…
blunderprone – i’ve got that and my cup packed and ready to go….
d! – reno might be taking some of my money as well, but i shall kick as much ass as possible…
Liquid Egg Product said,
March 21, 2008 at 10:04 am
Your accusations ring hollow. We didn’t even have Fritz, so we were stuck using Crafty.
Polly said,
March 22, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Poor bunny wabbitt
I hope your tournament is going better then that.
Brian Eibert said,
March 23, 2008 at 8:00 am
Good luck in Reno!
Liquid Egg Product said,
March 23, 2008 at 7:46 pm
“Poor bunny wabbitt?” Poor eggs!
Liquid Egg Product said,
March 23, 2008 at 9:02 pm
[...] Mr. loser also accused me of cheating, alleging the Mascot ran Fritz and fed the moves to me. This is a slap in the face; chessloser apparently thinks I’m too incompetent to cheat on my own. [...]
Chris Harrington said,
March 23, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Chess Loser you might have to change your name soon ….
es_trick said,
March 24, 2008 at 10:36 am
What’s This!?
Did CL play like a WINNER??
peteydaddy said,
March 24, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Dude, that is one scary ass bunny. That thing looks positively evil.
d! said,
March 24, 2008 at 7:15 pm
!!!