hardcore pawnography

DAMN!  kurt vonnegut died.  even though everyone knows him for slaughterhouse 5, i think “Cats cradle” and “deadeye dick” were way better.   also, i liked “hocus pocus” even though most critics didn’t. he was a major influence on pop culture and literature. joe satriani had a song called “ice nine.” slaughterhouse 5 was a movie and is required reading in school.  but what really made him cool, i think, was his cameo in “back to school” with rodney dangerfield.  that one song, porduced by baz lehrmen, was falsley attributed to him, becase it was so cool, everyone thought he wrote it.  he was cool like the other side of the pillow.   R.I.P. kurt.   

 i couldn’t figure out why you couldn’t highlight and copy text, so i changed the template, and now you can.

second, what the fuck is “soft rock”?!?!?!?  music either ROCKS or it doesn’t.  you can’t have “soft” rock, that’s like having “cool” fire, or “dry” water. 

so, yesterday i didn’t go to the gym, i’ve been slacking and lazy and i almost didn’t go to chess club, but i went.  and last night at chess club, i did it, i beat the strongest guy there (that i knowof ) .  twice.  in a row.  first as black, then as white.  on the outside i was all calm and quiet and i shook his hand with a gentle smile and said “good game” but on the inside, i was standing on the table, finger in his face, loudly proclaiming ”mate, bitch!  YEAH!!!!!”  

to be honest, i didn’t so much “win”  as he “lost.”  both games he was up material, but on the first game, as white, he couldn’t get a strong mating attack going, and i managed to stay alive long enough to get my pieces aimed at his corner.  i opened his a and b files and mated with rooks.  the second game, when i was white, i had sacrificed my pieces like some crazy aztec high priest trying to appease the gods, i was down to a queen and a rook, he had a queen, a rook, and both horses. i did have more pawns, so if i made it to an endgame, i’d be in good shape.   i made a final sac of my rook, which he took with his horse, which i wanted.  the horse was guarding a square i needed, and he didn’t even know it.  that square let me skewer his king and take his queen.  all i had was a queen, he had both horses and a rook, and from there, it was a series of forks as i took out piece by piece, like a sniper.  in both games, especially the second game, it came down to tactics.  he made small tactical errors, i used tactics to wear him down and gain advantage.  i didn’t play strong, but whatever i did worked. 

it made my night, really.  he is rated in the 1700’s or so, and a very methodical, strong player.  last week i came close to beating him, last night, i beat him twice.  now, he was probably having an off day, i got lucky, and that is what happened, i understand that.  but beating him gives me a false sense of hope that makes me think i might have a chance in the upcoming tournament, and my goal of becoming a rated chess master might be attainable.   if nothing else, i have definately improved greatly over the last few weeks, and again, tactics have played a large part, i can see how important tactics really are. 

i’m excited about this evening, i am making a confit of pork, it’s in the oven as i type this, i put it in this morning at about 6:00 and by this evening, 8-12 hours later, it will be super tender and flavorful.  this has nothing to do with chess, but i love to eat, so there is that.