hardcore pawnography

i got a cool idea for a horror movie, i will get M Night Shamalamadingdong or Wes Cravenicecream to direct it. it will be called “rest area” about a couple who are driving down the highway, perhaps to or from a chess tournament, and get off at a slighty sketchy yet sceninc looking rest area to go to the bathroom and then the car “breaks down” and they are stuck and a killer tries to kill them and it turns out while they were going to the bathroom the killer had messed with their car etc etc and it’s really scary. the tagline of the film could be “they stopped to poop, now they are dying to leave” or perhaps “they were just dying to poop” or something like that. i had another one but i forgot it.

you never hear about anyone surfing a river. what if you surfed down a river? you wouldn’t have to worry about getting a wave, the rapids would be pretty gnarly, but it might be fun. that should be the new thing this summer, river surfing.

so i’m gonna go to chicago for the chess tournament. i was thinking of showing up to the first round wearing a pinstripe suit and a fedora and carrying my chess set and clock in a violin case, all capone-style. on one hand i don’t feel ready, on the other hand, fuck it, i’m so ready to play, i just have to remember i’m playing under 1300, i am so (overestimating myself in my own mind of course) better than that, i should destroy them (lying to myself that i’m actually good, when i know i suck but my ego won’t let me admit it)

i’m going with a huge stack of stickers, i’m gonna give em out to everyone i see no matter what. it’s gonna be a huge chess party whether people want it to be or not. i’m gonna have a blast.  yeah, i’m excited.

it’s monday, i have pretty much the whole week off, so i’m gonna concentrate on chess this week.  i’m gonna study games, do tactics, try and really learn and see the influence of each piece on each square and why some squares are better for pieces than others.  all that chess stuff.  and i gotta get a pinstripe suit and a violin case.

i went and saw doomsday. i love “post apocalyptic” type movies, and this didn’t let me down. it had the totally original plot of having to send a team into a “no man’s land” to find a guy, get a cure, and get out alive.

there was a virus that got out of control in england, mostly up in scotland, so they walled off scotland and left everyone to die, scotland became this huge “no man’s land” contaminated area that no one could enter or leave.   then the virus showed up in london and they found survivors in scotland so they had to send a team into the city to get to the doctor and find a cure.   this was just the setup to the action to come.

one thing i learned, in the future it will always be rainy and dark, and all survivors left without government supervision will be muscular, fit punkrockers with mohawks who drive cars and motorcycles with skulls on them. i also learned a bently can drive THROUGH the middle of a bus, causing the bus to explode, yet the bently will have little to no damage and the paint job will remain shiny and scratch free. what an awesome movie. there is even a small surprise “twist” that i didn’t see coming, but i won’t mention it here in case someone wants to see that movie.

surprisingly, there was no chess.  apparently, in the year 2032, peopel will stil listen to adam ant and the pet shop boys, but there will be no chess.

i wanna see a post apocalyptic movie about chess.   a crazy virus spreads and mutates everyone, people die, chaos ensues, and a chess grandmaster takes over (susan polgar?) and leads people, and establishes a chess city (like elista?) that they all live in, and live by the rules of chess.  the “queen” of chess city rules with an iron fist, and someone from “the outside” has to get into the city to find some scientist, who works for the queen, because only he can make the cure.

the team is lead by a bad-ass special forces guy, and they have to take this super nerdy bad ass chessplayer in, and the bad ass chess player has to think all chessically to outwit the city guards and he has to play chess.

and in one scene, they have to fight angry mutated chessmoms who fling poisoned steel darts that are little bishops.

and they drive through a chesshall, where the mutants are playing chess, a the chess boards explode!!!

also there is a fight and they use exploding chessclocks.

yeah, i gotta get in touch with hollywood on this one.

anyone reading this, don’t get any mutating viruses, and have a great weekend.

i don’t want to stop the discussion going on in the comments of the last post, there is a ton of useful information in those comments.  y’all keep on discussing.

see, that is just one reason why chess blogging is so damn cool.  you learn so much from everyone’s varied experience and levels of knowledge.  i want to thank everyone for their input and advice and opinions.

so it’s friday, i decided to do a friday top 10 list, cause they are fun and light and seem like a great intro to the weekend.   also, i gotta go to work this morning, so i don’t’ have much time  for an actual real post.

so here goes:

the top 10 reasons why chess is better than sex:

1…..um….

ok, have a great weekend.

this post will have nothing to do with chess.  if you wanna read about chess, check out any of the blogs i link to, they are far better chessblogs than i’ll ever be….

chivalry and crap.  men open doors for women, let the women go first.  this is now accepted as gentlemanly,  but i question it’s true intent.

this came up back in the days of yore, right?  we didn’t just come up with this.  back then, you didn’t know what would be on the other side of that door.  it could have been a rabid bear, it could have been a room full of angry bees, or a trap, or someone who would kill you.  back then, when it was a more male dominated society, women were expendable.   so maybe they let women go first so they would clear the way of any bad things.

see, that is why i go first through a door.  i want to meet whatever is on the other side first, clear the room and make it safe for my lady.   now to me, THAT is chivalry.

another thing on my mind is how i as a nobody can go up to a grandmaster and talk freely with him, albeit in a limited fashion.  thing is, in other sports or whatever, you can’t just go up to a pro and start talking.  i doubt some kid can go up to a pro nfl guy or whatever and say “hey, can i do an interview with you?” and the guy would be “yeah, sure, go ahead.”   that is so cool, the accessibility of  grandmasters.  i know they are just guys and gals who play chess, but still, to me they are rock stars, and the fact i can talk to them freely amazes me.   which leads me to my other idea.

i go up to a GM and say “excuse me, you are GM such and such, can i get a picture”?  he will say yes, and i will give him my camera and ask him to take a picture of me.  i will use one of those old kodak insta cameras where the picture comes right out.  then i will have him sign it and i’ll keep it.  eventually, i will have all these cool pictures of me taken by all these chess Grand Masters.   how cool would that be?

finally, my wife had an interesting experience at the tournament and wanted to write about it, so i will close this weeks posts with an interesting anecdote that my wife wrote.

anyone reading this, have a great kick ass weekend, and chess it up….

The first game of the tournament started at noon on Friday.  I amused myself poking around the casino for about 45 minutes or so.  It isn’t really that big.  Then, I popped up to the mezzanine to see how chessloser’s game was going.  He seemed to have a lot of material, which I took to be a good sign.  All of the chess-moms were reading their books and a few players were up grabbing some coffee.  I was on the landing trying to make sense of the posted information when I was approached by an elderly gentleman with a distinct  accent.  It was 12:55  He wanted to know if the pairings had been posted yet.  I said that they had and that the first round had been going on for almost an hour already.  He seemed somewhat confused.  I assumed he was there to support someone.  But, no, he panicked because his cell phone had the wrong time.  He said he was an expert and asked if I could show him where he had to play.  We rushed into the tournament hall and found the pairings.  They were all of the way at the front of the hall by the masters.  We had to pass everyone and he was making a lot of noise.  I shushed him.  His opponent appeared to be sleeping while waiting to be credited with a win because the elderly gentleman had not shown.  The minute the gentleman saw where he needed to be, his entire demeanor changed.  He sneaked up to the table, assumed his position, made his opening move (he was white), and oh-so-quietly hit the clock.  He sat looking innocently at his snoozing opponent.  It was 12:59.  He had one minute to spare.

hey, what happened to
edwin, the artist formerly known as dutch defense?

i have a cool idea for a sandwich shop. i will serve the best, gourmet french dip sandwiches with the most kick ass crack laden addictive jus for dipping, (the term au jus means “with juice. jus is just the broth that you dip the stuff in) which i shall make using pork and duck, not just beef, and other special secret ingredients. and i shall call my awesome sandwich shoppe:

KING OF THE JUS

and my logo will have two baguettes in a cross type formation. of course there will be chess played there, and everyone will come by and eat my tasty sandwiches and play bad ass chess and it will be such a scene, all the gm’s will come by, and i can name sandwiches after them so people can come up and order a Morozevich, or a Shabalov.

so i was thinking…..if i play unprotected chess using chessboards of strangers i just met, what are the chances i could get training aids?

anyway, its not a new idea, i’m sure most people have already figured this out, but i finally realized how i could use the time i have standing around at work to study.

flash cards.

thanks 3rd grade for giving me the secret to learning. it worked on my times tables, it should work in chess. i’m gonna photocopy pages from the tactics book, cut out each puzzle, write the answer on the back, then laminate and BAM, i got a deck of flashcards that i can shuffle and go through whenever i have a moment. training, constant hardcore training.

this shit is gonna get embedded in my head like a cnn reporter on a special forces a-team in iraq. i’m gonna see tactics wherever i go. on the highway, i will see that if i take out this car, then the diagonal to that other car will be open and i will have a double attack on two different cars. perhaps i will look up at the sky at night, and while others see beautiful stars and feel insignificant compared to the whole universe (unless you are zaphod beeblebrox, but that’s another story) i will look at the constellation “orion” and think if his foot takes out the star on the left side of the belt, and the middle star retakes, then his other foot, Rigel, can take out the shoulder, Betelgeuse.

there is probably already some “tactics deck” out there with tactics flashcards, but its easier to just make my own (in my bizarro world the cutting and pasting and writing and laminating all is easier than just making a purchase).

it’s a beautiful day out, i think i shall get a mountain bike ride in before i return to the chessitorium and study some more.

monday morning, st patricks day, i am going to dye my chessboard green and play drunken chess in honor of the day.

i haven’t been online in two days, i haven’t played chess since the game with wahrheit, i’ve had my head stuck in books, going over tactics and grandmaster games.  i spent the entire sunday on the couch, playing through master games and watching tv.

i don’t’ know how i feel about the upcoming tournament.   i almost feel confident, then the doubt creeps in like a draft coming under the door, chilling me a little at first and building until i am all cold.  but then i think, “fuck it, i’m a bad ass chess playing fool, i can take on anyone and beat them, yeah!”   with a little false bravado i can sometimes trick myself into being confident.

thing is, reno is my waterloo, it’s where i took my first bit hit and things have gone downhill since then.  i am returning to face my demons, and buy wahrheit  a coffee.   and i’m excited about that.  i’m also planning on finishing in the top three in my section.

back when i fought, my friend joe enlightened me a bit.  he was warming up, shadowboxing, just like you see the professional mma fighters do.   i too was warming up, but more low key, which also meant less “seriously” or less “in the moment.”  i said i felt stupid warming up like the pros, i’m not a pro, who am i to act like one.   joe explained to me, they don’t warm up  like that because they are pros, the are pros, and that is just how they warm up, because that is how you should warm up.  no one looks at them and says “who do they think they are?”  if you are gonna be serious, you act like it.   if you are gonna be a pro, you act like it.  your actions help shape you, if you act a certain way, you become that.

kinda the same with chess.  if i act like i am going to win, and of course back that up with good solid chess, then i will win.  if i act like i am in control of the board, then i will be in control of the board.  its part of my visualization.

again with the fighting and pro sports.  the pros visualize their victories, they  see themselves crossing the finish line first, beating the other guy, getting the trophy.  i have to convince myself i am going to play strong moves, i am going to win the games, and i am going to win the tournament.  then, even if i fall a bit short, i will at least have done better than i might have done without it all.

so i’m excited, we drive out thursday.  for today i will go to the gym, go to work, and study.  perhaps i shall even get a blitz game or two in.

i swear if i could just get mcain, obama, or clinton to hold up a HARDCORE PAWNOGRAPHY sticker, the chess scene would totally explode.

i also think if i could get paris hilton, lindsay lohan, emeril legassi, flavor flav, amy winehouse, metallica, or some other pop icon to hold up a HARDCORE PAWNOGRPAHY sticker, the chess scene would explode.

thing is, all it would take would be one damn celebrity to say they like chess, then other celebrities would jump on that bandwagon, then there would be celebrity chess matches on espn, much like the celebrity poker shows, and people would get into it, recognize it as a badass “sport” or game or pastime, and it would more prevalent.

its not like it hasn’t been in pop culture. a whole episode of malcom in the middle was about a chessplayer in the park (played by jason alexander, george on sienfeld). it’s referenced in songs and seen on tv, yet it seems to be on the fringe, and goes by unnoticed.

but if just one freakin celebrity would mention chess, just one, i swear it would generate interest, which would lead to more “chess sales” and more people playing, and who knows how many bobby fischers or paul morphys are out there now not realizing their talent.

chess would be on tv, covered on espn, talked about in the newspapers.  GMs would be on the cover of rolling stone magazine.  how cool would that be?  in schools, cheerleaders and hot chicks would leave their football player boyfriends and go after the chess team, colleges would give chess scholarships, it would all be awesome.

i still maintain, chess is punk rock, chess is cooler than cool, it’s ice cold, it’s the perfect blend of art and science and philosophy, and it can reach a new level if only given the right catalyst….

last night was pizza and beer night, followed by a round in the tournament of leppers. i love pizza and beer night, we ride our bikes to the local pizza joint for tasty pizza and i drink til i’m fuzzy. i love riding my fixed gear home buzzed/drunk.

my tummy filled with garlic, onion, artichoke heart and white sauce pizza and new belgium beer, i went against l3rucewayne. it was truly the joker against batman, and this time, somehow, the joker actually won. i think l3rucewayne was being kind, or heavily distracted, but i managed a win. maybe it was cause i was chatting the whole time, especially when it was his move. it was a pretty tactical game, maybe it was the beer and music, but my moves flowed. anyway, here is the game:

[Date "2008.03.07"]
[White "mandalorian"]
[Black "TheDarkKnightTwo"]
[Result "*"]
[WhiteElo "1437"]
[BlackElo "1644"]
[TimeControl "0+0"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. d5 Nf6 5. Bxc4 Nxe4
6. Qf3 Nf6 7. Bg5 Bg4 8. Qb3 b6 9. d6 Qd7 10. Nc3 Bxd6
11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. f3 Be6 13. O-O-O Nc6 14. Nd5 Nd4 15. Rxd4 exd4
16. Nxf6+ Ke7 17. Nxd7 Kxd7 18. Ne2 c5 19. Qb5+ Kc7 20. Bd3 Rhg8
21. Be4 Bd7 22. Qa6 Bc8 23. Qd3 Rb8 24. Kb1 Rxg2 25. Rc1 Be5
26. f4 Bg7 27. Bxg2 Bb7 28. Bh3 Re8 29. Nxd4 Be4 30. Nb5+ Kb7
31. Nd6+ Kc7 32. Nxe4 Rd8 33. Qg3 Bh8 34. f5+ Kb7 35. Nd6+

one thing i love about playing chess on the internet is i have another browser open to youtube, and i listen to cool music while i play. last night i was listening to “common people,” both the original version by pulp and the shatner version, which really rocks. then i listened to “bump” by rehab and then the game was over.

i’m taking advice and carrying around reinfeld’s 1001 winning chess sacrifices and combos and looking at it every chance i get, along with ray cheng’s book. i’m not playing blitz (well, except i did play a quick game last night before the game with l3rucewayne).

i actually think i’m learning this game, i actually think i might have a chance at getting to 2000. at least for today it feels that way. it’s friday, i have to work, and i’m walking on sunshine.

one last thing….mr parx brought this to my attention in the comments, so i’ll post it here for all to see

chess clininc in savannah, ga

i wish a spectacular weekend to anyone reading this.

just signed up for the Far Out West Chess Brawl in reno, march 21-23. i’m excited. i think i’m playing in the d section.

the entry form didn’t have an e section, it had d and unrated. and that is ok. last time i played in the d section and lost all but one game, and i felt horrible. my current rating right now is the lowest yet, even though i won 3 games, and i beat someone rated higher than me, i still managed to go down in rating points, which i don’t understand.

but i had a small epiphany there at the tourny in sturbridge, i was thinking about it all and it struck me. fuck ratings, learn chess. if i play in the d section at every tournament, regardless of my crappy ratings, i will eventually learn to get better and start winning. and that’s what i want.

also, i honestly think i’m learning. now, when i read a book or go over a game, it feels like the information is sticking. i have enough experience, limited as it is, and familiarity with positions, that i understand the moves now, why things are good or not, underlying potentials, etc. i think i’m actually getting it, and i think i can play good solid chess.

there are two schools of thought. 1) play in your section until you get good enough, learn, you can’t run until you walk. 2) play up, it forces you to play better and you learn.

well, my feelings on playing in the lower section is, when i do play in the lower section, i play worse and my bad moves are not punished, so they get somehow reinforced. i get away with shit and i think “this works, i’ll use it.” it’s almost a different kind of chess. it’s the difference between a boxing match with pads and protection and a back alley brawl.

so i’m gonna go back to reno, and again i’m gonna play in the d section. but this time, i’m going to play better, and if/when i lose, i won’t let it get to me as much. that is part of it, and i know that. my ego will have to deal with it.

another epiphany i had in sturbridge is the fun factor. i had a blast, i had fun, and my losses didn’t affect me as much. everyone has their reason for doing what they do. i’m not in chess for the money, i’m not going to be a gm. i’m in it to play the game and learn the game and have fun, and to meet new people, see places, etc. i’m in it for the whole experience.

soapstone questioned himself about if “just having fun playing chess” is a sour grapes answer to his lofty goals. i had lofty goals, and i still do, but i don’t think having fun and getting to 2000 are mutually exclusive. i don’t’ think you have to sacrifice one for the other. it might take longer, it might be a harder road, it might be setting myself up for failure, but if at the end of the day i don’t make my goal, i still have the fun and experiences, and to me, the people i meet, the cool fun i have, means way more to me than a number to say how good at chess i am. fuck, i can be rated 800 and as long as i pay the entry fee, i can play in the A section. cool thing is, you would take everyone by surprise when you won.

i have lots more on my mind and such, but i gotta get going to work. then i gotta come home and study tactics tactics tactics, and i want to look at shirov’s games. that will be my focus this week.

my bags are packed and i’m ready to go….

last night i was a full piece up on tom right before he whittled me down to my resignation.  i am a master at losing while up on material.   good game tom.

so today i gotta go to work, then tomorrow, i wake up, drive to the airport, and fly to sturbridge, mass for the tournament.  i’m pretty damn excited.  i have my openings pretty much ready to go, i just hope i play good solid violent decisive chess.   i  hope if i’m a piece up, i win the damn game.

i won’t have a computer with me, so there will be no online, no checking emails, none of that.  i will have to wait until i get back to write and post my tournament report.  hopefully there will be cool pictures.

so this will be the last post until next week.  i’ll be back with a tournament report.  until then,

chess it up!!!!

it’s a beautiful sunny day, it’s actually kind of warm, i should be out side riding my bicycle. in fact, after this, when i am done charging my mp3 player, i’m gonna air up the tires and go for a ride.

tonight i have the tournament of leppers game, tomorrow i have to work, and then thursday i’m flying to taxachusettes for a non-stop cavalcade of chess fun and excitement.

Howard Goldowsky left a great comment on my last post.   i need to have one mindset and know how to get into it and that is the mindset i should be in when i go to and play in tournaments.   he is right, i am building this hype up and then it bites me in the ass like an angry rottweiler and becomes this downward spiral of suck.  i need to have my “happy place” of concentration and chess zennery that i can go into when i need to, kinda like josh waitzkin said in his book about how awesome he is.

so today, as i ride my bike (road riding today, the trails are still a bit muddy) i will clear my mind and establish a mind state for chess.  i will think about these and other things.

then i will come home, cook a dinner, and get my ass kicked by tom on FICS, rather quickly most likely, as he has a basketball game to watch.

i’m excited.  i’m happy.  i’m thankful for everyone i’ve “met” in the chessworld thanks to my crappy blog.

ok, off to do stuff.

hi, welcome to another installment of HARDCORE PAWNOGRAPHY.

usually, HARDCORE PAWNOGRAPHY reflects the attitude of playing chess with one hand, while drinking beer and giving the finger with the other, as a scantily clad hot chick sits on your lap nibbling your ear and writing your moves down for you, and your opponent just sits there, losing.

but today, i am going to slow it down a bit.   because i am going to take the advice i so often give others when they feel a bit overwhelmed.

sometimes, you have to take a big swim in lake you.

and today, that’s what i’m gonna do, i’m gonna explore some of my feelings.

i have a tournament coming up in 9 days.  frankly, i’m a bit nervous.  i think back to my first tournament, i was nervous, but i knew i didn’t know anything, i didn’t have too great an expectation.   and i did quite well, i think.  my second tournament i had confidence, and i did quite well, and my third i had lots of confidence, and i was chess equivalent of the exxon-valdez.   so now, although i’ve been studying really hard and supposedly learning, i almost feel like i know less.  i feel like i should play a whole lot better, and i’m worried a bit that i won’t.   i don’t now if this is normal or what, but i don’t know why i feel this way.  i guess it’s a brief lack of confidence.

then, as always, i wonder…why am i so emotionally wrapped up in this?  it’s a damn game.  last night i sat on my couch and tried to numb my brain with the televised novacaine provided 24 hours a day on 600 different channels.  but all i could think about was chess, and it wasn’t a happy, warm, “puppy-dog-licking-the-icecream-of-life” type of feeling.  it was more a “workin-on-the-chain-gang” kinda thing.   i have somehow put undue pressure on myself to do well.  and it worries me that i can’t.

then i played a few games on ICC.  i win maybe one game out of every 5.  weird thing is, i lose to a 1033 and beat a 1753.  how the fuck does that happen?   why can’t i consistently beat people rated such and such?  of course, there were games against a 1200 where i was up a full piece, i bishop or a rook, and i managed to lose.  i am quite talented at that.

it’s like, sometimes my brain just says “fuck it, move this piece” and i know its not right, but i go ahead and do it anyway.  and this bothers me.

i spend roughly 60% of my day thinking about chess.  i can’t honestly say i feel comfortable and happy all the time with it, as if my subconscious knows something and won’t tell my conscious, so i have this sense of impending doom, but i don’t know why.  my spider sense tingles, but there is no danger readily apparent.

if anyone is still reading this, i’m sorry i just wasted your time.  i can’t seem to get my thoughts in order, i was hoping typing them out would help.

ok, now back to slamming pieces down hard each move  as if every move was an exclamation point.

i was listening to the radio and heard the song “t.n.t” by ac/dc.  i ‘ve listened to the song hundreds of times, sang along with it, love that song.  but yesterday, as i was singing along, the lyrics struck me.

i’m T.N.T,  I’m dynamite
T.N.T, And I’ll win that fight
T.N.T, I’m a power load   (?!?!?!?!?!?)
T.N.T Watch me explode

just what the hell is a power load?  is that even a real word? it makes no sense, it sounds like a giant robot orgasm.    all these years i’ve been hearing that song, singing that song, and only now do i look at it and realize i have no idea what power load even means.

i wonder if my chess is like that.  i make moves, and some of them might make sense, might not, but i make them cause that’s how i’ve played, and they look good and seem to go along with the game.  perhaps (not perhaps really, i know this is true) some of the moves i habitually make don’t make sense, which is why i lose so much.  i’m sure  i think “this move looks good right here” (much like power load rhymes with explode, so lets use it) and i make it, and while it doesn’t look horrible, if you really really look at it, it makes no sense.

all that said, i realized my chess had gotten stale.  i used to attack attack attack, and i had a good time.  then lately i’ve gotten more conservative, studying the positional players and trying to emulate them, i’ve been playing a more positional game, which just isn’t me.  i have no idea what moves to make.  i was reading some dvoretsky and he said something about moves should be aggressive and attack and do something.  so i decided to go back to my old attacking ways.   i like to attack down the kingside with the eventual pawn pushes of h4 and f3, g4, h5.   just to see what would happen, i’ve been playing (as white) 1 d4, 2 h4.   if nothing else, it throws the other guy off and he thinks about the move for a while.  i then continue with c4 and other regular queen pawn moves, but i already have h4 and i don’t seem to be down a tempo.

so far, at my crappy level, it is working.  so that is my new power load move.

cause i’m TNT, watch me explode…..

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.

holy crap. first Blue Devil Knight, now DG from Boylston Chess Club Blog.  DG is taking a prolonged hiatus to pursue other endeavors. he will surely be missed, and i wish him luck and good fortune on whatever he does.

i tried to rent the movie revolver and my local store didn’t have it.  makes me seriously think about netflix.  everyone i know who has netflix loves it, but i just don’t watch as many movies as i used to.  if netflix also had porn, i might seriously consider it.  i will keep looking for revolver, i’ll call around, someone has to have it.

last night i watched terminator: the sarah connor chronicles and it had a chess theme, the episode was called “queens gambit” (yay, 1d4) and was about a chess computer that might become skynet.   lots of action.  and who says chess isn’t exciting?  brings me back to my idea of a guy who has to save the universe by playing chess against the computers and all that.   also, if the movie and tv show are to be believed (and why wouldn’t you belive them?) doing pull ups is key to saving the planet.   last night, sarah connor was shown TWO TIMES doing pull ups, and of course the pull ups in the movie.  if you can’t do pull ups, there is no way in hell you are gonna save the planet.

i am going to install a pull up bar next to my chess desk, i can make a move, do some pull ups, make a move, do some pull ups.  by the end of a 30 minute game, i will be buffed and huge and hopefully better at chess as well.