I logged into my PlayChess.com account because I heard that one of the matches at the Corus tournament was going on and I wanted to take a look. And who should log in but Nigel Short, a grandmaster that I have actually heard of! I was very pleased to read his comments and watch the game, even though he said that the Radjabov, T - Topalov match was a decided draw even before it started.
Of course I have no opinion on this, as I am a new comer to all of this GM stuff, and this is the first GM game that I have had the pleasure of watching live with commentary. I did enjoy the lively discussion, although I did not take part. I think I'm intimidated by the high rankings that I see on the server.
On another note, the Idiots Guide to Chess, is a good book so far. I have made it through the first three chapters in the first section and there were no surprises. This gives me confidence that I have a good understanding of the rules and the way that the pieces move, including en passant, which is a relatively new discovery for me.
L8R
Raths
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Chess order is on the way!
My future grandmasters!
What a long night at work! After being sick with the flu for a couple of days, its hard to get back into the swing of things. And I found out that we are working 6 hours on Sunday! Oh well, the check will be worth it.
Got my email confirming that my latest chess purchase is on the way. I can't decide if I'm more excited about getting some good books or the Fritz 10. And if the excitement is for the Fritz, is it the program itself or the code for the one year subscription to the PlayChess site. I know that I'm looking forward to getting into the Fritz teaching mode. I think this will help me out a lot.
Speaking of learning, the Mrs is picking up The Complete Idiots Guide to Chess from the library as I type. It is very well recommended as a first book and getting it from the library should tide me over till my order arrives.
PlayChess has gotten a bit tougher, as I have lost 3 or 4 games in a row now, but I think that was due to the fact that I was "under the weather". And it has brought my rating down to the more realistic 1100 range, which is probably still inflated, but where I like to think that I am. I'm also sporting an 1161 on GameKnot, my best in a while.
L8R
Raths
Thursday, January 25, 2007
First timer...thanks for looking!
Well this is my first attempt at a blog. As you can probably tell, its main focus will be on my continuing education in the wonderful game of chess, although it will probably end up being a catch all for what ever I feel like posting up at the moment. I have to admit I have a lot of varied interest and sometimes I just need to get some thoughts down. What better place to try and organize myself!
I think I'll start with telling a little about myself. My real name is Steve S., aged 38, and I live in a mid sized community in the middle of Nebraska. Not a lot interesting goes on out here in the boonies, although we try to think of our little town as a very modern community. I changed jobs in the last year and am now a full fledged factory grunt. But the benefits and paycheck make it almost worth it. I live with my soul-mate Lisa and our 4 children, ages 17 all the way down to 3. I also have a granddaughter of 9 months who is in the house with us and is an interesting and unexpected addition to the family. We also share the house with Brutus, a 10 month old black lab. More on him in a later post.
I have played chess off and on since I was around 10 years old when the neighbor kid taught me to play. I always considered myself to be pretty good, but then the internet came along. That's when I realized what a patzer I was! But that was fine with me because chess was more of a distraction and something I didn't take very seriously. Well, about a year and a half ago I went through some life changing experiences (too much dirty laundry to put up on the net) and I found a need to get my mind going in a more constructive direction. I dabbled in guitar lessons and found some success, but due to the size of my family and the size of the house I never really had the quiet time (or ambition) to practice properly. Also its harder than you may think to find people to play with around here. That's when chess crept back into my life. I was able to find a local chess club here in town to get some OTB chess in and started to play more on the FICS. I was getting killed! I felt I had to do something. So I started to do some research on the net and found it to be full of patzers like me who were looking to improve their game.
So that leaves me where I'm at today. Struggling to improve and learn all I can. And balance family, job, house and everything else at the same time. I just ordered some books and Fritz 10, which I will be posting about later after I get them and go through them a bit.
Thanks for checking out my blog and check back often. Something tells me I have a lot to say!
L8R
Raths
I think I'll start with telling a little about myself. My real name is Steve S., aged 38, and I live in a mid sized community in the middle of Nebraska. Not a lot interesting goes on out here in the boonies, although we try to think of our little town as a very modern community. I changed jobs in the last year and am now a full fledged factory grunt. But the benefits and paycheck make it almost worth it. I live with my soul-mate Lisa and our 4 children, ages 17 all the way down to 3. I also have a granddaughter of 9 months who is in the house with us and is an interesting and unexpected addition to the family. We also share the house with Brutus, a 10 month old black lab. More on him in a later post.
I have played chess off and on since I was around 10 years old when the neighbor kid taught me to play. I always considered myself to be pretty good, but then the internet came along. That's when I realized what a patzer I was! But that was fine with me because chess was more of a distraction and something I didn't take very seriously. Well, about a year and a half ago I went through some life changing experiences (too much dirty laundry to put up on the net) and I found a need to get my mind going in a more constructive direction. I dabbled in guitar lessons and found some success, but due to the size of my family and the size of the house I never really had the quiet time (or ambition) to practice properly. Also its harder than you may think to find people to play with around here. That's when chess crept back into my life. I was able to find a local chess club here in town to get some OTB chess in and started to play more on the FICS. I was getting killed! I felt I had to do something. So I started to do some research on the net and found it to be full of patzers like me who were looking to improve their game.
So that leaves me where I'm at today. Struggling to improve and learn all I can. And balance family, job, house and everything else at the same time. I just ordered some books and Fritz 10, which I will be posting about later after I get them and go through them a bit.
Thanks for checking out my blog and check back often. Something tells me I have a lot to say!
L8R
Raths
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