Christmas And Afterthoughts
Yes, folks it's that time of the year where everyone spends gobs of money buying presents for other people that no one really wants but are too polite to decline and where you have a tendency to max out your credit cards.
That's why this year, the missus and I decided to adopt the "low-profile" approach. Sure we got gifts and presents but on a much lesser scale. Saving up for a house can be stressful at times.
Being at the age of 35, time is definitely against me for ever being able to compete at Masters level. There's just far too many things like family and work that prevents one from investing fully in chess as anything more than a social activity - which is a bit of a downer for me, actually. That is because I've always believed in the idea that once you start something, at least do it to the best of your ability and do it to completion (although the amount of postponed housework to do is hardly a testament to that).
As I spend time here mulling about the implications of my rather brief chess career, my wife was nevertheless very supporting of me. She doesn't mind me going missing on some nights to play chess with the people at the club and that makes me all the more grateful and appreciative.
Sometimes, I wonder what I do without her.
Back on to chess stuff,... I was still poring through the results of the recent Russian championship held in Moscow. Thanks to my BIL (brother-in-law) for pointing me to this website http://www.chessgames.com. I can now trace through the moves of some of these super GMs' matches.
I have been taking a break analysing chess games the last 2 days. I took a bus while reading the Emms' book (Starting Out: The Sicilian) and fell asleep somewhere between the Dragon and Najdorf.... chess does tend to take a toll on your brain cells.
Interestingly enough, I stumbled onto another website http://www.chesscafe.com. The website is full of useful articles.
My local computer shop here is selling backdated copies of Deep Fritz 8 at $60 (approx. US$45). I might be tempted to get one but with my wallet taking a bit of strain, it looks like I need to hold out for a little while more.
That's why this year, the missus and I decided to adopt the "low-profile" approach. Sure we got gifts and presents but on a much lesser scale. Saving up for a house can be stressful at times.
Being at the age of 35, time is definitely against me for ever being able to compete at Masters level. There's just far too many things like family and work that prevents one from investing fully in chess as anything more than a social activity - which is a bit of a downer for me, actually. That is because I've always believed in the idea that once you start something, at least do it to the best of your ability and do it to completion (although the amount of postponed housework to do is hardly a testament to that).
As I spend time here mulling about the implications of my rather brief chess career, my wife was nevertheless very supporting of me. She doesn't mind me going missing on some nights to play chess with the people at the club and that makes me all the more grateful and appreciative.
Sometimes, I wonder what I do without her.
Back on to chess stuff,... I was still poring through the results of the recent Russian championship held in Moscow. Thanks to my BIL (brother-in-law) for pointing me to this website http://www.chessgames.com. I can now trace through the moves of some of these super GMs' matches.
I have been taking a break analysing chess games the last 2 days. I took a bus while reading the Emms' book (Starting Out: The Sicilian) and fell asleep somewhere between the Dragon and Najdorf.... chess does tend to take a toll on your brain cells.Interestingly enough, I stumbled onto another website http://www.chesscafe.com. The website is full of useful articles.
My local computer shop here is selling backdated copies of Deep Fritz 8 at $60 (approx. US$45). I might be tempted to get one but with my wallet taking a bit of strain, it looks like I need to hold out for a little while more.
posted by tanch @ 10:09 AM
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