Distracted but not Out : I have to admit, I haven't been posting as aggressively as before. Till a couple of weeks ago, I posted an average of twice a day and scoured the web for more news on chess like a tiger after a gazelle. Not that I have given up the game, but it is more like rubber necking an accident on the other side of the highway. My attention shifted to what I consider a more serious matter---Animal Welfare. I have other interests besides chess like cycling and aviation ( I am a licensed pilot ), but Animal Welfare is urgent, controversial, and every bit of fighting game like chess.
Only yesterday, on my other blog, I wrote about a vet in Ohio who believes that hanging pigs, using a steel chain and a forklift, does not constitute inhumane slaughter. It took an average of 10 minutes for pigs to die. Neither is it inhumane, according to him, to drag them and drop them from a ledge. This was his testimony as an expert witness in court in Ohio. On my home front of New Jersey, there is Congo, a 2 1/2 yr old German Shepherd who leaped into action after a landscaper tackled his master to the ground while his ( the landscaper's ) partner was hitting the other dogs ( Congo's pups ) with a rake. Believe it or not, Judge Russell Annich of Princeton declared Congo a viscious dog and sentenced him to death. Congo's case is under appeal in a higher court. These are just a couple of cases, not very gory ones, that have taken my attention from chess.
About chess, I am, at the present time, one round away from concluding a club championship. My performance has been dismal since I have not played a serious tournament game in a while. Out of four rounds, I have two loses, a bye, and a draw. Last night's game proved that I did not have the will to win nor the energy to give it a good think. Out of the G/90, I used up only 30 minutes for the entire game ( a draw ) while my opponent was down to his last 8 minutes. I gave the position a once-over, and made my move. It's amazing I didn't lose.
Oddly, when I went back to ICC and played a few games, I earned approximately 100 rating points in five games including a win over a player rated nearly 1900. At ICC, that's a good rating. These games are all 5-min blitz. It seems that my time away from chess actually helped my speed chess.
Here's an example of how one of my opponents painted himself into a corner:
The position above isn't particularly sinister, but with my opponent's help it became so. Black moved 21...Qf5, an aggressive-looking move that backfired. Play went on with 22. f3 Bc2 and black won a pawn. Nice? Well, then came 23. g4! and the bishop was lost.
Only yesterday, on my other blog, I wrote about a vet in Ohio who believes that hanging pigs, using a steel chain and a forklift, does not constitute inhumane slaughter. It took an average of 10 minutes for pigs to die. Neither is it inhumane, according to him, to drag them and drop them from a ledge. This was his testimony as an expert witness in court in Ohio. On my home front of New Jersey, there is Congo, a 2 1/2 yr old German Shepherd who leaped into action after a landscaper tackled his master to the ground while his ( the landscaper's ) partner was hitting the other dogs ( Congo's pups ) with a rake. Believe it or not, Judge Russell Annich of Princeton declared Congo a viscious dog and sentenced him to death. Congo's case is under appeal in a higher court. These are just a couple of cases, not very gory ones, that have taken my attention from chess.
About chess, I am, at the present time, one round away from concluding a club championship. My performance has been dismal since I have not played a serious tournament game in a while. Out of four rounds, I have two loses, a bye, and a draw. Last night's game proved that I did not have the will to win nor the energy to give it a good think. Out of the G/90, I used up only 30 minutes for the entire game ( a draw ) while my opponent was down to his last 8 minutes. I gave the position a once-over, and made my move. It's amazing I didn't lose.
Oddly, when I went back to ICC and played a few games, I earned approximately 100 rating points in five games including a win over a player rated nearly 1900. At ICC, that's a good rating. These games are all 5-min blitz. It seems that my time away from chess actually helped my speed chess.
Here's an example of how one of my opponents painted himself into a corner:
The position above isn't particularly sinister, but with my opponent's help it became so. Black moved 21...Qf5, an aggressive-looking move that backfired. Play went on with 22. f3 Bc2 and black won a pawn. Nice? Well, then came 23. g4! and the bishop was lost.
posted by Ted Teodoro at 11:05 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home