Eric Sevillano, 2008 U.S. Open Champion

Because of my long hiatus from chess, a period of non-chess and I-couldn't-care-less, the latest issues of Chess Life magazine ended up in a pile of paper recyclables as soon as they arrived in my mail box. I tell you, when you're out of chess, the game and all its accompanying events, seem utterly boring. I'd rather cut my dog's nails than study a featured game. This ebb and flow, in and out of chess has plagued me most of my life, and that's most likely the reason why I have never achieved a master rating. It's like a farmer sowing the seeds, but doesn't stay to water and nurse the saplings.

However, this month's issue made me stop and look. My old friend Enrico Sevillano is on the cover. Lord, it must have been five years since I last saw him, maybe longer. I remember him from way back when he was in his late thirties ( Eric is 40 now, according to the article ) as a man of all-chess, living and breathing chess, and only mildly worried about where his next meal will come from or where he will lay his head overnight. If you're looking for a man who is a true chess devotee, here he is. It was reported that Eric has married, and that makes me happy. I hope that he is happy and contented in his life and he must be. He is quoted as saying that his wife tolerates his chess. For all his supreme talent, Eric has earned only one GM norm but he wins tournaments, or does very well in them, all the time. I can only surmise that he has been playing in the wrong tournaments, GM norm-wise. Anyway, Eric, I wish you all the best and I look forward to meeting you again.