Happy Belated Chess Anniversary to me

Mid-November 2007.   The month I decided to take up chess as my official hobby.  Music was overtaking my life and I needed something to divert my attention.  Having dabbled briefly with chess in the mid-nineties I thought to myself, "Man I really liked that game.  I regretted giving it up.  That will be my hobby."

Fateful words.  Little did I know what a hobby it would be.

I even remember buying a new electronic chess set (I did not know that Fritz and his brethren even existed!)  I also re-purchased "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" and not knowing any better I also purchased Rowson's "Seven Deadly Chess Sins."  (EEEK!)  I also purchased a $19 magnetic travel set to use for books.  (That travel set is still with me and may be, pound for pound, the best and most economical chess expense I have ever made!)

Then I found ICC, Chess blogging, Shredder Chess Software, and BDK's Now Classic Chess Book Review Videos.

And away I went!!

In many ways I miss those pulse pounding exciting days where each new book, or blog, or player or software etc. etc. felt like a brand new discovery that would unlock my inner chess genius! I really do miss that mad rush of new found love.  (because let's face it, that is what it was at the time!)

That was half the fun.  There was (and is) SO much information on the game.

I started a blog and then shut it down for reasons I can not recollect.  Then, a few months later, I opened this blog.

I remember my first OTB tournament...and if there was any doubt I loved the game and was in it for the long haul, they were quickly dismissed after that first tournament.  I went to four tournaments that summer and my game showed mild rumblings of improvement.

Then I stalled for what seemed like a LONG time.  I could not make many OTB tournaments, got sucked into opening study (like we all do), could not settle on a tactics course and took an ODD but entertaining detour into computer chess as a side hobby to my hobby.

As my play stalled, I of course purchased more books I did not need!  My play did not un-stall.

At this point I was sure of three things:

1)  I really loved the game and wanted to get better.

2)  I LOVE games collections and playing through master games on a board

3)  I hate playing blitz chess.

So with these three revelations I started playing correspondence chess on Chess.com, delved further into computer chess and of course purchased more chess books.  Oddly enough those three things did not revitalize my game.

I realized that correspondence chess can be and often is, just as obsessive and compulsive as blitz chess.  So I got that under control.   Whew!

As a reward for curtailing my correspondence chess addiction I bought some more chess books and two new chess engines.  Yeah...the logic is lacking, I know!

My chess study meandered, as did my game, for at least another year and a half.  I moved, got a new teaching job (which I LOVE) so I blogged little and played randomly.

And then some things happened:

• I stopped needlessly buying chess books (for the most part..uhh, game collections don't count, do they?)
• learned how to effectively use a game database to find study positions
• read Silman's "The Amateur's Mind" (and practiced the thought process using the above mentioned study positions from the chess database)
• settled on a tactics course
• realized my endgame study was paying off
• stopped fussing over openings
• came to grips with the fact that OTB play is not going to be easy to make happen and rejoined ICC
• Realized my minor obsession with chess engines actually taught me how to use them really really well for post game analysis!
• Settled on a few engines as my go to analysis partners
• and made a pact with myself to play one G/60 a week at ICC

And lo and behold, I have actually shown improvement and have started to play some chess.


Since rejoining ICC my rating seems stable in the just over 1400 range.  My record at ICC since returning is 12 wins and 9 losses.

I have also played a few correspondence games, and a smattering of  G/20 and G/.30 at chess.com (my slow man's version of recreational blitz!!)

Since returning to ICC my overall record (not just ICC games) with the Black pieces is 7 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses with a performance rating of 1308. (stats by Scid vs PC)

My overall record with the White pieces during this time is 12 wins and 6 losses with a performance rating of 1471.  (stats again by Scid vs PC)


I love the game, am actually beginning to understand it, know that I will continue to improve but am (mostly) detached to the rate of that improvement, and STILL love those game collections.

In other words, it is four years later and I am still in!