[thechat] email chess

Morgan Kelsey morgan at morgankelsey.com
Fri Sep 12 20:27:26 CDT 2003


> > i learned ALOT from those lessons....
>
> I think its important to have somebody to play with to tell you why you
> got beat - otherwise its pointless.
>

ya know, we never really discussed though. he taught me the ruy lopez (well, he
called it the best way to start a game)

gramps was a canuck, lived in vancouver (west coast), so i saw him 1-2 times a
year (i'm on the east cost of the us)

what i remember most about playing him, was the concentration!
it didn't matter that he was playing me, we played like every match was for the
title.

he used to sit staring at the board, resting his chin in his hand.
he'd always have a cigarette going in the hand, though he rarely took a drag.
even more rarely, he flicked the ash.
his girlfriend was a VERY proper british lady, and she'd scurry over with the
ashtray when the ash got to be over an inch. she'd hold the ashtray under the
cigarette, and flick him in the head to get the ash to drop. he'd always say,
"oh!"

so yeah, uh, that's the extent of my chess schooling.
i've since inherited his chess library (small, but with some treasures).

but now that i'm older and wiser, i realize how valuable it was. he was teaching
more "how to be" when you're playing than anything else.

now, if only he had taught me some humility, heh.

> > dragged to the cape cod this weekend,
> > suffering with AOL access from hotel :o(
>
> Aahh - all day I thought you were scared...
>

i assume you typed that *before*
you let me fork your king and rook with my knight?
;p


nagrom

waiting to be challenged....
don't want you all to think i'm "preying" on ya'll






More information about the thechat mailing list