Chess, Revisited

So I picked up Yasser Seirawan's book on Chess Tactics, and I just can't get into it. I'm trying to wrap my head around X-Rays and Windmills, but man, I'm just not getting it. Forks and Pins, sure, no problem. Discovered Attacks and Skewers, okay, sure, in theory. But X-Rays? I don't get it.

So I think I'm going to stick with Planetary tonight.  I'm 25/27 of the way to the end, so with a little luck, I may finish it tonight. Sure, it's not the first time I've read it. But it is the first time I've read it lately. And it is pretty satisfying to see Elijah Snow stick it to Randall Dowling. More of that later though, when I can do a proper review.

+++++

"And so it was that I studied with the world's greatest detective for five years, until he finally died of old age. To his disgust, I never got rid of the accent in his lifetime. It took another ten years of walking across the world to do that. But I never lost my love of the secrets. And I don't think I ever will."

Elijah Snow
Planetary by Warren Ellis

+++++

That's it for tonight. Now go read something already!
rr

Thunderblizzard 2011

Hello, fellow readers.

Thunderblizzard 2011 really set my blogging back. I'm still reading Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card and Warren Ellis' Planetary (regular Volume 4, or Absolute Volume 2, take your pick). I'm also still reading The Stand by Uncle Stevie - man I miss his Entertainment Weekly column - but haven't picked it up this month yet. Which is OK, since I'm ahead of my pace.

I meant to write something while I was snowbound, but chose to indulge in (the demon) television instead, watching episodes of Invasion (episode 9) and Battlestar Galactica ("Scar") instead. I was going to watch Sherlock from the BBC, but my copy of the dvd seems to be all screwey. I suppose I could have read one of Doyle's originals instead, but I was dozing and fell asleep early anyway.

Watch this space for new posts. I may write something as early as tonight. The worst case scenario is that I post something new this weekend.

Now go read something today already...

The Chessmaster

There is a common misbelief, a cliché if you will, that smart people play chess. Well, I'm not a dumb person, and I play chess...

Coincidence? I think not.

...poorly. In fact, I'm probably pretty bad. I've owned one or two chess programs for various platforms, and I try to learn, but I consistantly lose to opponents who are supposed to be significantly below my station. My brother beats me nearly every time we play, which is not often, and the times I have played online at Yahoo.com I'm usually pretty soundly beat by my opponent.  And before Quietly Disgruntled says, "yes, but you always beat me," I assure you it's a fluke. I'm pretty sure I don't even know how the pieces are actually supposed to move.

I have a few books about chess, most of them by Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan. They are pretty good. Well organized, easy to understand. I don't know if I just don't retain the information or what.

Well, I just received a new program and a new platform, so I'm going to try again. Maybe this time I will actually learn a thing or two. So I guess I leave you with this thought: do you play chess? And if so, have you ever tried to learn about the game, and put that knowledge to use? I look forward to what you have to say in the comments.

PS - Congratulations to my Trivia Team. We played at the Firefighter's Lake Club on Saturday, scoring 87 points (out of 100) and coming in 6th place (out of 37 or so)! Well, it was a disappointment not to win it all, but we gave it our best shot, and a good time was had by all. Go get 'em next time!

Quote of the Week

“Reality is merely an illusion, although a very persistent one.”

Relativity author Albert Einstein