Blogging makes the world go around

My thoughts on chess and life...

twit11.gif

My Big Fat Chess Quiz Answers

Submitted by SonofPearl on Wed Nov 28, 2007 12:07pm.

Answers to my Big Fat Chess Quiz are below.  Too hard or too easy?  Let me know! The 5 original chess grandmasters were Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch and Marshall.FIDE is the world governing body for chess and it stands for Fede... Read more »

My Big Fat Chess Quiz

Submitted by SonofPearl on Sun Nov 25, 2007 7:06am.

I really enjoy quizzes so I thought I'd set a chess quiz for fellow Chess.com members.  I've tried not to make it too hard, but also tried to have enough tougher questions to sort out the serious chess fans from the dilettantes! &nb... Read more »

An unsung hero

Submitted by SonofPearl on Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:34am.

Following on from my solemn promise in my last blog post, I have decided to finish reading '50 Essential Chess Lessons" by Steve Giddins (see my brief review here).  I'm up to game 36 of the 50 and what a corker it turned out to ... Read more »

I've started so I'll finish

Submitted by SonofPearl on Sun Nov 18, 2007 1:03pm.

One of the failings of the way I study chess is my extremely bad habit of starting reading a chess book and never actually finishing it.   The list below is just a sample of the titles which grace the shelves of my bookcase, but which I have ... Read more »

The Art of Losing

Submitted by SonofPearl on Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:03am.

(With apologies to Josh Waitzkin) After many years of diligent study I have achieved mediocrity in a number of fields and recently had an epiphany when I realised that my skill lay not in any one area, but in that I was in fact a master of the Ar... Read more »

My best win at chess.com

Submitted by SonofPearl on Thu Nov 8, 2007 1:22pm.

After posting 2 blog entries about games I have lost, it's nice to be able to post about one that I won - and in quite nice fashion too, I think. I was pretty pumped up for this win (see picture of me after a recent workout ) because, after sp... Read more »

Overlooking the obvious

Submitted by SonofPearl on Sun Oct 28, 2007 1:46pm.

Another loss, another lesson.  Never forget the priority of check!  i.e. a check HAS to be dealt with immediately, so it is very powerful.  Forgetting this fact can be costly, and that cost me dearly in this game with my friend ches... Read more »

Does chess make you happy?

Submitted by SonofPearl on Mon Oct 22, 2007 2:29pm.

Does playing chess make you happy?  Perhaps the answer might not be as obvious as it first appears.  When we win, then of course we are happy; but when we lose we are quite the opposite.  Chess can be bruising to the ego and for mos... Read more »

My first loss at Chess.com

Submitted by SonofPearl on Tue Oct 16, 2007 2:34pm.

The title is not as impressive as it sounds once I admit that I've only actually completed 7 games here at Chess.com to date!   It's not that I don't like playing, but I've never been a very prolific player and I don't lik... Read more »

What sex is your brain?

Submitted by SonofPearl on Sun Oct 14, 2007 4:17am.

Being male is supposed to be an advantage when it comes to chess.  Or, more precisely, having a male brain.  Male brains are, on average, better at dealing with logical and spacial problems, whilst female brains are better at verbal skil... Read more »