AzeezA

The dark side of the moon where ghosts of aborted dreams coolly await their next conduit; the sharpest minds too can be found silently reclining over a game (or two trillion). True, they have their heads screwed on, but they see nothing but numbers; they smell only gunpowder; cold is all they feel. The screws are too tight. yet they cracked smiles when the last spark of mystery fizzled out; stepping outside of time, they understood its passage was purely smoke and mirrors. The idea of creation, a sequence of unfolding events, dissolved, the paradigm swirled 'to a painting, an unbroken rotation: opening, middle, end games.

http://www.essexchess.org.uk/index.php/activities/mm-tms1718/439-u1001718/1740-art-u1001718sur

Don't know why #columbo's stumped, this one's a doozy. What' the best move for white? #matein1 #alldayidreamaboutchess #peterfalk A post shared by Aziz Sannie (@patchworkchesspresso) on Oct 5, 2017 at 1:52am PDT

As any chess lover/ proselytizer should, I prefer and recommend that chess be played mano a mano, live in the flesh – rather than over the internet. But, in reality, a ready and willing opponent, can be hard to find. It's understandable therefore that nowadays most chess gets played on a glowing screen. Truth be told, I also play most of my chess on my phone, and were it not for the convenience and accessibility afforded by chess apps, the noble game would likely have stayed as only a feature of my childhood. Thankfully, chess apps breathed new life into my love affair with chess; allowing me to go toe to toe with opponents all over the globe without so much as having to leave the comfort of my toilet seat. And therein lies a sticky problem.  In the past, to play chess with a human being, you either had to be diligent in your arrangements. Otherwise, you simply had to go along with the schedule of your local club. Nowadays, however, anytime we get the itch, us...

Much ado about coffee If you've played chess more than a few times you'll know that your results are very much linked to your state of mind. My fellow chessheads, feel free to nod your head in agreement; if you feel good, optimistic, sharp, these feelings naturally play out on the board as you skillfully defend your king - whilst simultaneously applying pressure till your opponent cracks. But, when we feel negative, drained, scattered, then this is reflected in a lacklustre performance that can be worlds apart from the chess we know we're capable of. The Rza said something similar to this in his book, The Tao of the Wu ; it was the first time I'd come across someone articulate my experience and I remember thinking, ahhh, so I'm not alone... Now, this brings me to coffee - specifically its chief component, caffeine - as many can attest, a fresh brew is a reliable vehicle for delivering a tasty dose of motivation. Recently, there was a ...