The Good news

I did manage to win my last round at the club against a 1780 player trying to make a comeback after a 20 year exile from the game. This gave me a chance to end with a plus score to my rating.

I used an old friend ( The London) as I began the game doing some social engineering. " So, ( looking at my scoresheet) Bob, You are new to the club?"



Bob: " Yes, I'm coming back after 20 years of not playing in serious events." Me: " Ha Ha. SO the wife now lets you out of the house." Nervous chuckle on both our parts.



Then, in my head, the thought process began. 20 years since serious play must mean he stopped playing after Fisher left the scene and Kasparov was dominating the World. Further meaning, he probably started playing during the Fisher-mania... which meant he was probably a Sicilian player if I snapped 1.e4. I was tempted to go down a Smith-morra but then I said to myself, Hmmm, I'll be he never saw the London. Here's a chance to go "old school" on his rusty behind.



I won't shame him with the post of the game here ( If you really want to see it...ask me and I may post it in the comments). For starters, I deployed my pieces faster than my opponent. Then bob was busier than a super model at a Viagra conference. I was tactically removing the guard like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claiming he got rid of homosexuals in Iran.



But enough of that. I am taking things slow as family life takes a priority. Back in August I signed up to participate in a correspondence chess league team from our club. It's a pretty manageable pace with time limits like 30 days to make 10 moves. I get a notice on email along with a link to the game. I can view it... ponder it, then move and submit... followed by commit. Yes, a three step process.



Once a week at the club, a correspondence game and watching the Boston Blitz is about all I am signing up to do. I will blitz on ICC for some R&R. I am not doing too much in the studying realm as my time really is to my first priorities.