Some Random Thoughts on Chess

I don't have any games to post at this time. I still have two correspondence chess games going at ICC, but otherwise I haven't been playing lately. Other things have taken higher priority. I got to thinking about the chess goals that I posted back in December or January and I realize that I am not making much progress toward them. My recent losses have pulled my correspondence chess rating down, so I need to win both of my remaining games just to make up the points. I haven't played any games at Stan's Net Chess so I'm not making any progress toward getting a 2200 rating there. I would probably need to win 6 or 7 games in a row without any losses in order to reach 2200 points. I'm not sure that I can do that the way that I have been playing lately. I tend to move too quickly, even in correspondence chess games. As a result I tend to blunder. Almost every single game that I have lost was due to my missing something that I should have seen. On occasion, I lose because my opponent played a brilliant move. Most of the time, I just blunder away a piece or too many pawns.

I haven't been playing any OTB chess lately because I can't afford to. There are no chess clubs in my county that I know of and all of the tournaments are an hour away by car. I have to drive to either St. Petersburg or Orlando in order to play in an OTB tournament. That means gas at about $3 per gallon and the entry fees. Unfortunately, I just can't afford to play now. So, I play online because it is cheaper. However, I do miss the human contact that I get with OTB play. I also miss being part of a chess team like I was in high school.

Back in high school I was part of a team that dominated Hillsborough County and even the state of Florida. We won the state high school championship 6 years in a row if I am correct about this. We won the Region 4 (Southeastern) High School Championship 3 years in a row. We didn't fair so well at nationals, though. I miss going over my games with my teammates, especially when I won. I miss the fun things that we did between rounds at tournaments and the non chess things that we did together. Now, when I play I am on my own.