On Chess

Well, I started playing Chess when I was about 8 or 9 when I found an old Chess set at my Granny's place and my Uncle Bill showed me the moves. I think that I played one game and then fooled around with the pieces for a bit and then that was it. Somehow I became interested in the game again when I was about ten or eleven, I found a book in the school library which was, I believe, by Irving Chernev that had numerous games of chess in descriptive notation. I figured out the notation and started playing through the games. So I started playing more with Uncle Bill and with other kids. Most of the time I could beat the kids, but I didn't beat Bill for a few years, probably not until I was fourteen or so.

Of course what really got me hooked was the Spassky-Fischer match in 1972. I seem to recall that I initially hoped that Fischer would get a dose of humility in this match, but, as it progressed, I became a supporter of Fischer. After that match I was playing fairly regularly against Bill and  I even played in a simultaneous exhibition against a local Grand Master, Abe Yanofsky, which I lost.

Then there was an international Tournament at the University of Winnipeg in 1974, I think it was called the Pan-Am Championships. I attended this event and helped out by monitoring the demonstration boards. I also played in my first organized tournament. I'm not sure if I even won any games, perhaps one. That tournament took place in the summer so when I returned to school that year I played a lot more at school and I would usually win.

The next year I went to high school and joined the Chess club there and I was fairly successful in the weekly games. I also participated in the High School Chess Championship for a couple of rounds, but dropped out because I was having headaches. After that I lost interest in Chess for a few years, playing only sporadically and not very well.

I got the bug again in my third year of University, and I don't remember how it happened. I probably saw some people playing in a cafeteria and it got me interested again and I played fairly intensely for another couple of years. During this time I would play at the University and also went in a couple of open tournaments, both of which I won prizes for in my rating group...which wasn't very high. I often would even play at parties, winning almost all the games, until I got too relaxed from sipping wine. Sometimes I would go down to the Winnipeg Public Library and play some games there as well. The hi-light at this point was winning a game against an International Master, Fletcher Barager, in a simultaneous exhibition at the University of Winnipeg. There were only about six people participating so it was actually a pretty good win.

After that I drifted away again and didn't return to chess until the late 1980s, when I, once again, got the bug and started playing. This lasted for about another two years and I don't recall playing in any tournaments in this time, but I did go down and play at the Winnipeg Chess Club once in a while. I participated in another simultaneous exhibition with GM Abe Yanofsky and lost yet again. It resulted from a simple blunder when I had a fairly good position, something that happens all too often.

Then there was another hiatus that ended around 2002 when I started playing with some people at work. I brought a chess set and clock and enjoyed many games of blitz chess at work during coffee breaks. More significantly at this time I picked up a Chess Program - Fritz and joined an on-line Chess Club - Chessbase which has enabled me to play many thousands of blitz games over the last 8 or 9 years. I realize that what has caused my lost of interest over the years was simply a lack of people to play in a convenient setting. The Internet has truly revolutionized Chess from that standpoint. I don't think that I am a better player because of it, all I do is play Blitz most of the time and that isn't the best way to improve. However the Internet has also made a vast quantity of games available for review and also allows you to watch major tournament games in real time. It is really quite remarkable.

I have always enjoyed reading about Chess and its history, so I have a fair number of Chess Books. I did go into another tournament about a year ago, it was a rapid Chess Tournament (each player has a 15 minute time limit). I did ok, I won a small prize, but I certainly could have done better. Although I have been playing for some time, I am not particularly good, but I am better than average. Many Chess players continue to play at a strong level late in age, so perhaps I can look forward to improving some more. I see myself continuing to play for the foreseeable future.