Of all that I played, I’ve beaten 2, drawn with 2 but lost to 3 although one of them conceded I had completely outplayed him, which I did. I don’t recall how I lost the game, it may have been on time. Of the two I beat, one was titled and rated around 217 and the other was over 200 also but only just, 203 I think but may well be wrong there. He played an obscure line against my French defence with an early b3, possibly 2. b3, which as anyone will tell you, doesn’t do very much at all. It was an easy win. I mated him within 30 moves. Perhaps its so had I not given up chess and put a solid 10 year shift in I may have became on me of them but would it be worth it? The moments of love and joy chess brings are ephemeral, is there really a pay off for being a bit better or a lot better for all those minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years invested -I don’t think so.
I’m prepared to admit, in the many qualifying rounds played in a Winter’s eve, I got more than one sound beating from the very strongest in the county, and infrequently, walked away from the board with a hard fought victory and a wry smile on my face.
Like all young players growing up with chess, there were many past masters I liked and played through the games of. At 16, Morphy was most certainly the first, the other two I was an awe of most of all being Capablanca and Fischer. But the first player whose edifice of work I laboured over was Nimzowitsch. In retrospect this has become something I lament because in trying to mimic or copy him, which I did to considerable degree, I found myself embroiled in positions too complex for my level, and often too obscure to benefit from also. I liked the obscurity of some of his moves and often found it mystifyingly enthralling. Sadly I confess, in the following position, Nimzowitsch played precisely the sort of move only he played, which in my youth I found most impressive -the writing was on the wall methinks.
Mannheimer – Nimzowitch, Frakfurt 1930
Here Nimzowitsch plays Qh8!! If you can explain why, I am all ears.
“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us even in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.” ― Henry David Thoreau, Walden
Through submission to and admission of how the entrails of normality have been garroted in the months gone by, owing to a pandemic that Chomsky describes as ‘a colossal market failure’, a slow subterranean maneuver has been made.
I’ve followed suit and forgot about chess over the board because it just isn’t happening. Well it is. I mean should I saunter off to Bangkok Chess Club, I can play in a blitz tournament each Friday evening. But at the end of a working week, a tournament with a time control of 3m 2s, just isn’t worth it. I don’t consider that time control as conducive to ability and love of the game but rather a game of he who moves fastest wins. That’s just silly to me, invariably I lose on time and if I win it is at best a pyrrhic victory…it’s not worth the effort frankly. Blitz, to me, is a rather childish way to play chess, I don’t see what there is to be gained from it…
So I transgressed from OTB to on-line via whichever server is up and running. In having abandoned chess theory altogether and relying solely in what I learn from my own games, I would appear to be on the up. And then all of a sudden I realized I love playing on-line, despite it being a depersonalized alternative to what I am used to. I’ve begun to take it seriously and play some very good chess at times.
I went and joined my home town club, which is now established on-line. I went and played for my county and rejoined The English Chess Federation. They’ve invited me to represent ‘the south’ of England in a match against ‘the north. I admit I played for my town, my county and my region as a promising junior but never the part of the country I am from. That’s a first for sure.
I’m told it’s a resumption of a match that was last played 126 years ago (details to follow). In those days you only played OTB, by cable or by correspondence, an example of the latter can be seen below.
Things have moved on from 1908 but on this sceptred isle an undying love of chess beats with the hearts and minds of men who play on, and on. One of whom is myself. And the consequence of which is? I had better continue getting my act together because pride and honour are at stake. Details of the invite can be found here: https://www.chess.com/news/view/north-v-south-match-5-september-2020
To give a sense of where I am at, here’s two games. I make mistakes in both but are not beaten in either.
A draw by repetition through fear of a back rank weakness in an endgame with a position I thought was unclear.
After being outplayed in the middlegame, shoring up my defences allowed me to exploit my opponent’s uncertainty and win quickly.
…here, the chess-related musings of an adrift academic are bound playfully and electronically, in this online journal of sorts. It has grown and grown in the decade I have kept it going and above all you must understand I write through a love of writing AND NOT to be read. Content is often personal and that alone should tell you I am writing for myself. Most importantly of all, I am proud of my own originality (as you won’t find content like this anywhere else) and believe in what I do, and that is of much greater value than the acceptance that most would find some of what I have to say very distasteful indeed, and some would find it disgusting, but since everything is open to interpretation, that’s something you have to come to terms with yourself. I have changed what I strive towards, and for the right reasons. They are self-centred yes but rightly so. Take from it whatever you will, frankly, I couldn’t care less what anyone thinks, although admittedly, if someone comments to say they also found it amusing, then I would be quite happy.
…for navigation, the categories and/or search bar should suffice…
…questions I shall do my utmost to answer promptly, particularly if they pertain to that past & present in my home town or county, those being Luton & Bedfordshire… .
An website defining update
In recent months I have written content which I find tremendously entertaining. Originality is the overriding factor, with humour tied to it, and content that is often highly inappropriate for a chess website. I have undergone something of a revolution and redefined what this site is. This site is entitled McCreadyandChess. It’s not just chess -it’s me too. And in terms of originality, however unreadable it may be, posts have gone through the roof, with much content I personally find hilarious. I accept most won’t but once again, I write for myself and not to be read by others. This shift in emphasis I think is truly fantastic, so there’s more of me coming and less chess on this site entitled mccreadyandchess -a greater sense of balance has been struck.
1.48pm November 14th, 2022, Chachoengsao
Mark. J. McCready
Where I can be found elsewhere
Were it the case that you fancied a game online, you can find me at following two:
McCreadyandChess 