McCreadyandChess

Between 1997 and 2009 I gave up chess altogether. Never thought about it, never played it, never followed it. I don’t recall what brought chess back into my life exactly, perhaps a part of me missed it. The funny thing looking back is that for a solid 6 years and more, chess has become so fundamental to my whole being, there really is no chance of me stopping again. Could you imagine a life without chess? Ghastly!

We have to learn to think ahead in chess, clearly so. In life can we calculate the why? Why chess is so important? Why we play? What we get from following major events? Can we question what we do so easily? Usually we can’t, and I can’t. If anything it is a passion, one fundamental to me. I am not a professional player by any stretch of the imagination, I’m not a journalist either, I am just a lover of chess but the depth of my love almost renders me a professional, as chess is forefront at all times almost. I have a healthy relationship with chess and I am conscious of the nature of it…perhaps enthusiast is a fitting term or keen amateur maybe. Defining who you are or what you do is commonly seen as a first world problem but to put it philosophically, knowing what you are passionate about is essential.

Should we feel pity for those who don’t play chess? Well it’s their choice but I do pity those who don’t or those who gave it up and can’t really get back into it. There is a lot wrong with chess, and on many levels. It’s too theory-dependent, its literary culture is almost criminal, and those at the top have almost nothing to offer beyond their own experiences. I could go on but won’t. Chess is also in good shape and being a spectator is great fun these days, another reason why we should pity those who don’t play.

It is 2am. Once more I sit in darkness, listening to the whir of the A/C, the room haunted by loneliness. My daughter is sleeping beside me, no one is awake, just me. Sometimes I write because I want to connect, even though I have little to say. Did I tell you I mull over a short story about chess. I might just start it. If you’ve read this far then well done. I have little to say except in one way or another, it’s all good.

Mark. J. McCready

02.53 am Monday July 11th.

Tung Song Hong, Laksi

Bangkok