Recently I chatted on line to a Swedish friend and former playing partner. He asked me ‘Do you play much?’. In truth I didn’t know how to answer that question as it’s not as straightforward as it seems. I told him I play a lot on line and left it at that. But as we know, there is a lack of seriousness with online play, and some would say it doesn’t really count. I think it can. Last year, and the year before I played over 1000 games on line each year, and at times I was in very good form, winning many tournaments and taking a strong GM into the endgame. That counts for something even though the games were all blitz but that aside, yes its true I haven’t played one game of OTB chess in 6 years now, and the club nearest I never go to because they meet up on Fridays, the day I usually leave the city. I neither play friendlies in the park nor try my luck with hustlers either (not that I know where any are). So I suppose I should have said ‘I only play on-line now’…it’s about all I have at my disposal. What would you say if someone asked you do you play much chess? Irrespective of your answer, you might want to point out that the question is grammatically incorrect because the modal verb ‘much’ should be used in negative sentences. He should have said ‘Do you play a lot of chess’, or ‘Do you play often?’ that’s better.
To end, I do miss OTB chess very much. I would rather my chess was more prominent in the off line world rather than the on line world. In our off line world events are characterized by the sense of the occasion. You don’t get that online, you don’t get anything.
Mark. J. McCready
01.53 am 12th of July
Tung Song Hong, Laksi, Bangkok
Thailand
McCreadyandChess 
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