tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post52869358085230999..comments2024-01-29T14:44:29.902-05:00Comments on Castling Queen Side: Me and My Big Mouth! - EditedPollyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-43763663588602816582008-07-11T16:39:00.000-04:002008-07-11T16:39:00.000-04:00Glenn: Thanks for the tweak. The board looks much...Glenn: Thanks for the tweak. The board looks much better.<BR/><BR/>Wang: Dudette, to you. :-) LOL It's probably closer to 7-8 minutes to make that walk. Though on that particular evening I think I did do a bit of a jog in spots. Though when I do my long distance walking I do it around 15 minutes a mile.<BR/><BR/>Anon: Guilty as charged. I just hate playing way down, and I hate not getting to play all the rounds. I'm not as bad as the masters who stare at the charts even more to figure out if they'll miss the break or make the break to dodge GM Peraqua or Izoria.Pollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-47313345160056155782008-07-10T15:02:00.000-04:002008-07-10T15:02:00.000-04:00You pay way too much attention on possible pairing...You pay way too much attention on possible pairings, byes etc.<BR/><BR/>Just play the game!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-31135858363943540982008-07-06T20:48:00.000-04:002008-07-06T20:48:00.000-04:00Polly,I tweaked how the space is allocated between...Polly,<BR/>I tweaked how the space is allocated between the board and the moves text so that, in certain circumstances (such as your blog) the board is bigger. I hope this works for you!Glenn Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06098720545929557126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-82624459684583806662008-07-05T22:15:00.000-04:002008-07-05T22:15:00.000-04:00DUDE! By my estimation that's 9 blocks in 5 minute...DUDE! <BR/><BR/>By my estimation that's 9 blocks in 5 minutes. That's not really walking. At least at that time of the evening you're less likely to run down a tourist...wanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12810798413949148423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-7251072902823738682008-06-30T08:59:00.000-04:002008-06-30T08:59:00.000-04:00Polly,I answered your question on my blog but I di...Polly,<BR/>I answered your question on my blog but I did leave out something because I thought you would not be interested. But, ...you can make the board bigger by not including the moves (you could just include the text of the moves in the text of your blog). Use the option "BoardOnly" = yes to do that. You can then have a board of say 400x400 fit nicely. If you also have the variations tab then readers can even navigate variations (but just one level deep).Glenn Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06098720545929557126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-21442682113997777052008-06-30T08:50:00.000-04:002008-06-30T08:50:00.000-04:00Anon: I can't speak for Dario. He seems to rake i...Anon: I can't speak for Dario. He seems to rake it pretty seriously when he's playing me. LOL But I never judge somebody's motivation and intent. I don't know what sort of work he does on his game, but he's certainly improved tremendously since the first time I played him.Pollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-54989394180475154602008-06-30T00:32:00.000-04:002008-06-30T00:32:00.000-04:00Saul... thank you!!! I almost forgot about the Pac...Saul... thank you!!! I almost forgot about the Pacific Southwest. I'll sign up tomorrow. I'm not sure if I will play in the 2-day or 3-day yet. I want to play in the 3-day but I was going to work on Friday because I need a day off the following week. And really, G/60...urgh...it's a time control for those who are good at their openings. ;) So, I'll have to think about whether I will do the 2-day or the 3-day. Either way, I'll see you at the tournament!Matt Hayeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03057037670306051027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-77879301980727439082008-06-29T22:33:00.000-04:002008-06-29T22:33:00.000-04:00I am just curious because I have seen him at a few...I am just curious because I have seen him at a few tournaments, Is Dario someone who takes chess seriously or does he care less and just like to have fun?<BR/><BR/>-ThanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-11232251955483710592008-06-29T17:15:00.000-04:002008-06-29T17:15:00.000-04:00Saul: Congrats on the big rating jump! Good luck a...Saul: Congrats on the big rating jump! Good luck at the tournament. Tell John I say hello.<BR/><BR/>Like: If I worried about my results I'd be too ashamed to tell the story. However if I can make people not feel so bad about losing and give them a good laugh then I've done something good.Pollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-68235478214602844652008-06-29T11:51:00.000-04:002008-06-29T11:51:00.000-04:00Sorry about the results, but at least it made for ...Sorry about the results, but at least it made for an entertaining story as only Polly tells 'em. :)likesforestshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12363355892919115087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-12627407596080172842008-06-29T01:42:00.000-04:002008-06-29T01:42:00.000-04:00BTW, I love your last statement "...for the first ...BTW, I love your last statement "...for the first time tonight I wasn't in time trouble..." That's beautiful!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-24339909358001707282008-06-29T01:40:00.000-04:002008-06-29T01:40:00.000-04:00Beautiful blog post, Polly! I am sorry to hear abo...Beautiful blog post, Polly! I am sorry to hear about your unhappy performance at the Marshall CC Action Championship. Nonetheless, I am sure it was an action packed event for a chess junkie like you!! I am playing a 6 round tournament July 4-6 @ the LAX Hilton directed by Hillery. I hope to make a plus score, but I've learned from you not to jinx it. However, I really want the money and the rating points! I am up to 1662 now! Maybe I will gain 138 points this summer and become an "A" player! Anyway, better luck next time to you. <BR/><BR/> Best wishes,<BR/> SaulAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-5513031852566486972008-06-28T23:32:00.000-04:002008-06-28T23:32:00.000-04:00Glenn; Thanks. Unlike some of my fellow chess blo...Glenn; Thanks. Unlike some of my fellow chess bloggers I enjoy telling stories of past tournaments instead of doing deep analysis on how to study. I'm not knocking that. In fact I always enjoy reading those deep posts, and trying to draw some useful information from them. I just feel fortunate that I'm so close to a chess Mecca like the Marshall and like sharing what it's like playing there.<BR/><BR/>It's a combination of memory, looking at the USCF MSA pages, my Excel workbook with all my results starting from 1972, old scorebooks, and games downloaded from my Mon Roi to my computer.<BR/><BR/>For example. to write my most recent Wacky Wednesday post I wrote the tournament narrative from memory, but I had to look at my scorebook to recall who I had lost to in round 1 and to retrieve the moves of the round 2 game I showed. My spreadsheet provided me with my overall score and rating change.<BR/><BR/>For this particular post I had to look at the MSA to remember who I had played and which rounds I won and lost. Pulling up the Hess game from Chess Base allowed me to remember why I lost the game.<BR/><BR/>I love data. I've kept track of my lifetime history long before Excel existed. I had all that information in a notebook. When I learned Lotus back in the early 90s I transfered all that data to spreadsheet form, and wrote formulas to keep yearly and lifetime totals. The Excel workbook format allowed me to put each year on a separate spreadsheet.<BR/><BR/>Anon: Dario and his brother do play at the Marshall sometimes. They also travel to other tournaments. In fact my first game against either one them was at the Marshall. I've only played Karl at the Westchester CC, but he plays in Stamford, CT every once in awhile.<BR/><BR/>Tanc: I generally am not in the habit of predicting results. It just came out in the course of my conversation with Andre and joking around about byes. We have a running joke about the frequency of byes that I get on Thursday nights. I don't worry about whether I will match expected or past results. <BR/><BR/>If I start out 0-2 I don't necessarily feel pressure to win the remaining games. Having gone 0-4 and 0-5 in tournaments in the past, I just think to myself "What's the worst that can happen? I'll match that 0-fer score and be last. So what? Been there, done that."<BR/><BR/>I think I was more stressed out winning the tournament back in March then by any crappy result I have.<BR/><BR/>Regarding the insipid knight move. It was one of those thoughtless "safe" moves. If I had spent a little more time I would have found a better move. After that move my opponent won a pawn, got a strong attack and then won an exchange. The game turned on that move.Pollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13747958243702670987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-81624067730466297462008-06-28T22:14:00.000-04:002008-06-28T22:14:00.000-04:00hello polly,i make it a habit never to predict wha...hello polly,<BR/><BR/>i make it a habit never to predict what kind of results i'm going to get.<BR/><BR/>that's because i realise that once i set a predetermined result, if i find myself losing, i start to apply additional pressure on myself to win the remaining games (as if i needed more stress). if i find myself winning, i start to relax and take things easy which is what i don't want to do.<BR/><BR/>as a result, most of the time, when people ask me, i just say,"i'll treat each game as it comes."<BR/><BR/>as for your "inspid" knight retreat, don't treat it as the cause of your loss, instead, understand the reasons behind that move. usually we make moves that makes sense to us but we fail to find stronger moves.this is just part and parcel of the process of chess improvement. <BR/><BR/><BR/>cheerstanchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10248501580728956514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-23793507975456033342008-06-28T20:58:00.000-04:002008-06-28T20:58:00.000-04:00Do your "rivals" Karl Schapira and Dario Dell'Orto...Do your "rivals" Karl Schapira and Dario Dell'Orto only play at the Westchester clubs or do they play other places as well?<BR/><BR/>-Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5114234807276194338.post-8510960445526706842008-06-28T17:35:00.000-04:002008-06-28T17:35:00.000-04:00Last year I got paired up in round 1 and lost, but...<I>Last year I got paired up in round 1 and lost, but in round two had the misfortune of getting paired down against Robert Hess' brother Peter who was rated 1450 at the time. It was one of those games where I was actually up a pawn but an insipid knight retreat on my part lead to serious ugliness.</I><BR/><BR/>I think this rich of storytelling and relating back to past events is one of the compelling things about your blog. Is this all from memory or do you go back and look at results, games, notes, etc?Glenn Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06098720545929557126noreply@blogger.com