It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

And I bet you thought I was done for the night! I thought I'd get on the ICC and play a quick game of chess before going to bed. When I say quick, the following game could have taken about an hour. As it turned out, it lasted 5 minutes. I enjoy playing the "stronger than me" computers on the ICC sometimes because it's a good way for me to judge my progress against a specific opponent. That and I usually lose, so hopefully I learn something.

I was actually starting to get a little nervous but excited in the following game, because I couldn't decide who was better and I was interested to see how my move, d5, played out. I think I misplayed the opening earlier, because I really don't think your supposed to play your dark squared bishop like I was. The question is if I now have enough time to protect it before black starts his kingside pawn storm. Truth be told, I really think that the computer is better. But when I'm in the middle of a game I always try to keep the mindset that I am. Interestingly enough, I just ran the position through Fritz 9. In case you didn't know, I consider Fritz 9 to currently be the strongest chess program in the world - for a PC - and possibly overall. It has been one of the top 3 for many years now, and with the latest version it's even better. Plus, you can play against "The Turk" if you want. Now who wouldn't want to do that? Anyway, Fritz 9 says that I rock! Well, Ok, it really didn't say that. But my position is favorable. Nice! I guess I didn't misplay the opening - I just don't know it well enough. Which means it's probably not the best decision for me to be playing it. What can I say - I need to be me!

So what happened next? My opponent, the computer, lost its connection and the game! As expected, I was both elated and dissappointed. I was happy to get a win, but the game was just starting. As with the rest of my day... It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.