I'll never reach my destination, if I never try...

I've got a problem. Homework. At first I didn't know how to do it, but now... now... I don't know how to do some of it, and the rest takes a really long time. That was unexpected. Made worse by my natural tendancy to wait until the last minute. Yes, trouble. That spells trouble. The good news is, I don't think I'll be waiting until the last minute anymore. The bad news, well, it means 2 homeworks in a row I'll have done poorly on. By poorly, I'm guessing D range. Not exactly my target.

For some reason, I'm happy to work things out. To find a solution. But as soon as I hear those dreadful words... prove it ... I'm lost. Mathematical proofs. Writing them. I'm struggling.

I really like the class, so that makes it even more difficult.

Tomorrow is another day. In fact, it's today. Here's to hoping it's a good one.

Until then,

Ed.

The League

I went bowling Monday night. I'm back in a league. I was going to wait another year, but sometimes things don't work out the way you plan...

So last week I was pretty rusty again. My average after 3 games was 146. Which meant that I went into this week with a pretty good handicap. This week I bowled:

Game 1: 200
Game 2: 164
Game 3: 256

Not Bad! That 164 needs some work, but who am I to complain!

Alright, I have a bit of a headache so that's it for me.

Take care, Ed.

The PVCC September Tournament

I played in the unrated Game/30 chess tournament last night at the PVCC (Northampton Burger King). It got under way at about 6:45pm and went like this:

The players:
Ed Borowski (1880)
Scott Farhat (1663)
David Hall (1661)
Enrique McDonald (1476)
Antonio Laudati (1459)
Paul Spatarella (1194)

Round 1:
Ed Borowski vs Antonio Laudati (1 - 0)
David Hall vs Scott Farhat (1 - 0)
Paul Spatarella vs Enrique McDonald (0 - 1)

Round 2:
Enrique McDonald vs Ed Borowski (0 - 1)
Paul Spatarella vs David Hall (0 - 1)
Scott Farhat vs Antonio Laudati (1 - 0)

Round 3:
Ed Borowski vs David Hall (1 - 0)
Enrique McDonald vs Scott Farhat (0 - 1)
Antonio Laudati vs Paul Spatarella (0 - 1)

Final Standings:
3 Ed Borowski ($20)
2 Scott Farhat ($5)
2 David Hall ($5)
1 Enrique McDonald
1 Paul Spatarella
0 Antonio Laudati

Thank you to Paul Spatarella for running the event.

Ed.

The Final Round

DSC02621
Originally uploaded by firstfret.

I played in the monthly PVCC Chess Tournament on Saturday Night. Here I am in the final round playing against Dave Hall. The same Dave Hall that crushed me last weekend. But this week, with 1st place on the line - and $20 to go with it - I prevailed. You can see many more pictures from this event by going to my flickr page. Just click on the image and it'll take you to the flickr page, from there look on the right and you should see an option to check out the PVCC (set).

Ed.

The Bear

DSC02604
Originally uploaded by firstfret.

I promised this photo a long time ago. I finally found my usb cable today to download all of my pictures from my digital camera. I also signed up for a free flickr account to stick my pictures on the Internet. So I'm trying that out as well.

Enjoy!

Ed.

Rustic Revelations

It's scary. As I get older it seems my weaknesses are more discernable than my strengths. Why? What does it mean? For some reason I just can't catch on to the concept of writing a mathematical proof. I'm trying. A lot! But I just can't seem to grasp the most basic of principles. I feel that I can discern the answer. The destination is clear. I just don't know how to write the directions to get there.

I suppose I could take the easy way out. Just consider myself an idiot savant. Though perhaps that is giving myself too much credit. Simply idiot might be more accurate.

And I haven't played chess since last Saturday's loss. Too busy. Rust. I can feel it. Though I may eventually get wherever it is I'm going, will anybody recognize me when I get there?

I did bowl Monday night. Back on a league! Wow! Of course, I suck. It's been too long. I think my average for the night was about a 146. So now we have to try to work that back up to the high 180's by the end of the season. It's a goal.

Alright, back to therapy. Or life, as some of you may call it.

Ed.

Home Schooling

In my desire to become a better chessplayer, I've been learning a lot more about the game. My latest lesson came from none other than the world famous David Hall. Last night at the chess club he gave me a little home schooling! Here's the game (it was a g/15).

[Event "2006 PVCC Skittles Game"]
[Date "2006.09.16"]
[White "Borowski, Edwin"]
[Black "Hall, David"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D02"]
[WhiteElo "1880"]
[BlackElo "1661"]
[PlyCount "48"]

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bf4 c6 4. c3 e6 5. e3 Bd6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bd3 h6 8. Bh4
O-O 9. Nbd2 Re8 10. Qc2 e5 11. dxe5 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Bxe5 13. Nf3 Bd6 14. O-O-O c5??
{loses a pawn} 15. Bb5 Re4 16. Rxd5?! {
Bxf6 wins the pawn without complications} Rxh4 17. Rxd6 Qxd6 18. Rd1?? {
The immediate Nxh4 was necessary} Qb6!! {and now white is lost} 19. Nxh4 Qxb5
20. Rd8+ Ne8 21. c4 Qc6 22. e4 Kf8 23. Nf5 Qf6 24. Qa4?? Qxd8 0-1

Ed.

In the books...

It's amazing how sometimes life just passes. Phases. We all go through phases. What does it all mean? I had my second class today. I find changing my hours at work difficult. I'm still ready to go at my normal time. Just doesn't work that way. Ah well, at least I'll be done. And I'm thankful for the opportunity to do it.

But for some reason I can't get myself into anything right now. Maybe it was because of the incredible high after the New York State Championship on Labor Day Weekend. How can you top that? My best chess result in over 10 years. But lately, motivation = 0. It'll pass. It always does.

My grade didn't help. I finally got my grade for my summer class. B+. It's not a bad grade, but knowing what I produced I was really hoping for more. I knew I had some weaknesses, so I really can't complain, but it's still a tough one. That's life. One big learning experience after another.

I'd been hoping to post some of my games from the New York State Championship - but again, that motivation thing.

My bike's back on the road. Yep, just in time to put it away for the winter. Oh well, I'll get a few rides out of it anyway. That was the plan. I knew it was foolish going into it, but I still couldn't stop myself. So I accept it.

Can't think straight tonight. Just one of those nights. Time for bed I think - get another day in the books.

There's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path. Why is walking so freaking hard?

Ed.

And so it begins

No, I haven't forgotten. Just been a busy week. My chess update will have to wait for the weekend. But it's coming! I started my final class this week. Wow! I feel old. Maybe the right word is aged. I'm aged. Weathered. Well-worn. Used. And so the story begins...

And ends.

What are the odds?

Enjoy your friday!

Ed.

NY State Championship 2006

It's always nice to get home. 3 days of nothing but chess is just about my limit. Don't get me wrong, I love to play. But when you're at a chess tournament it really takes over your life. Anyway, I have to work in the morning. So I'll be writing up some impressions and posting some of my games over the course of this week. It was quite an event!

Stay tuned...

Ed.