Just another day...

So what am I doing up at 6:05am? Well, I spent the last 15 minutes trying to get out of bed. I'd probably try to go back to sleep for a little bit longer if it didn't hurt so freaking much. What a freaking idiot!

The pain has improved a little bit - and the shakes have gone down too. I have to go to school in a few hours... but my guess is that if I keep stretching I should be able to move around reasonably well by then. Let's hope.

I had forgotten how much this sucks.

Alright then, enough feeling sorry for me. Enjoy your day!

Ed.

Ain't nothing out here but me

I was hoping to play up in Vermont this past weekend - chess tournament. As it turns out, I forgot about it. Not completely forgot, but by the time I remembered I had made some other plans for the weekend. So I didn't play. It's probably for the best, my mind's been elsewhere lately. So my chess is certainly not at its peak. So it goes.

I have gotten in a few hours of Neverwinter Nights 2. It's a good game, though I hesitate to call it great. Then again, I can't remember the last time I actually called a game great. As I say so often, I just don't seem to get into them as much as I used to. Sometimes I miss those days.

As for this coming weekend, 3 days off! Nice. Big plans?

Clarity and inspiration
happiness is a destination
That's hard to find
it may take some time
But in my mind there's something more
and I'll open up a brand new door
and find the strength to close the ones I left behind
I'll get there leaning on some friends I know
The road and the radio

... Kenney Chesney

Not so much. Though a little clarity and inspiration would certainly be nice! Instead I'll settle for much of the same.

As some of you might know, I've started bowling again this season. It wasn't part of my original plan, but I was glad to be back at it. It was a good 3-4 years that I didn't bowl because of my back. Nothing serious in terms of requiring medical attention, but I was starting to get lower back pain. It's been feeling pretty good though.

Tonight, I was about 3 frames into the first game when... you guess it... I twisted at the lane and my back just froze. Damn! I can't remember the last time I felt that much pain. I remember lifting my ball back up to try to pick up my spare because, unfortunately, a strike didn't come with the pain... and I could barely lift the thing. Wow! I decided to stretch it out and see how it felt over the next few frames. I knew that I should stop... but I bowled 4 strikes in a row as I focused on putting as little pressure as possible on my back. I finished the first game with a 184 (or so). Not bad considering.

So I loaded up on Ibuprofen and kept bowling. I know... IDIOT! What can I say. My next game I pulled a 146. Terrible. But at the end I was finally starting to loosen up a little. I could stand without complete spasms. Pat told me that I needed to move 2 boards to the left since I kept hitting the pocket heavy. So I decided to finish out the night.

Last game... 220. Nice. So know I'm going to take a handful of advil and go to bed. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to wake up in the morning regretting every decision I've ever made in my life. But that's the way it goes. I'll need to do a lot of stretching this week to see if I can let bowling stay in my future. Let's hope so!

Until next time, Ed.

The Middle Game

I think that I mentioned I purchased a new game a little over a week ago. The Guild 2. Overall it was a disappointment to me. I never really got into it. I gave it a few hours, and it's really not a bad game, just not my thing. I've been wanting to try out "Bully" for the Playstation 2, but I also have a feeling that I'd play for a few hours and then... nothing. So I haven't broken down and tried to buy it yet. I did pre-order Neverwinter Nights 2 - and it's due to be released today! So I may have something fun to play this weekend.

What is Neverwinter Nights 2? Well, if you've never been into Dungeons and Dragons or games like Baldur's Gate, Might and Magic, or to date myself The Bard's Tale, then it's probably just a jumble of letters. For me, to be sure, it'll be an epic battle of good versus evil. That and it's sure to be a pretty good time waster. If not, then I've slipped. A lot.

Speaking of slipping, I bowled last night. 222, 166, 212. Middle game blues. What's that all about? I think that's two weeks in a row where my 2nd game was a little weak. When I got home I played a game of chess on the ICC. It was a good game - at least it felt like it. I lost the game (it was a G/15), but only because my opponent decided to "blitz" me in the last few seconds. So I ran out of time first. I was up a queen at the end. So at least I get the moral victory.

One of these days I'll get some more games up here. I just find it a bit of a pain to upload images here. It's not bad if you only want to put up one or two... but more than that it becomes a bit of a chore. Maybe there's a better way to do it, but I haven't found it yet.

Alright, time to get on with the day. Miles to go...

Enjoy, Ed.

The world got in my way...

Been a crazy week. They all are. Just a few more months to go, then things should at least get a little better. I saw my doctor today. He gave me some good news, I'm probably not going to die anytime soon. At least, I'm a low risk for it. We're going to validate that, but I'll take his word for now. He also agreed that I had to get some weight off. Just a little exercise. Why does it have to be so hard?

I played a couple of exciting games this week and I was planning on posting at least one of them out here. I enjoyed the one in particular because it wasn't the usual me. I haven't had the computer check it yet, so maybe it was terrible, but it was still a lot of fun. The end result was a draw, but I still think I had the better of it for a while. I'm definitely looking forward to reviewing it. This weekend. Really!

Saturday is the monthly G/30 tournament at the chess club. I still haven't decided if I'm going to play, though it is tempting.

I'm going to try to get some sleep tonight - haven't had enough of that this week. So until next time!

Ed.

On the coast of somewhere beautiful

They were searching for intelligent life... they found me. Welcome to the stories of my life.

I don't understand it. The last few nights I've been playing 1 G/15 on the Internet Chess Club. Monday night I played a player with a slightly higher rating, had an amazing game, and won. Last night I played a player MUCH lower, he played an amazing opening/middlegame, and finally lost it in the endgame. Though with our 500 point rating difference I really expected much less from him. So he did well. Tonight I played someone with a slightly higher rating as well. I was crushed. It wasn't even a game. It was in an opening I know. By move 15 I was lost.

The other thing I don't understand - motivation. Why does everything always have to be at the last minute? My homework. I had a great summer doing my Linear Algebra homework. Week after week I spent hours, seriously, every night just to keep up. Now I find that every Wednesday I'm struggling to get my homework done for Thursday's class. What's wrong with me? It seems like the motivation finally hits me when we reach that point where most people will start saying that I'm never going to make it. Why do I need that? It's not like my life is all that exciting at other times. It's not like I've got a million other important things going on. Work and school. Everything else is just me wasting my time away.

Anyway, I've got to get back to my homework. I'm halfway done... so I have a chance of finishing it before class tomorrow! I've got a bunch of things I've been wanting to talk about. Total Pro Golf, Chess Assistant 9, The Guild 2, Neverwinter Nights 2. Lots of interesting stuff in the world of computer software, games, and chess. Ah well, another time.

And with the poker sites all "closing doors" to US business... sad, sad times.

Ed.

Time Passes

Vladimir Kramnik has won the world championship. For the first time since the mid-90's, we have a unified champion. It was won on the 4th tiebreak game. Since he won, I don't see a lawsuit as doing that much good. We'll see what happens.

My mother and I watched "Click" and made Apple Cobbler Saturday afternoon. They both were good.

I was at the chess club for a little while Saturday night. While I was there we had 7 people. I didn't actually play any chess, mostly just sat around and talked for a little while.

Sunday I slept. A lot.

I also started watching Season 1 of Battlestar Galactica this weekend. Wow! Very good show. I'm already half way done with the season. Granted it only had 13 episodes.

There goes the weekened. Why is it that every time I turn around, time passes? Where does it all go?

Until next time, Ed.

Fischer vs Karpov

If you haven't heard the latest news, check out:

http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com

There is currently a lot of talk about Fischer and Karpov playing Gothic Chess against each other. What is Gothic Chess? It's a 10x8 board with 2 additional pieces introduced. I believe they are called the Chancellor and the ArchBishop.

This sounds a little suspicious, but if it's true that the winner is being offered 10 million, and the loser 5 million, I suppose it could happen. Though I'd be much happier if it were "standard" chess, it would still be somewhat exciting to see these two face off.

Enjoy your Friday.

Ed.

It comes down to this

Yesterdays game was a draw, which leaves the match tied after the 12 standard games. The good news for Kramnik is that whether he wins or loses, in the eyes of most people he wins. This, of course, is due to the forfeit he faced earlier.

Here is the information (again from chessbase) about today's games:

Friday's Tie-breaks

3.7.1 If the scores are level after the regular twelve (12) games, after a new drawing of colours, four (4) tie-break games shall be played. The games shall be played using the electronic clock starting with 25 minutes on the clock for each player with an addition of 10 seconds after each move.

3.7.2 If the scores are level after the games in paragraph 3. 7.1, then, after a new drawing of colours, two (2) five-minute games shall be played with the addition of 10 seconds after each move.

3.7.3 If the score is still level, the players shall play a single decisive sudden death game. The player, who wins the drawing of lots, may choose the colour. White shall receive 6 minutes, black shall receive 5 minutes, without any addition. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces is declared as winner.

Game 12 is under way

As of 7am this morning, play begin in the final standard game of the world championship match. I just took a quick look, and after only 35 minutes the game is already looking very drawish. It's only on move 13 or so, and already most of the minor pieces are all exchanged. If the game is drawn it will be a 6-6 tie (if we count the forfeit, which unfortunately we must) and the match will be decided by tiebreaks on Friday.

Kip is back from Atlantic City! How did he do? I'll leave the details for his write up that he promises is coming, but let's just say that he did well. From the tone of his voice, he was very pleased. Maybe he'll even let me post his write-up here?

Time to get ready for the day. It'll be interesting to see how I did on my first exam Tuesday. By interesting I have no idea what I actually mean.

Until next time, Ed.

World Championship Update

The match is tied 5.5-5.5. Today is a rest day so the final game will be played tomorrow (Thursday). If the result is another draw, then Friday is the tiebreaks day. If it goes to tiebreaks, as I mentioned before, the time controls get quicker and quicker. The absolute final game, if it gets that far, would be an armageddon game. I have no idea how to spell that word!

What that would mean is that the chess world championship would be decided by a game of blitz chess! I hope it doesn't come to that, because it seems a little foolish. Not only that, but armageddon is where one player has an extra minute, so if they don't win they lose. That's right, a draw will also count as a loss for the player with the extra minute. That's armageddon.

In case you're curious I had my first exam yesterday. Bad... very bad. Maybe not, but that's my guess. We had an hour for 4 questions (one of them had 4 parts), and when I was doing homework I could spent 30-60 minutes just on questions similar to one of those parts.

Until next time, Ed.