As the shy teenager I was, I so loved how after dusk fell I was driven to league matches along dark country roads. What a wonderful way to explore Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Northamptonshire in your youth. A supressed excitement in seeing small towns and cities such as Bedford, Leighton Buzzard, Cranfield, Milton Keynes, and Northampton kept me wide-eyed always. Those dark A-roads and narrow country lanes, that amber street lighting, the knowledgeable teammates who drove me to the venue, their respectful inquisitiveness and oh-so careful driving, the sensation of parking up. Entering the building and readying yourself for your game, the shake of the hand…game on… .
A brave new world where a long game of competitive chess was the light at the end of the tunnel. Then, a drive home where we could converse about our games and indulge in more general chess conversation. Once Ken Grogan picked myself and Marcus Dunne up for a match. On the way home I asked Ken ‘Is it difficult to concentrate on driving after your match?‘ Marcus interjected, ‘that’s a good question’, I was only 16. What should I know about driving, I wasn’t even old enough to get behind the wheel!
Through chess I learnt the importance of travel and how it broadened your horizons. It was -if you like- a perpetual night out. A ride away from the drudgery and monotony of daily life into the endless evening ahead. No one in my family took me anywhere ever, except to clinics, surgeries and hospitals. But where they stepped back, team mates stepped forwards.
It is the sense of occasion that chess offers which appeals the most. Chess is a game of calculation. We cannot follow our game thoughts so easily afterwards but mood we may remember still, especially mood both before and after the game. Those sentiments are not so easily lost and may stay with us five decades on, as mine have. The drive to the game. Those dark roads. The game play. The journey home. The companionship en route. The occasion and all it has to offer.
Mark John McCready, 0700, February 19th 2024, Al-Fursan, Dammam, KSA
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