Although I have oftentimes told myself not to write if I have nothing to say, there are exceptions because the principle reason for writing is not to be read but enjoy the process per se.
I’m writing because I have, to some degree, lost touch with chess this summer. The amount of chess we have in our lives never is constant due to circumstance or other matters foreseen and unforeseen. In writing this I have decided, that I should address this matter and have more chess in my life, and start taking note of current affairs, and so on -keep more in touch with things if you will. It’s sometimes helpful to ask do I have too much or too little chess in your life as it may change without you noticing -just my opinion.
The good news is over the summer I talked myself into larger projects, firstly that I should write a history of Bedfordshire chess, then after that was dismissed, that I should write an essay on the history of chess in Luton. Prompted because the person doing a cracking job of running Luton chess club currently asked me if I could write a short history for something or other. I did that but its not really my thing, so an extensive -that may not be the right word- a fuller account will be written. So at least some, correction -one good thing has emerged. This helps counterbalance the missed opportunities to play OTB that have passed, as I did not visit the chess club so much. I stayed true with my intentions to remove classical chess from the agenda, and as it so happens the tournament I refused to participate in was cancelled anyway… .
It would have been nicer to have made more effort to read the two books I recently ordered, especially since they are both well-written. Never mind, plenty of time for that still. It would also have been great if I had checked if any one day tournaments were held over the summer. Again I didn’t that, as mentioned, chess took a backseat over the summer if you like. I did play on line but not so much, and most likely matters will continue in a similar vain. To some degree this was tied to a failed attempt to establish the etymology of the term stalemate, which I did not get far with even I have sufficient material currently at my disposal…ah well some things are harder than they seem sometimes.
So as it stands for the rest of the year I will have to conduct further research. There is always work to be done, and helping improve upon the periods that I am less certain of is, perhaps, a necessity. Other than that all I can add is that the history presented will be in the form of post-modernism -of that I am certain.
Little else to say except it would have been nicer not to have drunk alcohol when I did play at the club, since its the sense of occasion rather than improvement that matters most, and since when did alcohol help with such matters bloody drunkard .
So there you have it. Later in the month I shall begin research again with the eventuality being an essay on the history of chess in Luton, probably something around the 10,000 word mark. And if that’s not boring enough, you can follow the updates on what was Twitter and is now X.
I can’t really add more than that, it has been a quiet few months and I have something to do of which I am passionate about to be getting on with. How drawn into correcting the co-authors of Chess in Bedfordshire I will get is hard to be certain of but hopefully the reaction to the final product won’t be in line with theirs; namely, that the author (s) should be tied up and shot against a post. Or put differently the subject will be covered more extensively, half the bloody county was left out thus more wholesome in the narrative offered -which is all you are getting! And just perhaps the most recent attempt at research had its minor frustrations here and there due to traces of the past not being entirely compatible with the intentions of old Tom Sweby, whom I have come to know more so than before, as he remained the primary source. I am a little sad to say I don’t have a great deal of material to work with, as you might expect, but this is not necessarily a problem, depending on how you define history, there isn’t a great amount of reportage I can use as traces of the past but I will do my best nonetheless.
To conclude, I decided to abandon all attempts to improve on Chess in Bedfordshire as I don’t have enough material and don’t feel capable of it, The smaller project of a history of chess in Luton is what it will be. Perhaps, just perhaps, I do enjoy writing about chess than actually playing it, in which case, the next few months should be productive…well hopefully so. I ought to remember to thank Humuyan (the organizer of Luton chess club( for putting good ideas in my head and wonder less why I couldn’t have thought about it myself.
Editor’s note: answer to that coming within the next 50 years -that’s a promise!
Webmaster’s note: going to live to 100 am I? You sure?
I shall sign off here, sometimes I just like to write.
Mark. J. McCready
BKK
McCreadyandChess 