Essential learning: Priority number 2

February 15, 2025 by mccreadyandchess

Back in blighty a.k.a me old stomping ground, a very great many club and county players exhibit both strengths and weaknesses which are not entirely disimilar to one and other. The reasons for this are variable but a trait more commonly found amongst them mentioned above is too much attention paid to their moves and position and not enough to their opponents moves and position. But who doesn’t like to do what they want to do, or put differently, pull off what they think will bust their opponent in one way or another.

In deciding to invest both time and effort into this whimiscal experiment I conjured up on the khazi whilst walking past some bogs, I have realized that the nature of the play I am attempting to win with exhibits a weakness I have attempted to eliminate by implementing what I read in my youth. But since my games were charaterised by drawish openings and positional play, this was not the necesssity it now is. The transformation in style I have begun playing with requires good calculation skills and tactical nouse; neither of which I have been any good at since I’ve always believed evaluation triumps over calculation. Ye olde electronic friend has a penchant for counterplay and the little git is rather more gifted at it than I to say the least.

I have noticed that I am not considering candidate moves in the way that I learnt from Kotov long, long ago. Below is some of his thoughts, which when implemented should help me to consider not one but several moves that electronic pal of mine might spring on me. It is a weakness that must be attended to on the double.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is k1.png
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is k2.png
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is k3.png
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is k4.png
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is k5.png
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is k6.png
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is k7.png
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is k8.png

That above, gleaned from that masterpiece Mr & GM Kotov affectionately penned characterizes the way I go awry whenever I mistakenly tell myself ‘I am winning’ or ‘I got the position won now’ or worse still as well as more likely ‘I can win this anyway I want now.’ How much truth lies in the platitude ‘pride comes before a fall’ there is, know I do not. For myself pride and the colatteral it gets clobbered by comes after the fall.

However, it matters now. Learning is a life long process there is no escaping from whether you like it or not, even for old geezers those of us going grey.

That’s all from he who thinks he’s funnier than he is aka Mark. J. McCready

I do hope you, who reads what is written here, learns that you are never too old to learn. Which, unfortunately, is a barrier a great many place in front of themselves mistakenly.

Posted in My own endeavours, On-line journal, Personal Interest & Experience | Leave a Comment »

Essential learning: Priority number 1

February 13, 2025 by mccreadyandchess

Given the nature of the style of play I have adopted, the importance of the result has been conflated. Quintessentially, my play can be defined most profundly in terms of sacrifices and attacking chess combined -hopefully with a devastating and winning attack.

The experiment which initiated this radical transformation of play began some seven weeks ago. What I first noticed was that I often obtained winning positions but failed to convert them. This became increasingly frequent, making it something of an embarrassment if I am being honest. I realized as soon as I thought I had the game won, I took my foot off the pedal and all too often lost the victory I was so sure was mine.

Upon reflection I realized that I was making a mistake I had learnt not to make from reading GM Jonathan Rowson’s book ‘The Seven Deadly Sins of Chess’, which was recommended to me whilst participating in the 2011 BCC open in Pattaya by friend and playing partner Ron Hoffman. To fix priority number one, I thought it best to read the first of Jonathan Rowson’s publications, and also his best, and have placed the content from the chapter where he discusses the nature of the mistake I have been making, as well as some suggestions on how to fix it.

In case you don’t know GM Rowson is a celebrated author too and has a Ph.D from Oxford on wisdom. He’s an exceptionally clever man and very knowledgeable about chess. Even super GM Lev Aronian once said the book that helped him improve his chess the most was the aforementioned title above. By all means enjoy the content below.

Mark. J. McCready

Posted in My own endeavours, On-line journal, Personal Interest & Experience | Leave a Comment »

Actions of a sword are unforseen

February 12, 2025 by mccreadyandchess

If you are daft dedicated enough to have followed this blog from the hallowed antiquity which it emerged from, you may have noticed there isn’t a great deal of chess in it. Not in terms of games and analysis. That’s more unintentional than idiosyncratic since I haven’t played that much competitive chess this millenium, and not that much at all since my daughter Grace was born. Just blitz games down the club nearest and online stuff that I will regret having started for many years to come. All it did was alleviate boredom and make me much worse than usual.

Anyway omwards and upwards I go with my electronic friend but there is a lot that needs work on and adjusting to. You could say that since I stopped in 1997, I haven’t played much since, not really, not in terms of competitive chess. Nothing like the 496 games I played before I stopped. But that’s okay, I like how it’s going .

A whim which became little more than some ad hoc experiment has resulted in me playing aggressive sacrificial stuff when I don’t mess things up and are unable to. I’ve won 28 games only and nearly won many, many, many more than that. Computers don’t give up and throw the towel in like humans do. They also understand the importance of counterplay much more so.

But the very good news is, I know what needs to be done and that it will take time. I don’t need much assistance. And I won’t start the next millenium off like this one on the chess front if I continue to get into it (sincere apologies for the attempt at humour). As you know, very few live for 3 or more mileniums (that is also not funny but off the wall, so that’s okay).

If I follow this through, all that will come of it is that I will go from being an average club player to a strong club player but will enjoy it more. Pyrric victory is it? Not quite. Nietzsche would call it a manifestation of the will to power, which is principally a life-affirming entity/phenomena/drive (to use his term), which some not so interested in him might think that’s what he thinks intentionality is or something along those lines. I swear it’s got nothing to do with getting bored easily or lack of a better idea, let me make that very clear. Even if that were the case I wouldn’t be able to own up either‘

Most people are creatures of habit and comfort and how they experience chess doesn’t change so much over the years. In fact it is possible to redefine how you approach it and experience it even late on in life because its much more challenging and quite enthralling if you can get into. Thankfully for those with such an obssessive mindset, this comes by itself anyway…and so on we go.

Very soon if not with immediacy I will start posting and commentating on my games. This I will enjoy, then you’ll realize although I can talk a good game, I’m just an average club player really but a well educated one at that.

Ressurection not no ressurection is the sum total of it. Speaking of which, here’s a number you could have a sing along to down the boozer with someone on piano. Do have a listen. I swear it’s nothing like hardcore metal, more like, er chas and dave. And yes of course the title of the post is from that song, which I got into in April/May 1989.

Please note, I am well used to being told to drop the duff jokes all the time, so comments to that affect I can’t guarentee a reply to. If it drops to less than 300 a day, I might reconsider things…well maybe. Bob Monkhouse once said, ‘when I told people I was going up on stage they were laughing at me, but when I got up there, they weren’t laughing then’. One day I might just follow in his footsteps… .

England’s self-proclaimed funniest man in chess, and also somewhat sometimes playful, ends with the words ‘Be seeing you.’

Mark. J. McCready

Posted in Humour, On-line journal | Leave a Comment »

An itch you cannot scratch… .

February 7, 2025 by mccreadyandchess

Chess is taken far too seriously, lacks humour and is overtly conservative, right? Just say yes whether you agree or not. There are no good jokes in chess.

Score out of 10 for how funny you think that is are most welcome.

Like fuck they are!

Me give it 7.

Posted in Humour | Leave a Comment »

A correlation food for thought perhaps

February 5, 2025 by mccreadyandchess

The thing I was better at than anything else ever was photography, not only did I know this myself but I was also told this by a very great many others or thereabouts. There is a corrleation between chess and photography…care to know what it is? I’m not sure how obvious this may appear but the results achieved in both are entirely dependant of the complexity of the decision making procedure involved in what you strive for. In photography talent is usually defined as being something you have an eye for whereas in chess is more so like something you have a feel for (well at the higher levels). Expertise, is of course, a prerequisite of both.

You may find a post in this blog which offers some generic advice but admittedly, I could have put more into it. The forth pic below is my all time favourite pic, taken very near my home.

Posted in My own endeavours | Leave a Comment »

Firsts -a season thereof

January 14, 2025 by mccreadyandchess

I’m not having the best of winters, I’m really not. But what else can I say except do take care if you go climbing ladders, some are much easier to fall off than others!

I had a three week holiday where I did indeed want to visit the chess club but due to unforseen circumstances, this was not possible.

Finally, I have to concede it’s no longer worth going as it’s too difficult to work out how I can get there, courtesy of my limited mobility. Walking is still a problem, and I don’t want to be getting up out of and sitting down on different chairs all night long. It’s a bit ambitious to think that’s achievable to say the least.

So no chess club again it is, and that’s that.

MJM

Posted in Life beyond the chess board | Leave a Comment »

Bedridden but so up for it nonetheless

December 26, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

What’s the plan for today then for bedridden me, unable to walk anywhere, coutesy of the two bad accidents I had in the same day, where I learned the hard way that it’s far better to climb ladders than it is to accidentally fall off them and smash your knees and feet up after hitting the floor hard.

Here’s what I posted on social media about how today will unfold.

Mark. J. McCready, Asia

Updates on today’s chess.

I have to bring it to a close earlier than expected today. I am unused to being discombobulated by my own results. I play very aggressively, often seize the initiative and completely outplay the machine but then I go all wierd and make a complete mess of it. I am yet unable to work out why this keeps happening and left me in a state of disbelief. Before I was born my mother was told there’s no doubt he’ll grow up to be a useless bastard who is crap at everything. That’s not quite true but I have very little ability to assess me own chess and have left myself incapable of working out how things are going so badly wrong with such regularity. This may be because I haven’t had enough time to adjust to, and improve on the style I have adopted for the first time in my life. Most don’t normally change their style of play and I certainly never have. Perhaps it’s to be expected it will take some time before I can get it right, I don’t really know. I just know I keep letting myself down, and its making me wonder whether its really worth it or not. Even though I am putting more effort into it than ever before and enjoying it, my play does not exemplify this and it’s already becoming too embassing to continue on with.

I always think I know what I am talking about and I don’t like it when I can’t work out what’s going so badly wrong. I really should know already but just perhaps, I do need more time to adjust to the radical transformation in my play I have defined my play by. Perhaps I am being impatient as well as unwilling to address the situation. I will promise myself to take a closer look at my games to anaylyze how I go wrong but I am not confident this will change anything, and I amy just have to accept that when I am so gung ho I will get shot down. I am unable to define how chess played in the style I play is experienced. Never in my life have I wanted to stick it to my opponent so much and sacrifice left right and centre. But I am happy to say for the most part I really enjoy it until I cock it up. I was hoping to stay with the adopted style but perhaps it will only ever become something best forgotten about and not to be repeated as I am not good enough to pull it off.

Most importantly of all I am very happy to express much interest in my own chess. The engagement and purpose is more important than what was achieved by it, which remains undefinable courtesy of it overpowering me to disbelief. Hopefully I will remain impressive with my intentions and manifestations of engangement in my own play will develop further, something almost impossible to believe for a good thirty years easily I value contentment more than improvement and have done for quite some time. If I can somehow fuse the two together I will be very impressed with myself. It’s not the norm that I take much interest in my chess and never has been; therefore, it must be welcomed with astonishment or alternatively suspicion as it sounds to difficult to believe and must be a pack of lies. WIsh me luck.

And that concludes McCready’s thoughts on the day proving once again I am by far the greatest useless bastard on the planet and always will be as everyone knows.

Mark. J. McCready

Posted in My own endeavours, On-line journal | Leave a Comment »

Throwing away certain victory

December 25, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

Opening remarks, I hope you enjoy the oginiality you are about to encounter, an approach opposed to conservatism too, and a sense of pride in my working class upbringing despite it being antithetical to what usually consitutes chess writings. It’s not part of the norm and rather unnerving I suspect. Good if it is. Finding your voice is an aim all writers hope to achieve and is of much greater value than and the opinions of those I have never met, will never know nothing of and have no interest in whatsoever, courtesy of their anonymity which will forever condemn their comments to not worth reading. However, I am willing to concede this post isn’t really worth reading as my account of myself and comments on the world are a little too playful to be believed…ah well, I’ll try to do better next time. Would it help if I said I am by far the baddest, meanest, toughest, most fearsome 1600 player on the planet, capable of finding any mate in one on the board provided I’ve still got a good 25 minutes on the clock still, and have never blundered more than 15 times in a game. I even know how to set the pieces up correctly and can get it done in less than half an hour usually, and if you gave me a pencil to write my name on the scoresheet, it usually take me less than an hour to work out which end you write with, not that I ever write the moves down though, I was told only trannys do that.

Having always been rubbish at chess, it’s very pleasing to redefine my approach and adopt a style of play hyper-aggressive when the intitiative is often seized by sacrifical attacks. I so very nearly beat my electronic friend tonight. I had the game completely won and was spoilt for choice on how to finish him off. But because I am not only rubbish at chess, I’m also a useless bastard, I went and bollocked it up, much to my disappointment. It was my every intention to really stick it to my electronic friend tonight and beat it for the first time. I almost wiped it off the board but got exited and forgot how rubbish I am and bound to mess it up. Which I did, as expected. Go have a look at the game and ask, how on earth could anyone throw that away? Don’t ask me, I don’t even know. It will be quite sometime before I can overcome the disbelief, I estimate about 25 years. It’s killed my interest in redefining my approach to chess completly, I’ll never believe I had it so easily won then blew it, my confidence in myself hasn’t just been sledgehammered, it’s been completely obilterated But to end on a positive note, I do have a chance I can succeed, and it’s only a 10,000,000-1 shot,so wish me luck. Lamentably, If I ever do play chess devoid of confidence, I am usually proper fucked and get massacred always.

To conclude, I sincerely apologize for not having the writing skills required to describe the absolutely appalling way in which I threw the game away. But I do accept in life there are sometimes things we experience we will never be able to understand or believe, I just suppose who are completely rubbish at something should expect this infrequently. But to inspire those who have read this, if like myself disbelief in how crap you are will remain ever present in your life, it is still possible to gain pleasure from playing. It happened to me once 30 years ago, and it’s safe to assume you will experience the same thing at some point in the next 40 years or so, like one of my best friends did. So it’s not all doom and gloom. But I should warn you when he walked into the car park after the match, he got a smack in the mouth and a kick in the bollocks for winning, and when questioned his opponent refused to say the name of the mental home he’d just been let out of too. So be sure you opponent is the amiable type and hasn’t just been let out of a mental home.

https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14451&p=313748#p313748

Mark. J. McCready

Posted in My own endeavours, My Own Games | Leave a Comment »

The forging of integrity

December 25, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

Most in our modern world are unflective and uncritical of their own lives, satisified enough to stay within their own comfort zone and keep it that way. Much more interested in playing with their phone than making an effort to define who they are. Similarly most chess players can only be described as being exempt from the same criticisms if you are taking the piss. It’s the norm that chess players cannot offer rationally informed opinions as to why they play chess. Most will say they just like it, some will say they love chess, many will admit its just a hobby they’ve kept going. If you were to ask how do you develop meaning from chess and how does that bring value in what you do. This is not a question likely to be answered comprehensively by club and county players. This can only be answered purposely by referring efforts aimed towards improvement, the principle selling factor of chess literature. You may be told how they read a book to improve their game. That’s usually about the limits of the efforts for most club/county players who are generally uncommital.

This is partly because they are unaware that improvement itself is multifarious, and sadly that they tend to be poorly educated and adopt an uncritical approach to life itself and all it throws at you. Even Grandmasters, the best chess players on offer, are predomonantly poorly educated most have little or no ability to publish their achievements and are almost completely oblivious to standard literary and academic conventions, hence the reason why as a genre chess literature is decadent and something we should all be ashamed of.

I omce wrote an ambitious dissertation whilst finishing an MA where I had to reinterpret a seminal text and trace unformulated fragements of a concept which was much later developed further in a text towards the end of the authors unappreicated career. I happily went into overdrive with that, accompanied by persistence which pushed me on always. After 18 months research skills that still surprise me to this day, I was commended by several Ph.d students for how beautiful my writing was, told by my professor the amount of work put in made it very useful and insisted it be placed in the library so that undergraduates could benefit from the deeply informative contextualization that shaped it, I got a commendation too but was very glad to see the back of it. I began by readering the seminal text 11 times on the bounce and although this enabled me to understand how it was written and how certain chapters were really only consoldated lecture notes, I fell very much out of love with that text, always certain it’s been given far too much important and am unable to go near it ever again. It’s main criticism is that it’s overwritten, I would say its a complete fucking joke he should be thoroughly ashamed of, as should every person on this planet was stupid enough to read the fucking thing.

This and the numerous meetings I had with my professor, not to mention the defence of it I had to give of it to the entire department that afternoon fashioned and forged a critical mindset, which emerged as an undergraduate, since I came second in the entire year, scoreing 67.4 and only missing out on a first by 2.6 per cent but came on leaps and bounds as a post-grad. I’ve since had to train myself up with post modernism in order to avoid the mistakes usually made with regards to chess history. The good news is I have a deeply obssessive mind and know that if you can channel your thoughts in play you are provided with a massive engine for them. I am an educator and have been in education all my adult life. With so much to learn from the history of chess in our county.and how chess has flourished previously. It’s almost certianly the case that I am more equipped to educate those in charge of things much more so than anyone else, as its far easier for me to define how things stand presently as well as explain how things can be improved by describing that most crucial to be learnt from and implemented. Unforunately this may mean nothing more than me just saying my piece rather than inspiring people and prompting them into action, most probably they’ll just interpret it as extra effort they’ve been lumbered with and make no effort whatsoever. This will make me want to give up on them initally but the virute of my deeply obssessive mind will most likely obliterate that to kingdom come and push me on to persist and not stop persisting until they are suitably impressed with my intentions enough. I have very good relations and am not only well-repected for my blog, also described as a historian my county members, something I am uneasy with as I’ll never be able to define myself as one. I’m nothing more than someone who is pretty good at writing, it’s an art form I began practicising when I was 15 and I never stoped. Originality and creativity are what I cherish most of all, nonetheless, I’m nothing too special, except for when I write brilliantly but that’s not the norm, usually I don’t have much to say because I let my desire to write overrule the pronise not to write if I have nothing to say. But then if you don’t write to be read, all you are doing is letting yourself down. Only the history of chess in Befordshire has an intended audience, everything else is for me only. Despite this, I reiterate I am an educator and what began as I hope it could be learned from is moving towards a necessity that must be enforiced. Raise awareness, narrate our history so that it can be applied, deliniate the decline we are undergoing and demand action. I am more than capapable of achieving that -it’s a piece of piss you could say. Let’s move on from intentionality.

A likely consequence to all this, if I can make it happen, is to return home and become president of my club and county, then it will become my job to put a rocket up the arse of those shanghied into doing what I tell them to do when I tell them to do it. Far too proud of my working class beginnings to do it any other way. I know I can give it my best shot and remain satisfied that I did even if I fail to achieve what I set out to accomplish. Why’s that. Because Greek philosophy has stayed with me all my life, I know how important Socrates being told know thyself by the oracle of Delphi but should you buy into that and want to give it a shot, I’m sorry to tell you it’s a life-long task that is much, much harder than you might think. You have, in fact absolutely no fucking chance whatsoever unless you’ve also got a deeply obssessive mind like me. I know what I idealise and like Tennyson said in. In Memoriam, ‘it’s better to have loved and lost than never have loved before.’ And the most we are ever capable of is to try our best but as we all know nothing often come of that. Nothing to go mental over if I fail, something superceded by the the concession that learing is a life long process. and we can always move on lamenting that doing my best just wasn’t good enough, remembering to alter your opinions of those who did fuck all to help, redefining them as useless bastards I wouldn’t piss on if they were on fire.

I don’t need you to wish me luck, if I can make it happen, most likely I will succeed.

Mark. J. McCready

Posted in Bedfordshire Chess, My own warped humour, On-line journal, Personal Interest & Experience | Leave a Comment »

2nd draw achieved

December 24, 2024 by mccreadyandchess

Most unexpectedly, I am redefing how I play chess. Rather than faff about and not do veyr much, Against Lucas I have developed a style based on sacrificial attacks and relentless attacks on the king. I like it very much because when I gain the intiative I dominant the game and really stick it to it. I’ve already had many won positions but get a bit excited and fail to convert them. The intentional is to now reduce the risk in my play and opt for gentle pressure rather than all out attack all if I can’t find it, as I sometimes push too hard. Wish me luck for today’s game. I am going to stick it to my electronic friend I can assure you. Victory is not too far from being within my reach. You can see the second drw in the link below.

https://www.ecforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=14448

Posted in My Own Games | Leave a Comment »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »