According to Nietzsche we should live by our passions as they define us. Does this mean we should photograph them also? Most probably it does, however hard that may be. Thankfully chess is easy to photograph as the subject doesn’t usually do very much. I can’t say that’s true of the thing I love the most, and as the picture shows below, experience can back that up.
May I make a suggestion? Should you want to photography chess, try not to use your phone.
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I saw this on my facebook post today. It does raise questions which are difficult to answer though.
Let me ask you some basic questions but before I do I want to tell you I am quite sure you can’t answer them. Okay, firstly, when you play chess, how aware are you of why you are playing at that particular moment? What pushed you to play on that particular occasion? With online chess you can play anywhere and anytime. Why, exactly, did you choose that day, that physical location and that particular time to play? Probably there was no conscious decision involved -you just felt like it. If that’s so, then answer when should we play chess? Are there times when we shouldn’t play chess? How do we decide? Why can’t I just say ‘well I am a creature of habit and like to do my thing when I feel like it?
I hate to admit it, I often play chess if I feel bored. It helps pass the time and gives me something to focus on. Should we, though, make chess off limits at certain times of the day? Or should we just find better reasons for playing it? Or should it be a combination of both? You tell me. If chess is an intellectual pursuit why are we oftentimes impulsive over deciding to play? Is that not a cardinal sin?
There have been studies conducted over when is the peak time of the day for cognition, as this is particularly important for study plans amongst students but its not a given that science can give us the answer. I mean since when did the rule ‘what’s true for some is true for everyone’ come into play exactly? You really ought to know the workings of your own mind better than anyone else -and if you don’t then shame on you! Ultimately it may just be a case of knowing what part of the day works best for you. Are you a morning person or a night owl? You should know. The nature and quality of your play should be an indicator of how concentrated you are, I think. Aside, should I write a letter to my government, asking them to enforce a curfew, do I risk being taken to the nearest station by the local constabulary and locked up for a few days?
Moving away from when we choose to play online what do we do if the time we choose to play is not the main concern but rather the amount we are playing and the effect its having on our lives? How can we tell that enough is enough. Some people can’t, and to find out how things can go wrong, please click on the link below:
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Even though I see myself as a well-travelled person, this does not detract from the acceptance I will always run into those beyond comprehension no matter where in the world I am, what they do, and what I see them do. Some people are unfathomable, but when encountered playing chess, they have to be dealt with one way or another. It just so happens that those who cheat in life fit into the category of those I fail to understand no matter how hard I try. I can’t work out why anyone thinks winning by cheating is commendable, and why it is that the results of their actions are so important. The chess world has recently been rocked by allegations of cheating, and it achieved so much attention that reportage became extensive. Even the BB, bloody, C were reporting on it, and would now like to tell us that Poker players and fishermen are also at it. Details can be found here: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63108879
Some people will stop at nothing to get what they want.
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How do we live out our day-to-day lives without incident? How do we keep ourselves clean and free from distraction or disaster? It takes some practice doesn’t it? And a constant need to rework things I would say. Minor slip ups in life are difficult to dodge, we all fall foul to them from time to time even though we tend to keep an eye out -this is life. Have you ever stepped in something you shouldn’t have? Most probably we all have at one time or another in our lives.
For further food for thought, take a look below at the picture of my good old self. What am I doing in this picture? It could be that I am bending over and having a good hard shit or I could just be happy to be home? A train platform is especially good for accidental backside droppings because many people use them and they are often in a hurry, which means they could skid in your shit. Now wouldn’t that be a delight to watch? Regarding the picture I have attached, I don’t think I was having a shit but I wouldn’t rule it out as I can’t remember everything I’ve done and it is true that I love for put down deliveries for unsuspecting others. What I would like you to do is look at this picture, decide what you think is going on and use that to improve your chess in some way. Above all else think: street, think: step, think: shit, think: chess.
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After the popularity of the last post, which had a cracking title and a definite contender for winner of the 2022 award for most hair-raising title for a chess post. Many have written in asking me to add more posts where titled chess players accidentally step in someone’s shit. In an ideal world we would just love to watch someone step in our own accidental shit releases everyday and capture it on video for family viewing on special occasions like Easter and Christmas. Not all of us have had the luxury of watching such videos as we grow up, and so to offset that I shall listen to the requests and rustle up another post. I may even interview some titled players and ask them if they ever trod in shit whilst playing chess and how it affected their game, sitting at the table and playing on with shit all over their shoes. I will report back any findings. And may I tell you from personal experience, if you get the chance to watch someone step in your shit, it’s much better if a woman does that believe me -they go all mad!
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There are two remaining elements: creativity and humour. One of the two is present in most posts, so some reworking needed there, after that things should be fine and more settled. Just need to readdress the balance, and stop playing around so much.
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It’s all crooked. The vessel, the straights ahead, the high seas but I’ve plotted a course that’s straight enough, fair weather permitting.
What needs to be done is this fleshing-out process where we stumble into generic content. I have to do more in terms of thinking more deeply and connecting content up where possible. There should be objectives too but I am not so sure. The surge is creativity not some tired old methodology.
It should come together but it does mean I will be writing less. But sometimes less is more. More needs to be done so that the finishing touches are complete.
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Firstly, stop posting for the sake of it.
Secondly, don’t post if I have nothing to say.
Thirdly, decide upon core elements of posts, which may then be selected.
Fourthly, take your time instead of trying to rush things all the time.
I must admit, last week I was conscious of the fact that I was struggling for content. It’s gone on too long and now is the time for action. It’s not hard but I do need to think more about generic content, which will be reflective, which will lean on my education, and which will require some forethought. That should be enough for the time being.
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Yes it’s true my finger is close to the pulse these days. I’m closer in my writing because I changed things up around July, and changed them for the better. I know what’s going on and the directions things are moving in. The main problem seems to be my interest in chess has dropped and I don’t have much to say nonetheless I still post. Not quite a recipe for disaster that but it’s not good at all. Okay, so I will start making changes and keep things as relevant as possible.
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So I am making progress. I just remembered that writing is a big thing in my life and something I love to do (even if I don’t have much to say), so that’s why it continues on. Ah well. I should remember that over the summer there was massive improvement in terms of creativity and finding my own voice. I am carrying on with that so it’s okay. Just don’t post when I don’t have anything to say basically.
We get there eventually.
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A side note on how to read old Tom Sweby's columns
Not perhaps, but quintessentially, Old Tom Sweby is best thought of as a passionate devotee to the newspapers he wrote for. He was well read and knowledgeable of the Bedfordshire chess scene and well beyond, given that he was the president of the S.C.C.U. once upon a time. He was generally well-respected and rubbed shoulders with many, if not all, of those eminent within British chess circles. It would, however, be a critical mistake to see his column is primary source material entirely. That it is not. You will also find secondary source material quoted too, and the reliability of that is not quite as Tom hoped. Given that he wrote for decades, this is to some degree inevitable, and after all we are all prone to error whether we realize it or not. Thankfully, with regards to old Tom Sweby, they are infrequent and for the most part old Tom continued to document events and developments in the Bedfordshire league from the get go as best he could but, of course, everything lies open to interpretation. Despite this, and generally speaking. this does indeed make him informative and thus worth reading. Dare I say his columns constitute a narrative describing the latest developments, match reports and changing nature of the Beds league...he knew his audience and wrote according. This manifested itself over decades but brevity was always in play courtesy of the restictions imposed by writing a column. Should you wish to read a in instrumental figure of the Beds' league post WW2, you are quite welcome to peruse what has been posted here... . :-) I should, however, point out that as the decades wore on he gradually moved on away from narratives concerning the Bedfordshire league towards affairs both historical and international. The reasons for this are multifarous, old age was a predominante factor presumably, however, the bottom line is with regards to how the Bedfordshire chess scene developed post WW2: old Tom Sweby is your go to guy. He wrote more about chess in Bedforshire than anyone else did but given he was a Lutonian and writing for a Luton newspaper there is both bias and greater coverage of his hometown than the rest of the county.
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