Hamilton Quad 24th October Cancelled

I got word from the Hamilton Chess Club in New Jersey that they had to cancel the Quad tournament this coming Saturday.

That is a disappointment since I had planed on returning to tournament play with that event.

On The Need To Win

Some time ago, I had read a few sports related articles that stated you should not be outcome focused but should be process focused.

Below is a poem I found that addresses this topic. I feel it applies to chess players.

The Need to Win

When an archer is shooting for nothing
He has all his skill.
If he shoots for a brass buckle
He is already nervous.
If he shoots for a prize of gold
He goes blind
Or sees two targets–
He is out of his mind!

His skill has not changed. But the prize
Divides him. He cares.
He thinks more of winning
Than of shooting–
And the need to win
Drains him of power.

- Chuang Tzu

US Chess League Starts This Week

The US Chess League starts another season this week. The New Jersey plays Baltimore tonight on the ICC.

Baltimore Kingfishers vs New Jersey Knockouts

Starts at 7:15 PM ET Time Control - Game 90 with 30 second increment

Baltimore Kingfishers New Jersey Knockouts
GM Sergey Erenburg: 2592 GM Joel Benjamin: 2651
IM Larry Kaufman: 2392 IM Dean Ippolito: 2426
FM Ray Kaufman: 2327 NM Mackenzie Molner: 2325
FM Ralph Zimmer: 2261 NM Victor Shen: 2246
Avg Rating: 2393 Avg Rating: 2412

Jim West in Kaissiber Article…

I bought a few copies of the great German Openings magazine Kaissiber from the USCF. It’s put out by Stephan Brucker. He also writes articles on chesscafe.com. In the April-June 2007 issue there is an article on the Philidor Counter Gambit that mentions Jim West’s book on that opening. See the highlight on page three.

Kings Gamit Book Signing Tonight…

Paul Hoffman sent me an email stating that tonights book signing will be at 7pm, and not 7:30pm, at the Marshall Chess Club. Refreshments too! I’ll be there. I’m taking time off work to catch the train to NYC. I want to visit Fred Wilson’s chess bookstore before the signing. Jim West has a nice write up on the event too. I’ll have an orange backpack, so say Hi if you see me.

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