Wednesday, October 22, 2008
I just got my arse handed to me 3 times in playing chess with the owner of San Juan Pizza (which is incidentally the best pizza place in all of San Juan Del Sur). I've watched him play - two, sometimes three, games of speed chess, and last week I was admiring a problem he'd had mailed (not emailed! Mailed!) to him from a friend from his home country. We had a nice discussion about it....
Today, drunk - stupid - I decided, finally, after a year of watching him decimate all opponents, to take him on.
He creamed me in less than 20 moves, twice, with barely a pause for thought. By the third game I was ready to resign after going two pawns down, after opening as white. I held on for a while just for the sake of honor but the writing was on the wall by move 24 and I resigned again.
It hurt - not so much as if I'd been sober - because I used to play chess at the 1300+ level before computers got so good as to take all the fun out of the game unless you were in the 1800s or higher. Games.yahoo.com was a comforting friend for a while, but there is no way I can play at the level he plays at.
He was gracious in victory. And he makes pizza for a living.
I am in awe. Perhaps I can take on some of his defeated opponents after my ego recovers... in another year or so.
Today, drunk - stupid - I decided, finally, after a year of watching him decimate all opponents, to take him on.
He creamed me in less than 20 moves, twice, with barely a pause for thought. By the third game I was ready to resign after going two pawns down, after opening as white. I held on for a while just for the sake of honor but the writing was on the wall by move 24 and I resigned again.
It hurt - not so much as if I'd been sober - because I used to play chess at the 1300+ level before computers got so good as to take all the fun out of the game unless you were in the 1800s or higher. Games.yahoo.com was a comforting friend for a while, but there is no way I can play at the level he plays at.
He was gracious in victory. And he makes pizza for a living.
I am in awe. Perhaps I can take on some of his defeated opponents after my ego recovers... in another year or so.
Labels: chess, games, nicaragua
¶ 8:32 PM
