I observe that most of the bloggers who have mentioned their interest as chess are from Russia! I decided to write some anecdotes from my experiences relating to the interests that I have given in my profile.
Today, I am writing some thing about one of my high school interests- Chess!
It was those days in the 70's when chess was introduced in our family by my elder brother. We are a big family with 4 brothers and two sisters. Strangely, I was not very much interested in the game when it was introduced. My elder brother and younger brother were playing the game by drawing the board on the floor by chalk and using some pebbles and cards as pawns and pieces!
A chess board was purchased much later when both my brothers have learnt the game very well. My father used to join once in a while in the game as he was a champian player in his remote village in kerala, where he used to decimate old veterans consisting verandah chess players!
With lot of skepticism and disinterest, I used to watch them play until one of my brothers pooh poohed my ability to learn the game.
I started watching the game keenly and very soon I became a player to challenge our home champians. We started playing the game from Madras(now Chennai) suburb to Ooty hills where we relocated when my father was transferred. During holidays, there will be tournaments conducted between brothers when 5 x5 games are played non-stop with recess only for eating food and drinking coffee served at the venues! Games played in tournament format and we used to write the moves as it was useful in starting the game wherever we left it, if we had to carry over the play the next day!
The game started occuppying our lives like an obsessive cumpulsive disorder! The side effect of the dissorder is that the loser will be subjected to taunts and crude remarks of becoming useless dumb-head and a failure.... resulting in wordly and, occasional fist fights. The loser would always want another game to be played...like in 'Mahabharata'..!
We had to put a fulstop to the game at home one day when my mother had to intervene, during one of those fights following a game, to confiscate the chess board & coins and consign them to flames in a specially made 'bonfire', before which we all had to swear that we shall never play at home ever after and fight with each other! This was preceded by our mother making a serious threat to inflict self injury, which instantly melted every one into submission and made us strictly to follow the promise we made before the 'bonfire'!
Again we had to relocate to Trichy following another transfer to my father from Ooty. Here I started playing with a family friend and at the college. When there was a competition organised by Rock Fort Jaycees Club of Trichy, I enrolled for the junior level tournament. I got selected in the preliminaries and entered the Junior championship which was on a 'knock out' format. I won all the three games I played and moved on to the final.
The final game was held in Hotel Sangam, a star hotel which we would only go to see from a distance those days!
I was so thrilled to play at the venue rather than getting the trophy! What happened during the game and how I lost the game was some thing which I still feel akward to tell ...!
The game was keenly watched by the senior players and organisers as it was held in a big hotel room with time device and game sheets. I was playing black and my opponent, who was the favorite, was playing white. He was playing the usual queen and bishop combination using the french open which I could easily sense. I made a night trap for him should he venture to give a check! Now it was his move and he could venture to give a check ......, when tea was served to us.
He took his queen on his hand and started to move towards the position..... when I was just got distracted by the serving tea..... it happened! A moment of distraction on my part went in favour of my opponent who retracted his move. I could have insisted him to make "touch move" but my attention got diverted by the serving tea, and my right to make him play the move was, by my silence estopeled! Thereafter the game became useless and unsalvageable for me as I had played a dangerous trap game that turned to his benefit by resulting in end game advantage for him.
People who play serious chess would agree that the game can be as nail biting as one could find in the now crazy cricket format of 20-20s, like in cricket, the game of chess can go any which way until the last move.
Chess game had its contribution in changing my life totally, though in hindsight, I do not regret!
The unfinished story would be told some time later...
Many thanks for visiting me and now I would now await to see the comments from the readers..
Today, I am writing some thing about one of my high school interests- Chess!
It was those days in the 70's when chess was introduced in our family by my elder brother. We are a big family with 4 brothers and two sisters. Strangely, I was not very much interested in the game when it was introduced. My elder brother and younger brother were playing the game by drawing the board on the floor by chalk and using some pebbles and cards as pawns and pieces!
A chess board was purchased much later when both my brothers have learnt the game very well. My father used to join once in a while in the game as he was a champian player in his remote village in kerala, where he used to decimate old veterans consisting verandah chess players!
With lot of skepticism and disinterest, I used to watch them play until one of my brothers pooh poohed my ability to learn the game.
I started watching the game keenly and very soon I became a player to challenge our home champians. We started playing the game from Madras(now Chennai) suburb to Ooty hills where we relocated when my father was transferred. During holidays, there will be tournaments conducted between brothers when 5 x5 games are played non-stop with recess only for eating food and drinking coffee served at the venues! Games played in tournament format and we used to write the moves as it was useful in starting the game wherever we left it, if we had to carry over the play the next day!
The game started occuppying our lives like an obsessive cumpulsive disorder! The side effect of the dissorder is that the loser will be subjected to taunts and crude remarks of becoming useless dumb-head and a failure.... resulting in wordly and, occasional fist fights. The loser would always want another game to be played...like in 'Mahabharata'..!
We had to put a fulstop to the game at home one day when my mother had to intervene, during one of those fights following a game, to confiscate the chess board & coins and consign them to flames in a specially made 'bonfire', before which we all had to swear that we shall never play at home ever after and fight with each other! This was preceded by our mother making a serious threat to inflict self injury, which instantly melted every one into submission and made us strictly to follow the promise we made before the 'bonfire'!
Again we had to relocate to Trichy following another transfer to my father from Ooty. Here I started playing with a family friend and at the college. When there was a competition organised by Rock Fort Jaycees Club of Trichy, I enrolled for the junior level tournament. I got selected in the preliminaries and entered the Junior championship which was on a 'knock out' format. I won all the three games I played and moved on to the final.
The final game was held in Hotel Sangam, a star hotel which we would only go to see from a distance those days!
I was so thrilled to play at the venue rather than getting the trophy! What happened during the game and how I lost the game was some thing which I still feel akward to tell ...!
The game was keenly watched by the senior players and organisers as it was held in a big hotel room with time device and game sheets. I was playing black and my opponent, who was the favorite, was playing white. He was playing the usual queen and bishop combination using the french open which I could easily sense. I made a night trap for him should he venture to give a check! Now it was his move and he could venture to give a check ......, when tea was served to us.
He took his queen on his hand and started to move towards the position..... when I was just got distracted by the serving tea..... it happened! A moment of distraction on my part went in favour of my opponent who retracted his move. I could have insisted him to make "touch move" but my attention got diverted by the serving tea, and my right to make him play the move was, by my silence estopeled! Thereafter the game became useless and unsalvageable for me as I had played a dangerous trap game that turned to his benefit by resulting in end game advantage for him.
People who play serious chess would agree that the game can be as nail biting as one could find in the now crazy cricket format of 20-20s, like in cricket, the game of chess can go any which way until the last move.
Chess game had its contribution in changing my life totally, though in hindsight, I do not regret!
The unfinished story would be told some time later...
Many thanks for visiting me and now I would now await to see the comments from the readers..
1 comment:
Good Experience.Itoo played chessin My earlier days.What he expressed is true.Some times i watch the international chess play ,players bite the nail.Good narration.
K.Ragavan.
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