Samurai's
post made me reflect on my current habits. It's really a little crazy how much time I spend on chess compared to other stuff. First off, I have so many chess books that I could probably spend every single minute of the next 10 years reading and studying them and still not finish. Whether it's tactics puzzles, game collections, strategy stuff, openings - if I'm going somewhere and I know I'll have a few minutes of spare time, a chess book goes with me. Then there's ICC - blitz, long games, tournaments. Lots of time spent on all that. And let's not forget the time spent on bloggin and reading blogs. Add to that time spent at my local chess club and on study sessions with buddies, plus OTB tournaments. Oh, and lately, I’ve killed way too much time with Chessbase and related software. I could easily sit in front of Chessbase all day long exploring stuff; the amount of information at your fingertips is just mind-boggling. I also just received my first copy of the Chessbase Magazine (which comes on a disc). It has tons of fun stuff in CB format (tactics training, opening analysis, endgame videos by GM Karsten Mueller, a video analysis by Shirov of one of his games, a couple of recent tournaments, and much more). Then I am going through a couple Chessbase Training DVD’s like Daniel King’s PowerPlay series and Andrew Martin on the Benko and the Trompowsky.
Ok, so tell me that doesn’t sound crazy? I mean, if I didn’t have to work for a living, I could literally do nothing but chess all day. I really love spending time like that, and probably will continue to do so. But honestly, if looked at from 30,000 feet, it’s kinda ridiculous.
Chess is one heck of a vortex. Chess is crack. [ Thanks
BDK. That assessment is a lot more accurate :) ]
It’s a shame that chess in the US is so screwed up. I mean, just look at this article, and the comments to the article in particular. So many screwed-up personalities, politics etc. It’s really sad to see that the USCF resembles a soap opera more than anything else. Which reminds me, I want to read Evans’ new book.
I just got back from a week in Japan, which was hella fun. I didn’t play any chess whatsoever but I had a million other things to keep me busy and entertained. I ate some really cool stuff (like Takoyaki or the infamous Fugu, which can literally kill you) and had a blast with some of the funky Japanese technology (I’m talking seriously high-tech bathrooms and stuff). I experienced first hand what it feels like to be squeezed to death like a sardine in the Tokyo subways, where it feels like there are about 100 people too many on each subway car. Here’s a nice little clip to illustrate what I mean. 
