I have read Frances Parkinson Keyes book "The Chess Players."
A classic!
For me, the human nature of my opponent is the most fun.
I observe their temperament, tendencies, skillset, and whatnot.
After a while, I do find the stylistic preferences which are most likely
make preparation against them easier. Nothing is more motivating than losing!
When I was actively playing, I only played in maybe 2 tournaments toward the end of the 1990's. I was barely a 1500 player at that time.
In later years, I could inconsistently beat players up to about 1800 level.
Only on a GOOD day with my mind straight.
Today? I have no idea. I would guess somewhere around 1700.
I have read extensively and know the biographies and history of the famous players.
I've read the theory books, too.
My favorite player was Jose' Raul Capablanca.
My favorite teacher, Yassir Seriwan (I think his name is.)
My favorite YouTube channel is a fellow named
TerryWalstrom
JoinedPosts by TerryWalstrom
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14
Murder in the Cathedral (Chess at Barnes & Noble)
by TerryWalstrom ini sat with my board and pieces like a new orleans hooker in a window with a red light, displaying my wanton intentions--eager for action.. last evening in barnes & noble.tuesdays the chess club meets there.. i arrived with my infamous black bag of pawns and rooks and other deadly concealed weapons of regicide--an old warrior in a strange land.. presently, a mother and her son stepped forward.
he was about 12.____mother: “oh, sir--my son has become obsessed with the game of chess and i thought if hecould play some real games with experienced players he might enjoy that.
would it be okay if kevin played a game with you?”.
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TerryWalstrom
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14
Murder in the Cathedral (Chess at Barnes & Noble)
by TerryWalstrom ini sat with my board and pieces like a new orleans hooker in a window with a red light, displaying my wanton intentions--eager for action.. last evening in barnes & noble.tuesdays the chess club meets there.. i arrived with my infamous black bag of pawns and rooks and other deadly concealed weapons of regicide--an old warrior in a strange land.. presently, a mother and her son stepped forward.
he was about 12.____mother: “oh, sir--my son has become obsessed with the game of chess and i thought if hecould play some real games with experienced players he might enjoy that.
would it be okay if kevin played a game with you?”.
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TerryWalstrom
I was a member of a local chess club around 1999--2003 but stopped going
when the only chess anybody wanted to play was Blitz!
Heck--I have trouble not embarrassing myself with a slow game--let alone getting myself humiliated ten times in one hour with speed chess!
It's only in the last 6 months I decided I needed chess in my life again
because of my age. I want to postpone senility any way I can :)
I find playing against a computer online is soulless. Mainly because I can only win 1 game out of 4. (Crushes my soul )
It is a wonderful pastime and reveals to me my many character flaws.
+++
I highly recommend this novel by the author of that great pool book
THE HUSTLER -
14
Murder in the Cathedral (Chess at Barnes & Noble)
by TerryWalstrom ini sat with my board and pieces like a new orleans hooker in a window with a red light, displaying my wanton intentions--eager for action.. last evening in barnes & noble.tuesdays the chess club meets there.. i arrived with my infamous black bag of pawns and rooks and other deadly concealed weapons of regicide--an old warrior in a strange land.. presently, a mother and her son stepped forward.
he was about 12.____mother: “oh, sir--my son has become obsessed with the game of chess and i thought if hecould play some real games with experienced players he might enjoy that.
would it be okay if kevin played a game with you?”.
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TerryWalstrom
I sat with my board and pieces like a New Orleans hooker in a window with a red light, displaying my wanton intentions--eager for action.Last evening in Barnes & Noble.
Tuesdays the Chess club meets there.I arrived with my infamous black bag of pawns and rooks and other deadly concealed weapons of regicide--an old warrior in a strange land.
Presently, a mother and her son stepped forward.
He was about 12.
____
Mother: “Oh, Sir--my son has become obsessed with the game of chess and I thought if he
could play some real games with experienced players he might enjoy that. Would it be okay if Kevin played a game with you?”Terry (addressing Kevin): “Good Evening, Kevin. Did you want to play a game?”
The young man looked like the bold and adventurous Nerd, bloodthirsty for conquest. He was smooth-faced, with golden tousled hair, large and intelligent blue eyes.
He nodded and took his chair opposite me.
___Mother: “All the other kids his age are playing such violent video games, I’m glad he’s taken such avid interest in Chess. In fact, it’s all he seems to want to do.”
Terry: “Chess is the oldest video game in existence--except--without the video.”
Mother takes a seat nearby like the overprotective suburban Housefrau of 1950’s sitcoms.
Kevin: “Do you care which color you play, because--if you don’t--I’d prefer White.”
Terry: “Chess is a very Moral game. The rules ensure neither side is given unfair advantages on purpose.
That is why I do THIS!
(I place a white pawn in one hand and a black pawn in my other hand.)
I’ll now mix these up and let you choose in the blind.
Like most things in life, Luck will confer its advantage willy-nilly.”
__The boy and his mother are now looking at this old man who uses words like “willy-nilly” with guarded suspicion. However, Kevin selects my left hand and luck bestows the White Privilege.
_____Our game commences with Kevin’s pawn staunchly planted on the fourth square in front of His Majesty’s throne.
Terry: “ You are an aggressive General like Hannibal of Carthage, who brought Rome to its knees in the Punic Wars.”
(Kevin is now staring at me, wondering what he’s gotten himself into. His mother is nodding and smiling. Her bouncing baby boy is being educated by an old sage.)
___
I scoot my King’s pawn one square forward. Timidly, like some errant mouse venturing out of its hole, eyeballing the room in search of the famished cat.In an eager flash of movement, Kevin orders his King’s Knight forward, supporting the center.
My Queen’s Bishop’s pawn launches into the field and prevents a second center pawn.
_____Terry: “Chess is not only a moral game but a game which exposes and reveals character.
It is moral because--if you do nothing wrong--your opponent cannot punish you. It reveals character because, like life itself, adversity tests who we are inside and what we are made of.”(Mother’s head tilts slightly to the side, thoughtfully embracing buzzwords like “moral” and “character” with instinctive approval.)
Kevin’s eyes are flicking here and there, dancing over the field of play with impatience for carnage. He reminds me of my son, Nicholas, at that age--keenly intelligent and enthusiastic for any opportunity to display his genius.
Kevin decides to penetrate my territorial sanctity by placing his King’s Bishop on my Queen’s side flank.Kevin: “CHECK!”
______Terry: “ 1540s, the Catholic Church sent priests into Japan from Portugal to convert the Japanese to Christianity, teaching them to ‘turn the other cheek’ so that eventually, troops would arrive and conquer the newly minted Christians and establish dominance in Asia.”
(I interposed my Queen’s Knight, blocking his Bishop.)
Mother, I can see, has pursed her lips a wee bit. The wheels in her maternal noggin are turning. She isn’t Catholic. So far, so good.
____
And so it went.
With each move, I told little stories and sprinkled tidbits of history, philosophy, and religious lore mostly to keep myself interesting (I hoped.)Kevin’s over-eager aggression got him into trouble quite early. I trapped his Bishop and--like King Henry II’s henchmen, murdered Thomas More in the cathedral--I curtailed the influence of his Catholic emissary.
Step by step. Move by move. The noose tightened inexorably.I let him take back blundered moves a couple of times--although this is poor sport. I didn’t want to crush his spirit. I advised him when he was going wrong--but in a gentle way.
__Finally, it was over.
His king cowered in the corner as my mouse of a pawn advanced to his first rank and transformed into a snarling lion administering Checkmate._____
He thanked me with polite acknowledgment and went off for other opportunities with the rest of the club members.
Mother went out of her way to come over and thank me.
I explained to her that her son was quite a bright young man.
"Chess is a moral game because--unless you do something wrong--nobody can punish you.
His only fault was ambition without a plan for success. Blind ambition can be unlearned through developing patience. Patience is an old man's strong suit."_____
That’s the only game I played. My daughter Helena came by after her class at the local community college. We set off for Starbucks nearby.
And a good time was had by all.
(Except maybe Kevin the Bold whose king was murdered in the Cathedral.) -
49
My 71st Birthday Confessional
by TerryWalstrom ini was born january 15, 1947in mt.
carmel hospital, detroit, michigan.. within six months of my birth, my mother would bundle her baby boy into a blanket and board an american airlines propeller-driven plane--in effect, leaving my father behind--to return to her hometown, ft. worth, texas.. my dad had an excellent job working for cadillac as an inspector.
it was a union job.
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TerryWalstrom
Don Magno (still an artist today, Terry Walstrom (a writer) Arvant Benjamin (lost touch with him.)
This production facility had artists from Germany, Thailand, the Philipines, Mexico, etc.
We were a ragtag bunch.
My horizons were expanding like crazy. From a JW Pioneer to a fledgling painter in an art factory. -
49
My 71st Birthday Confessional
by TerryWalstrom ini was born january 15, 1947in mt.
carmel hospital, detroit, michigan.. within six months of my birth, my mother would bundle her baby boy into a blanket and board an american airlines propeller-driven plane--in effect, leaving my father behind--to return to her hometown, ft. worth, texas.. my dad had an excellent job working for cadillac as an inspector.
it was a union job.
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TerryWalstrom
mgmelkat7 hours ago7 hours ago
Did you ever become the artist you wanted? Would love to see what you created!
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My first actual job as an "artist" was in a large company called TRIANGLE ART. It was, more or less, a factory of sorts. I was hired as one of a group of 10 artists whose job was to reproduce multiple copies of wall paintings. These paintings were designed by two fellows who went on to become my best friends.
Guess what?
I had never painted anything before in my life!
(Unless you count fingerpainting in the first-grade elementary school.)
My chief talent in art stemmed from an uncanny natural ability to draw hyper-realistic portraits of human faces.
I could say a lot about this, but I won't bore you.
My drawings seemed to impress people. To this day, I cannot understand why this is so.
I digress...
Imagine you are a Dentist hired to perform an appendectomy and you'll understand my situation.
My one natural gift was "non-transferable" to painting! Yet, on the strength of my interview and "chemistry" with the two head designers--I was hired.
I did a Google search and found an image which pretty much nails what we were asked to do.The idea was this.
A landscape, for instance, was created by the lead designers and approved
by the salesmen as something they thought they could sell.These designers then "broke it down" into stages, creating
intermediate canvases even a moron (like me) could copy.
Was it really Art?
Ha ha ha ha ha. Don't be silly.
These WERE paintings and the art was eventually framed and sold.
People DID buy them
But was it Art?
Ha ha ha ha.
A "Certificate of Authenticity" was created verifying some wholly inventednonsense about the non-existing Artist. "Anton Chichikov, master painter
from Ukraine, escaped the iron curtain of Communism during Premiere
Khrushev's regime and fled to France where he adapted his vision ofbeautiful blah-blah-blah into this remarkable piece of blah-blah..."
Within about a month, I approached the owner of the company with some ideas
for how to improve working conditions and pay for the artists.
I proposed an INCENTIVE SYSTEM.
The owner, Richard Friedman, a Hungarian Jewish fellow who wore his shirt
open exposing the plethora of white hair on his chest and his bright gold chain,
approved the idea and promoted me to the foreman position.
This unexpected outcome meant I no longer had to paint schlock!
Why am I telling you this?
I am a writer now--why wouldn't I turn it into part of my life story? :)
From that promotion forward, (are you ready for it?) I never really had to
create any original art of my own for the rest of my art career!
In fact, the lead designer R.S. Riddick was about to launch his own etching
business and he stole me as his own employee.
My whole life changed!
I moved from Cucamonga, California (at the foot of Mt. Baldy) to Redondo Beach
in South Bay.
I was trained to mix colored ink, apply the ink to etching plates, prepare the
rag paper in a bath of water, and to soak and dry it--then, lay the plates on
a thick blanket surface in a large motorized roller press and--PRESTO!
Pulling back the blanket, and peeling off the paper, the freshly minted etchingappeared. After it dried, we often hand-painted watercolor areas, or added
a poem I would write. Finally, Art galleries all over the U.S. ordered these
original, limited edition etchings from our traveling sales force.
As a Jehovah's Witness who had only worked horrible jobs cleaning toilets, building mobile
homes, and painting houses--I was in heaven working in an actual Atelier
in the incredible paradise of California.
From that position as Master Inker and Pressman, I became the de facto C.E.O.
of R.N.R. Graphics, when the Artist himself moved on.
I hired more artists to replace him and changed the direction of the company.
From there, I went to work as an Art Consultant and salesperson in Beverly Hills at
Billy Hork Galleries.
Most of my stories involving Hollywood celebrities began about that time.From then onward, I learned Custom Framing techniques and hired on at
Creative Galleries about a mile from MGM Studios.
What a fantastic experience!
I made friends with set decorators for TV and moviesand consulted on Art installations for all corporate hangings.
The moral of this tale?
I NEVER REALLY USED my artistic gift per se.
Amazing and ironic? I think so.
The only piece of original art I own which I created, is my very first drawing
from 1965 when I discovered (and was discovered) my portrait talent.
From that first High School era drawing, I did contract work in Fort Worth.
I charged whatever I thought I could get--which wasn't much.
My longing to use this one tiny talent just about ate me up until I moved
away from the drudgery of janitorial labor and Jehovah's Witness bondage.
I took this iPhone shot of that one piece. It is hanging on my wall.
It is Peter O'Toole as Lawrence of Arabia
For "Good Luck" I have used this drawing on the cover of both of my books -
49
My 71st Birthday Confessional
by TerryWalstrom ini was born january 15, 1947in mt.
carmel hospital, detroit, michigan.. within six months of my birth, my mother would bundle her baby boy into a blanket and board an american airlines propeller-driven plane--in effect, leaving my father behind--to return to her hometown, ft. worth, texas.. my dad had an excellent job working for cadillac as an inspector.
it was a union job.
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TerryWalstrom
LoisLane:
Terry, Have you recently posted which jail and prison(s) you were sent to?
Has anyone made a collection of all the names of the young brothers sent to prison because of WT? If so, I am not aware of it.
_____
At one time I had in my possession the names of all the Brothers from prison, their (then) home addresses. Time has a way of losing those things. I may still have it "some"place.
Some of my best buddies from that time died young. One, Danny Roy Bene, killed in an auto crash, and Sammy Salami died of a sudden heart attack.
I'd love to contact Joe Pruitt or Ron Clayton. Never could find them.
I did hunt down and speak on the phone with Tollie Padget.
Midway through our conversation, I realized he was STILL IN the ORG.
I excused myself and sent him an email explaining my situation and giving him the choice of initiating the contact. That was a couple of years ago. So far...nothing.
Many of the Brothers were sent from El Reno in Oklahoma into Texas.
I spent 10 days in the Tarrant County Jail before I was transferred to Seagoville Federal Correctional Institutions in Dallas.
______________
Seagoville was intended for Enemy Aliens originally!
http://www.thc.texas.gov/preserve/projects-and-programs/military-history/texas-world-war-ii/world-war-ii-japanese-american-4 -
49
My 71st Birthday Confessional
by TerryWalstrom ini was born january 15, 1947in mt.
carmel hospital, detroit, michigan.. within six months of my birth, my mother would bundle her baby boy into a blanket and board an american airlines propeller-driven plane--in effect, leaving my father behind--to return to her hometown, ft. worth, texas.. my dad had an excellent job working for cadillac as an inspector.
it was a union job.
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TerryWalstrom
LoisLane looking for Superman
Can you PM me with a safe email address with your username from here?
________
Anyone can email me at this address:
[email protected]
_____
If you had met me, you'd remember. I'm six feet four inches tall and don't have a serious bone in my body. -
49
My 71st Birthday Confessional
by TerryWalstrom ini was born january 15, 1947in mt.
carmel hospital, detroit, michigan.. within six months of my birth, my mother would bundle her baby boy into a blanket and board an american airlines propeller-driven plane--in effect, leaving my father behind--to return to her hometown, ft. worth, texas.. my dad had an excellent job working for cadillac as an inspector.
it was a union job.
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TerryWalstrom
I "preesh" all the well-wishes.
If it weren't for Ex-Dubs in the world, I'd actually have zero acquaintances or friends who could begin to understand that wack, weird and warped journey.
Much thanks! -
49
My 71st Birthday Confessional
by TerryWalstrom ini was born january 15, 1947in mt.
carmel hospital, detroit, michigan.. within six months of my birth, my mother would bundle her baby boy into a blanket and board an american airlines propeller-driven plane--in effect, leaving my father behind--to return to her hometown, ft. worth, texas.. my dad had an excellent job working for cadillac as an inspector.
it was a union job.
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TerryWalstrom
JaniceA4 hours ago4 hours ago
Happy birthday, Terry. Are you the guy that told us the Starbucks that you hang out in?
_______
I recently moved, JaniceA!
I left behind that dadblamed Crow, Edgar!
I'm trying to grow accustomed to the local Starbucks. I don't know anybody there since I left all my chess buddies behind too. -
49
My 71st Birthday Confessional
by TerryWalstrom ini was born january 15, 1947in mt.
carmel hospital, detroit, michigan.. within six months of my birth, my mother would bundle her baby boy into a blanket and board an american airlines propeller-driven plane--in effect, leaving my father behind--to return to her hometown, ft. worth, texas.. my dad had an excellent job working for cadillac as an inspector.
it was a union job.
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TerryWalstrom
I've promised myself I'll finally release my entire JW memoirs this year after working on it almost four years.
My working title is:
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED TO ME
ON MY WAY TO ARMAGEDDON
The idea was this.
