K chess wrote:
Hey Avacados,
Since your name has no email attached I assume you want to remain unknown but you achieved a 2200 rating. Did you happen to play in the KC area in the 90's? RP?
No. Just on the east coast, and my last rated tournament was back in 1982.
$500 one year and $1000 the next in a marathon.
Most I have won in poker has been $210.
$5500 dollars in a pro bass tournament
kartelite wrote:
I think the other guys are a bit older than myself, but seem like pretty well-adjusted posters. Chess, like running, is great for teaching discipline, and while I don't play chess or run at the moment, I've found that the dedication I learned in those pursuits transfers easily to other endeavors (for me that currently involves grad school, lifting weights, and frequent games of beirut).
AN, approaching master rating, that is quite impressive! I played my junior year of high school a bit, quit with a 1265 rating due to those brutal scholastic tourneys, then played three or four more times my freshman year in college when USCF had introduced a "bonus points" system to get underrated people up higher. My performance ratings were consistently in the 1800 and 1900's during that time, but I stopped after not long with a mid-1600's rating. That next summer I picked up running, found I was a little better there than chess (sub 15) and have since moved onto other hobbies. But both chess and running (the latter especially) have had huge impacts on my life and way of approaching things.
When I decided that tournament chess -- particularly weekend Swiss-system tournament play -- was not really compatible with what I wanted to do in running, my choice between the two was (as I recall) an easy one. Chess was something I was pretty good at (and did enjoy a great deal, at least outside the tournament arena), but running was something that I was passionate about. I went with the passion.
I also preferred the identity of a runner. I think it was better for my self-esteem to see myself (and to be seen by others) as more of an athlete, and less of a geek. Also, running was a pretty cool sport in American society during the late '70s and early '80s; the people who showed up at road races seemed generally to be healthy, happy, and well-adjusted, and there was a good mix of male and female runners of all ages. Tournament chess players, on the other hand, were overwhelmingly male, and often socially marginalized.
Both activities were very important to me at various times in my life, but chess was easier to put on the shelf. I expect that I will always see myself as a runner and athlete.
Why is it that every post I read on chess makes me think the person writing it is probably writing it from a Star Trek convention cruise.
11,500 playing roulette at the Borgata in Atlantic city.
11,500 playing roulette at the Borgata in Atlantic city.
11,500 playing roulette at the Borgata in Atlantic city.
used to be. wrote:
Why is it that every post I read on chess makes me think the person writing it is probably writing it from a Star Trek convention cruise.
Biases work that way.
weight in beer for a 24:52 8k. About 5 cases. Most prize money in a single race $500. $700 for a series of races. Couple airline tickets and way to much gear. Not a bad 401k
used to be. wrote:
Why is it that every post I read on chess makes me think the person writing it is probably writing it from a Star Trek convention cruise.
Tell that to Khadevis Robinson.
And why do I think most people bashing chess are on a 5 minute timeout from Halo?
used to be. wrote:
Why is it that every post I read on chess makes me think the person writing it is probably writing it from a Star Trek convention cruise.
You probably just don't know much about good chess players. Offhand, I can't think of any good chess player who had any interest in Star Trek or would likely have been interested in it. Chess is the classical game of logic throughout most of the world, and has been for centuries. Star Trek conventions are for people who fantasize about a television show. I would expect more of an overlap between Trekkies and fans of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Star Wars movies.
The chess world is an odd subculture that includes geeky young kids and grizzled old street hustlers.
Avocados Number wrote:
The chess world is an odd subculture that includes geeky young kids and grizzled old street hustlers.
Sit down at any NYC Park, what was posted here will be evident. Between backgammon and chess there's plenty of money to be lost.
weight in beer for a 24:52 8k. About 5 cases. Most prize money in a single race $500. $700 for a series of races. Couple airline tickets and way to much gear. Not a bad 401k
Way to cut out the middleman Bill.
I won a $180 coat for winning a 10k. In the non-sports world, I won a $150 Barnes and Noble gift certificate for answering eight not so difficult questions in the New York Times Book Review correctly; I think there were a dozen winners. I actually once came in second in a race and the winner, who was not from the area, was given $100 in the cash that I'm pretty sure they would not have given to ME if I'd won. The money had not been advertised, and it was quite literally an under-the-table payment; they handed it to the guy under a table.