2o3point5

Yep, 203.5! That's 9 1/2 lbs since July 18 - roughly 4 weeks and that's just from a semi-conscious effort to resist sweets, soda pop, not stuffing myself silly when it's time to eat AND not eating late at night out of boredom. Also, smaller lunches that help me to avoid that "food coma" that can come from eating a lot at lunch time.

I still partake in some junk, tho. Two things of M&M's yesterday & one this morning. I can't help it. I need a snack or something an hour or two before lunch and and hour or two after lunch.

I've got to start playing chess again. I played the one game mentioned in another post. Other than that, I really haven't played much since winter. Jeff (my cousin & reigning Michigan Class E Champion) and I played 4 games Sunday night & I pretty much got outplayed in every game, losing 3 out of 4. Still, it's not just from me not playing much. I must credit Jeff, too, because he's a strong player and seems stronger every time we play.

Here's an interesting position from our first game after white's 19th move, f3. I'm playing the black side.







BLACK to move.









What's the best continuation?

Assessment: Material is even. He's ahead in development and space, he's got an advanced knight on e5, and two bishops aiming at my kingside. My knight on e4 is being threatened and must move.

All of this favors white. Being the patzer that I am, I spot the knight move to f2 - forking the two rooks and that's the move I played.

In hindsight, I realize that if his two bishops weren't beaming fire to my king's corner, that might be a good move. But in this particular position, I think both of those bishops are more valuable (or potentially deadlier) than either of his rooks so it would've been better at this point in the game to swap out one of his bishops instead of going for the rook fork.

Fritz said the play should've continued from the diagram with ....Ba3+ (opening the e-file for black's rook and pressuring white's king). White then moves Kb1 (the only move) and THEN black swaps out the knight for white's bishop and from there the position is assessed by the computer as totally equal, although black still has his hands full - considering the eventual white expansion & pawnstorm on the kingside.

Yes, there are times when a bishop is more valuable than a rook. I believe this to be one of those situations. What do you think?

I ended up losing on time in what the computer says is an equal position. My anti-computer sense tells me white should have a plus here.

Here's the game -