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 New Member INTRODUCTIONS
I was introduced to the game of chess when I was about 10 years old at the local YMCA summer program and would occasionally play with family and friends. I started playing regularly in 2001. Through trial and error, friends who took the time to discuss, review and encourage improvement and texts, my game became better- nowhere as good as I would like, but better than it was.
I became interested in Paul Morphy after playing through a couple of his games on a web site and marveling at just how quietly he was able to pull the rug out from under his opponents. His story, although tragic, piqued my interest even more.
I hope to enjoy further discussion on Morphy's play, motivations, illness and legacy and also discussions on other masters' contributions to the game. In addition, we at Club Morphy plan a series of thematic mini-tourneys on lines from Morphy's and other great players' games.
jc
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Hello, Everyone...
I'm Cyna (aka Cynthia), fairly new to chess and trying to improve.
I hope to learn more about Paul Morphy's ingenious style and pick up a few valuable tips here and there, from the masters as well as from other club members. Looking forward to seeing you around the boards.
Cheers!
Cyna
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Hello
I'll be honest, never heard of Paul Morphy, so you see how little I know about Chess history. I know about Bobby Fischer and a couple of Russians and that about it except I did play a bloke named Jude Acres when I was a teenager years (many years) ago. I guess he makes a living going around playing many opponents in Malls. He's supposed to be good but his trick is you have to make your move as soon as he comes to your board. As he eliminates his opponents, he's back at your board in a few seconds. No wonder I never spend enough time studying the board before making a move---its his fault. I was the 3rd from the last eliminated---been loosing consistently ever since---lol---Anyway, I'm looking forward to trying to correct my bad habits and I think this forum is a good start.----Dan
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penndan
You actually played Jude Acres!?? Wow!
He is a chess marvel! For folks not familiar with him here's a link:
www.chessville.com
There are a lot of "carney" players who are damn good. Humphrey Bogart was one. I wonder about the people who rise above Jules' group. What do they do that Jules doesn't?
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John
I checked out that site on Jude Acres----See he's still at it---I remember clearly that I was up on him in that game but lost a rook to a knight after about 35 moves. I think he won 39 out of 40 matches that afternoon. I was really mad at myself for making a stupid move because I had him. You're really on top of this chess thing---Dan
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penndan
No, I wouldn't say I'm on top of anything. I'm doing this thing on Morphy for just that purpose- To know something about somebody.
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gmdz
14-Apr-09, 16:01
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Introducing Gmdz
Hi I am Daniel Zhang from Australia, Sydney. I am 12 years old and got introduced to chess at the age of 6, won a lot of trophies in the NSW Junior Chess Tournament.
My biggest achievement would be coming 4th in the Australia Junior Chess Championships Open U/10 2006-2007 (held in Canberra) and coming 6th in the Australian Junior Chess Championships Open U/12 (Adelaide) (which i reckon i should have came 1st because i was going good until the last 2 rounds which i lost, but damn i should have won both of them)
Besides chess i play Reps or A grade Soccer, Piano 8th grade AMEB, Computer games (the only game that i play is GAMEKNOT!!!!!, and many more which the lists keeps going
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Gmdz
Great to have you aboard!
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antagonistknight
14-Apr-09, 19:47
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Greetings
Greetings, I am Moss. I have been playing chess for several years. I have been playing "serious" chess (in tournaments or in local club games) for a couple. The tournaments were not sanctioned by the USCF so I still do not have an official rating. I play regularly OTB, and get on gameknot every couple of days. I have found I do considerably better in this correspondence style chess than I do OTB. I look forward to learning more about the great players of chess, and improving both my and my teams/clubs chess abilities.
Hbird1830
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hbird1830
I'm happy you made it to Club Morphy. We are looking forward to seeing Henry E. Bird's contribution. We still have a few things coming on Paul Morphy, but go ahead on a Bird thread and we will catch up.
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iron butterfly
I started playing chess as a kid, and played off and on for years without taking it seriously. Then in 1972 I was sitting on pine needles in Yosemite playing my son when a guy walked by and asked us what we knew about Bobby Fischer - said he was listening on his portable radio to a match BF was playing in Iceland for the World Championship! The next year I was living up near Mendocino, CA and my wife said she saw a flyer for the "Sonoma-Mendocino Counties Championship," and I should try tournament play. That was my first USCF tourney, and even though I was unrated I was lucky (no joke!) and won it. So I was hooked. I joined USCF and half a dozen postal chess orgs, and played a lot for about 15 years in both otb and postal. Ran several chess clubs and had a lot of great trips (the US Senior Open on a cruise ship down the Mexican Riviera was a highlight), met great people, played (and lost to lol) several GMs as well as fascinating people in New York City parks and New Orleans (Jude Acers two different years). My game now is way down from what it once was, but I still love playing! (Play exclusively here on GK and have for years.) My friend "johnclark" got me thinking about Paul Morphy, and I'm now reading six books I picked up recently about him and his chess. Look forward to meeting and playing you all - Clark
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pizzakeith
I was born in 1961 and started playing chess shortly there after....I do not remember learning to play anymore than learning how to talk. I don't think that I won a game until 7 or 8. Bobby Fisher was the king of chess back then......everybody knew his name and nobody mentioned his....er....ah......strange behavior....at the time, he was my Hero. Now I lean toward Benjamin Franklin...I love chess..and the people who play. As a kid it was hard for me to find a game. I would set up my board in many strange locations, the beach, the lunch room at school, the Quad at Bradley University, parks,....I never got enough chess until I joined Gameknot....I love it here.
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pizzakeith
Glad to have you aboard! Here at Club Morphy we hope to provide various avenues to enhance the "joy of chess" [this out to get a few comments!]. Anyway, glad you are here.
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Introduction
First, I would like to thank John for inviting me to join this aspiring club. I have no doubt the club will grow to become one of Gameknot's finest.
My real name is Jim. While I have many hobbies and interests, I only have a few passions, one of which is now chess. I love the game as it challenges my mind and keeps it active. Additionally, I have made many good friends from countries all over the world while playing chess through the Gameknot community.
A friend introduced me to Gameknot three years ago. At that time I knew little more about chess than how the pieces moved. While this friend prefers to play one game at a time, I quickly started playing the maximum number allowed for non-paying members. However, over the next few months, my passion for the game quickly escalated; I wanted more. As a result, I became a premium subscriber in November 2007. Upon doing so I immediately delved into all of Gameknot's opportunities including clubs, tournaments, and a team.
During my first 35 games or so, I lost every one of them excepting timeouts, although most of my opponents had higher ratings than did I. Moreover, the friend who introduced me to Gameknot defeated me our first successive 15 games. However, undeterred, I continued to play the game until my own strategies started forming. Now winning about as many games as I lose, I am beginning to seek a more serious level of the game. I have developed a need to learn as much about the game as I possibly can learn, and I look forward to increasing my skill level through membership in this club.
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Happyhiker101
Welcome to Club Morphy.
Happyhiker101 didn't give his full credentials. He is co-captain of "Warriors of the Blood" and founder of the "Knights of Honor Chess Club". Take a look at
gameknot.com
It's a great club! He's done a hell of a job.
Maybe we have a shot at a club v club consultation game...
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coopershawk
04-May-09, 08:38
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Hello
Hope to learn a little and have a little fun.
James
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cascadejames
Welcome to Club Morphy!! That's our plan- "learn a little and have a little fun". The last year I lived in Portland (1974/75) I counted 100 consecutive days of no sunshine.
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-zoe-
14-May-09, 00:29
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Hello to all!
first of all, thanks to my friend cyna for inviting me to join the club!
My name is Zrinka.
I play chess since I was 10 yo and I can't get enough of it. Since I discovered GameKnot, this addiction is only becoming worse.
Someone said that GameKnot is a lifestyle. Well, I can agree
I see some of my buddies are already here. Hello pizzakeith ! I'm looking forward to beat you in some club games
Few more words about me:
I work as an accountant and I'm student at the final year of Faculty of Economics (studying Marketing Management).
Besides chess I LOVE foreign languages, music, art, astronomy, good book, good movie, good cartoon, New Zealand etc etc
I'm looking forward to make new friendships here in the club, to have fun and of course to learn something!
Cheers,
Z.
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zoe
Welcome to Club Morphy. In addition to cyna and pizzakeith, I think you will see other aquaitances. Again, it's nice to have you aboard.
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ccchs10
30-May-09, 06:06
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ME TO PAUL MICHAEL BEAVER AND LIKE PLAY GAME ON GK
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shamusb
31-May-09, 22:13
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hi
Hi to all, especially Dan & Daniel who I much enjoyed playing recently.
I'm fairly new to gameknot but loving it so far.
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dilly
28-Jun-09, 04:12
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p. morphy
I want to see how good in tactics and in strategy the followers of Paul Morphy,that's why I challenge half of the club.
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dilly
And, what's in it for us?
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dilly
28-Jun-09, 15:14
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So far I don't know.
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dilly
Well, what about you consulting with us for the next 10 moves or so on our consultation games against Knights of Honor and hbird? You are at 2000+ which is not the easiest thing to accomplish. And I'd like to hear your thoughts on positions and moves.
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gnometastic
14-Jul-09, 17:54
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Hello
I've been playing chess since about the age of six. Twenty-two years later, I'm still at it, though I've finally got sick of double king-pawn openings, and now I'm more serious about improving my game.
I'm always up for a friendly game and analysis!
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Welcome to sokkerfan6, shamusb and gnometastic
Welcome to Club Morphy. Sorry to not have gotten the welcome mat out to you folks earlier. Feel free to join in on any thread and also the consultation games.
jc
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7split10
05-Aug-09, 17:15
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Hello!
I suppose it was rather rude of me to bust into your consultation game vs. Hbird without properly introducing myself. I'm Brad - a 24 year-old law student who recently became quite serious about the game after joining GK. My mom taught me how to play when I was 4-5, but she didn't know about castling or en passant capture, or even pawn promotion! So, needless to say, I didn't even know how to play the real game until I was in my teens hanging out at local diners challenging friends. Chess did not come easily or naturally to me as some other games (the card game Magic: The Gathering for instance did, and I used to have a world ranking). However, my stick-to-it-ness crept in, and I spend about as much time on tactics servers, reading chess books, and practicing as I do on gameknot. I fancy myself as a skilled attacking player, but my defensive skills and positional moves need much improvement. Because this game is so challenging to master, it has certainly humbled me, and it honestly envelops most of my thoughts during the day. Besides being a chess junkie and a bookworm, I'm a 220 average bowler and 4.3 handicap golfer. I'm an uber competitive person, and my friends hate me for it. Hopefully you folks won't hold it against me =)
Cheers,
Brad
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Welcome to 7split10
Again, welcome to Club Morphy. We are glad to have you aboard. Please don't feel you are busting in on anything. You have made some insightful contributions to our consult game against hbird and I look forward to you joining us in our consult game against Knights of Honor.
jc
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Hello
Hey, my name is Craig.
I'm 24 years old, unemployed, and have recently passed a BSc in Computer Science. I first played Chess when I was 8, my parents taught me how the pieces moved but little about strategy. Within a year I was beating my mother, but defeating my father eluded me. I won a few school tournaments for under 10s, having never learnt any opening books or much opening theory. At age 11, I fell out of love with the game; I found a lack of local opponents my own age which meant either being decimated by older and more experienced players or playing a match requiring zero challenge against a younger opponent.
I began playing again in June 2007 as a way to relieve stress (HA!). Having not studied any aspect of the game or practised in over a decade I quickly found my skill level had stagnated. I managed to hit 1600 relatively easily in the ratings, but was unable to progress further. It was then I decided that studying the game was the way to go. Slowly, over the last two years, studying games and reading books I have managed to improve to the chess player I am today. I play alot of correspondance chess and some blitz games on other sites to keep my mind active while unemployed.
I've read many books while improving my chess. I would recommend the following: -
"Sharpen Your Tactics" by Anatoly Lein, Boris Archangelsky and Lou Hays
"Chess Openings" by Tim Harding
"Chess : How to Play the Queen Pawn Openings" by Fred Reinfeld
"Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess" by Bruce Pandolfini
"Advanced Chess Problems and How to Solve Them" by B. P. Barnes
"Grandmaster Strategy" by Raymond Keene
"The Complete Book of Chess Strategy: Grandmaster Techniques from A to Z" by Jeremy Silman
"Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games: Improve Your Chess by Studying the Greatest Games of All Time" (more to this title, but I got bored typing it ) by Graham Burgess, John Nunn and John Emms
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