Happy New Year

While many people talk of how bad 2016 was in political and celebrity death terms, for me it was a year of illness and pain. Taking into account that I'd hardly been sick the previous 20 years, it hit me harder than it should. So I'm hoping that 2017 is better, and what better way to start it than to be in one of my favourite places, with Caroline, my absolute soul mate.

The SS Earnshaw in front of Walter's Peak, Queenstown, New Zealand

New year is a time for resolutions, and all I intend is to be true to myself. Most of my friends will be celebrating their New Year after me, as New Zealand is one of the first. I wish you all a 2017 that is kind to you.

New Year's Chess Resolutions

I wonder if anyone in the chess world makes New Year resolutions to do with chess? I mean, I certainly intend to run more regularly in 2015, hopefully getting fitter and thinner, but what can I intend to do in chess terms that I'm not doing now?

Should I set a goal to reach a rating, and is this even realistic as a resolution? I mean, resolutions are based on what you set yourself to do regardless of others, and a new rating depends very much on who you play against and how they play. Perhaps a more realistic resolution is to set how much to play. These past couple of years have been bad for me in terms of the amount of serious chess I have played. I've probably played less than at any time in the previous 20 years so maybe that would be a good start.

Resolution #1: To regularly play long play competitive chess (let's say at least 80 games in 2015)

What about study? I guess this is somewhat dependent on the amount of time that a working person can put into the game. My time is taken up with work, a life with my wife, chores, and other activities that I enjoy like running and reading. So before looking at what I should be studying, I really need to set an amount of time that I'd like to put into the game each week. Ok, well I think I should be able to put at least 10 hours a week into chess, that is only between 1 and 2 hours per day, and once I get into analysing one of my own games the time just flies past.

Resolution #2: To devote at least 10 hours each week to studying chess

Do I really need to resolve to do anything more than this? Probably not. I have set some realistic goals that will hopefully direct my thoughts and consolidate my play. Where I play and what I study are questions that I'll need to decide, and will be based on how my life shapes up in 2015. In the meantime what I can also resolve to do is stop procrastinating and get on with things. The 31st December is a great day for planning, but from tomorrow I need to be doing.

Resolution #3: No procrastinating

Well, that wasn't too difficult. Funnily enough these chess resolutions are very similar to the resolutions I should be making in life generally. Do more, make better use of my time, and get on with it!

Happy New Year!

Just Another Day?

Sydney celebrates New Year last night (photo: news.com.au)

It's the first day of 2014. At least it is according to the Gregorian Calendar. It is a holiday, and is usually celebrated festively, and we now have amazing firework displays around the World competing for the most spectacular. Actually, in religious terms the significance of the New Year is that it represents the day when Christ was circumcised and officially given his name. The Gregorian Calendar only came into being in the 18th century, and before that, the English celebrated New Year on March 25th which is the day that Gabriel apparently told Mary that she would bear the son of God (the Annunciation). Most of the Western world eventually adopted January 1st in line with the Gregorian Calendar, ironically matching the pagan festival of Janus which was celebrated by Romans and from which we get the name January.

January 1st is only the New Year in the Western Christian world. There are plenty of other New Year's celebrated throughout the year. Chinese New Year usually falls around the end of January or start of February. This year they are celebrating the year of the Horse, which is the same year in which I was born, which hopefully augurs well for me! The Chinese New Year was created over 1000 years before the birth of Christ although it has had developments over the millenia. Ancient calendars also dominate the middle east where different New Year's are celebrated, such as in Iran (Nowruz) where the vernal equinox around March 21 is celebrated, or the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) which takes place in September. Our multicultural societies make us more aware of the celebrations of other cultures, and it is hard not to be aware of the Diwali festivities that often happen in November.

Chinese New Year is a very red celebration! (photo: wikipedia)

So with all this variation on what constitutes the New Year, is January 1st, much like March 25th, or a certain day in virtually any month of the year really that significant? Or is it just another day? One thing that people in the western world do is make resolutions. I saw the most sensible reaction to resolutions on Twitter the other day, by none other than ex World chess Champion, Garry Kasparov:

"Making resolutions once a year is as effective as eating healthy food once a year or exercising once a year. Consider your plans every day"

So what did I do on my New Year's Day here in Melbourne? Well, I slept in as it had been a late night, went for a coffee with Caroline who had the day off work, then went shopping and finally went for a run. Was that really any different from a normal day? Well apart from the lack of cafes open, or the amount of people in IKEA looking to bag a sale item it wasn't really too different. I do appreciate that January 1st can represent a new start for people, especially if the previous year was not too good. But what I'm really trying to say is that any day can represent a new start for someone, and the important thing for each of us is to make the most of every day. Of course I still wish people Happy New Year, and I still indulge in the festivities, but the things and people who mean something to me are just as important every day.

For anyone reading this, I hope 2014 is a great year for you :)

First post of 2013

Ok, so I've been a bit slack of late with updating blogs. On the run up to Christmas I was incredibly busy and then I was in England for 2 weeks and have just returned. Today I started back at work, so it's time to start on the blog again. And when I say "the blog" my first resolution for 2013 is to reduce my blogging to just one blog. For the past year I have been trying to maintain a chess only blog, a personal blog and a local chess blog. This has proved too much, and from now on there will be just one blog....this one! So I'll apologise in advance to all my non chess playing readers, but there will be lots of chess content. I also apologise to my chess readers as there will often be random posts about my travels, my hobbies outside chess and anything else that takes my fancy (coffee being something that almost always takes my fancy!).

So to start the ball rolling, I can categorically state the best and worst of the coffee's I had in the UK on my 2 week holiday to see friends and family. Actually, it was much more than this as it was my parents 60th wedding anniversary.

I have an unusual background, with my Dad a catholic boy coming from Poland (I'm indebted to British Chess Magazine editor James Pratt for pointing out that my chess ability is derived from my eastern European father. When I told James that my Dad can't play chess, he waved his hand and told me it is 'in the blood'!) and my Mum, a Jewish  Londoner. They met after World War 2 when my father was demobbed to England, and somehow they met, fell in love and the rest is history as they say.

Anyway, as I was saying, the best coffee I had in England was on a trip to Winchester. Winchester was the Saxon and medieval capital of England and is steeped in history. The cathedral dates back to before the Norman invasion, the remains of the castle house King Arthur's legendary Round Table, and a statue of King Alfred the Great welcomes visitors to the main town centre, his remains having at one time lain within the cathedral.

King Alfred the Great

By chance my wife, Caroline, and I were at a stage of the day where we'd had enough sightseeing and Christmas shopping and needed some refreshment and were passing a cafe that looked inviting. We walked into Union Jacks having never heard of the place before, but went out after the best coffee I've had in England. There was a rich crema which held consistency and a gentle flavour with virtually no bitterness. The place was obviously popular as it was packed. The staff were really friendly and helpful, and the food and drinks were great. It was only after some time sitting in Union Jack's that we realised that it is the creation of 2 award winning chefs, Chris Bianco and Jamie Oliver!

Ok, enough of the good and on to the bad. Now I won't talk bout instant coffee, or filter stuff like you can get in pubs. I also won't talk about Starbucks who seem to have an outlet in every motorway service station in the UK. That's not because Starbuck's coffee is any good, but because I didn't even try it on principal! So there might be worse than I had, but you'll have to go to Starbucks to find out.

The sort of coffee I'm talking about is the barista made, thick, strong stuff with names such as cappuccino, latte, espresso etc. In Melbourne, I usually go for a long black which is hot water topped with an espresso double shot (as averse to an Americano which is the espresso topped with hot water). However, in England I opted for a simple double espresso. I wouldn't have thought this could have been too bad but Costa Coffee in Knutsford Services proved me wrong, and I found their offering somewhere between nauseous and undrinkable.

I'm not going to leave my first post of the year on a sour note, so an honourable mention must go to the County Hall Bakery in London. This French cafe sits just across Westminster Bridge from the Houses of Parliament and is situated at the back of County Hall (the front of County Hall is on Southbank right next to the London Eye). The coffee in the bakery was great, as were the pastries which was just the thing that we needed before heading off for a day of sightseeing and shopping!

London Eye, with County Hall to the right.