Personal Notes

My name is Michael. Born 1962. I'm a union lawyer in Boston USA.

My wife is very tolerant of my obsessive chess. Well, up to a point.

I play soccer (goalkeeper). I love Shakespeare, George Orwell and the Clash.

There are a lot of friendly people on ICC, like oldtymer from zimbabwe, shahriar from virginia, aubrey from edinburgh, yourkingmustdie from maryland and hibou from paris. I'd rather play with good-natured opponents than a bunch of rude fanatics. What's the point of being a fanatic if it

I worry that soon some mad scientist will solve chess with a super-computer.

Will "rational" chess be a draw? Will it be a forced win for white? If so, will it be Queen's Gambit? Or will the apocalypse come in some weird hypermodern opening?

Or maybe the solution will be a forced win for black! The opening position could turn out to be a zugzwang! (You move, you lose.) Now that would be a nasty little joke for God to bury in the mathematics.

Either way, the end of history will be such a bore. Once a machine plays perfect chess, no one will remember Kasparov or Fischer. Nobody will really think anymore -- we'll just be trying to copy the mind of the machine. Perfection kills poetry.

Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament. I don't know why. I'm sure he had his reasons. He failed, but people remember him anyway. What a metaphor!

What good is chess, if it's just a cold sadistic ritual? Real chess is chaos and compassion and wit. See you on line. Peace and love--

Server Ratings Details

Type Wild Rating 1016 Best
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Type 5-minute Rating 1770 Best
Type 1-minute Rating 1120 Best

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