My love of chess

I have been a chess player ever since I was a little boy. I learned to play chess against an old computer program and when I started to join chess clubs in primary school and high school I quickly found that I was okay at it. I became obsessed with chess and eventually became the chess captain at my high school. When I left high school and went to university, I also continued to play chess at the university's chess club, but found that my passion for the game waned considerably, probably because the players at the Melbourne University Chess Club were really good, and I was tired of constantly being beaten. After university I started work and continued to shun the chess world, only playing every now and then. After I received my first smartphone, the HTC Desire HD, I installed chess apps on my phone and found my passion in chess reignited!

For those interested, my favourite chess apps on Android phones are Chess Free and Chesspresso Free. Chesspresso allows you to play chess against people from all around the world, giving each player normally two days for each move. Chess Free, on the other hand, is what I use when I want to play a quick game of chess against the computer.

Conflict During Chess Game

There is a popular video on Youtube showing Nigel Short, the chess grandmaster, trying to shake hands with Ivan Cheparinov before a game of chess. However, Cheparinov refused to shake hands with Short. Short spoke to the arbiter and claimed that refusal to shake hands with your opponent results in automatic forfeiture according to FIDE rules. FIDE is the highest authority in chess, the Vatican of the chess world. Short turned out to be correct and Cheparinov lost the game. In the next game the two played, Cheparinov offered to shake hands and Short accepted. He also formally apologized.

It is believed that Short and Cheparinov were not getting along because Short said derogatory things about Topalov and Bulgarian chess players in general. He was speaking about the controversial Kramnik versus Topalov World Championship game. I don't know what Short said exactly. Cheparinov, who is Bulgarian, must have taken offense.

The Kramnik-Topalov game was mired in controversy because Topalov believed Kramnik went to the bathroom too frequently. Allegations later surfaced that Kramnik was using a computer to aid his play when he took bathroom breaks. This childish bickering reminds me of the Fischer versus Spassky match.

I admire Nigel Short because, when I was a little boy, I read just about every single chess book available at the public library and schools libraries. One of my favorite books was his. I think—but I'm not sure—that the title of this book was Chess Basics. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's the book. It was interesting to see some of Nigel's games. He often played the French Defense and he is known for his aggressive pawn storms. He is one of the best chess players in Britain.