My blundering woes are continuing, and I don't know what to do about it. One of the problems with all these terrible blunders I have had, aside from losing all kinds of rating points, is the blow they are dealing to my chess psyche. I have tried following various suggestions, including an almost paranoid look at every move, but this often backfires on me. Instead of playing strong moves, I have started to become timid in my play-- always searching for blunders, always second guessing tough moves.
In lieu of strong moves, I have become a chess cheap trickster, a swindling bum. This weekend, I played in a 4 rounder, with a reasonable time control of 30/90 SD/1. I had some tough losses against 2 masters, in positions that a better player may have held to a draw. But the real feat of the weekend was making two kids cry. In the first game, UP A PIECE, I hung a whole rook, flat out, to a one-mover. I then went into super swindle mode, and I tricked the kid with 2 minutes hanging on my clock, and my position as good as dead-- he needed to take a perpetual check, but instead he tried to sidestep it, and got mated. I don't think that he would have cried in normal circumstances, but when an (ex!)1900 player sneaks off the hook by some slippery cheapos, it can be too much for a little guy to handle.
Which brings me to my last game of the night, when I was playing a young girl. Having a lets-resign-now position, I must have annoyed her to no end playing out the game to mate. But there is a certain trick I have seen with 2 rooks vs. 1 rook in the past, and it always surprises me how often it happens! With a stalemated king, my last rook leaped into play and chased the king around with infinite checks. The odd thing is that she could have broken the stalemate in a number of clever ways, but instead she got so upset that she could hardly continue playing. After making some mistakes, she let me get into a totally drawn position (and made me play it out for more than an hour-AND-made me feel like a heel). I think as I was touching my rook, some slime was oozing off my hands onto the ignoble piece!
In lieu of strong moves, I have become a chess cheap trickster, a swindling bum. This weekend, I played in a 4 rounder, with a reasonable time control of 30/90 SD/1. I had some tough losses against 2 masters, in positions that a better player may have held to a draw. But the real feat of the weekend was making two kids cry. In the first game, UP A PIECE, I hung a whole rook, flat out, to a one-mover. I then went into super swindle mode, and I tricked the kid with 2 minutes hanging on my clock, and my position as good as dead-- he needed to take a perpetual check, but instead he tried to sidestep it, and got mated. I don't think that he would have cried in normal circumstances, but when an (ex!)1900 player sneaks off the hook by some slippery cheapos, it can be too much for a little guy to handle.
Which brings me to my last game of the night, when I was playing a young girl. Having a lets-resign-now position, I must have annoyed her to no end playing out the game to mate. But there is a certain trick I have seen with 2 rooks vs. 1 rook in the past, and it always surprises me how often it happens! With a stalemated king, my last rook leaped into play and chased the king around with infinite checks. The odd thing is that she could have broken the stalemate in a number of clever ways, but instead she got so upset that she could hardly continue playing. After making some mistakes, she let me get into a totally drawn position (and made me play it out for more than an hour-AND-made me feel like a heel). I think as I was touching my rook, some slime was oozing off my hands onto the ignoble piece!
What has happened to me? My first win against a master came only a few weeks ago, and my rating was peaking. Now, 1100s, 1500s, and 1600s are beating me down, as I blunder and blunder and blunder away. My only wins come from Grinch-like tricks. 
Danson is playing real-life chess expert DAVID McENULTY in [a] forthcoming US TV movie KNIGHTS OF THE SOUTH BRONX, and he sneakily intends to enlist McEnulty's expertise in a bid to thrash his opponent Harrelson in an online game.