'til next time

BCCAdmin: There's a rumor going around that you're planning on shutting down BCC Weblog?

DG: Really, where did you hear that from?

BCCAdmin: From inside your head, actually.

DG: Yea, well I suppose you do have access to sources that are unavailable to others.

BCCAdmin: So, what's the scoop?

DG: It's not really about shutting down the blog, but I have decided to take a substantive hiatus from chess blogging. Of course, any member of the BCF can post on the blog and as long as some do, it should remain an active and vibrant place. History suggests that the total number of posts will come down when I'm not blogging; however, Bob Oresick has been posting more frequently as of late and perhaps others will join in.

BCCAdmin: Why the hiatus?

DG: After more than three years as a daily chess blogger, it just feels like it is time to move on to other things.

It's been quite a long time since I far exceeded even my most optimistic objectives for this blog (except for creating an active group of bloggers among the members of the BCF). We have readership measured in hundreds a day and thousands a month, over 200 RSS subscribers and we get linked to on an almost daily basis. We've even made a little bit of money for the Foundation through donations and ad revenue. OK, The Wonkette wouldn't be all that impressed, but I think it's a pretty solid result for a chess blog run by a middling club-level chess player without a title, star power, or a brand name. My personal goals around learning about blogging technology and the development of virtual communities, and practicing my writing skills have also been extensively addressed.

Looking back at the archives, I'm fairly happy with much of the content that I've produced over the years. I suppose I could keep on the same path indefinitely, but at this point, it feels a lot like resting on past laurels -- another Caption Contest, another witty chess reference in an article, etc., etc, etc. Been there, done that; it just seems like the right time to do something else.

BCCAdmin: You're calling it a hiatus, so how long do you think it will last?

DG: I'm shooting for forever. However, I've seen too many bloggers make grand declarations about leaving only to return after a short break. Since I can easily see this happening to me, I think it's better to call it a break and see what happens. Nevertheless, if I am able to make a clean getaway and put this project behind me, I won't be unhappy with that outcome.

BCCAdmin: You mentioned "moving on to other things." What do you plan to do with all your new found free time?

DG: Hard to say, I don't really have a new project lined up, though studying some chess wouldn't be a bad use of time. I've toyed with a few ideas over the years -- several blogging related -- but haven't really settled on anything specific. I'll mention one, only because 1) I think it is both interesting and amusing and 2) I know I'll never actually do it.

After sitting through an incredibly painful performance of Mama Mia! (actually I can't imagine a performance of this musical that couldn't be described as incredibly painful), I began to ponder whether a rock musical could be written using songs that actually had some thematic continuity and relationship to an underlying story. I suppose some might mention Tommy and there are probably others. My idea is to write a musical about one individual's complete and utter failure in work, love and life based on the songs of Gang of Four. You know, classics like "Love Is Like Anthrax", "Damaged Goods" and "Paralyzed." I actually have some scenes and transitions blocked out in my head, but as I said before, it's not really going to happen.


BCCAdmin: OK, that was kind of wierd... Let's get back to the chess blogosphere. I suppose you'll have more time to read and keep up with your favorite chess bloggers.

DG: No, just the opposite. I plan to stop reading chess blogs all together, at least for awhile.

BCCAdmin: Really, why?

DG: This was actually a tough decision, since I consider many chess bloggers to be my good friends, at least in a virtual sense. Nevertheless, I'm quite certain that if I keep reading blogs I'll have no chance whatsoever of making this hiatus permanent. How long will it be before I read a post that sparks an idea and off I'll be posting about it? Probably a day, certainly no more than a week.

So, in about a week, I'll be deleting my personal bookmarks to BCC Weblog and Bloglines. Of course, that won't stop me from going there anyway, but at least I'll make it a bit more cumbersome to do so. Perhaps in the future, I'll decide that I can return as a reader without succumbing to the temptation to post.

It's amazing how much this answer sounds like a recovering alcoholic talking!

BCCAdmin: What will become of the chess blog listings?

DG: I suppose over time they will become dated, but I suspect they'll still be the most comprehensive source of chess blogs for quite awhile. If any other blogger is interested in taking over the task of maintaining a comprehensive chess blog listing on their own site, I'd be happy to share the tricks of trade that I picked up over the years.

BCCAdmin: So what happens now?

DG: I guess I'll read and respond to comments here for the next week or so and then head back to the real world. Maybe I'll be back here in a few weeks or months or maybe not. Maybe at some point in the future I'll leave a comment on somebody's blog. Maybe I'll run into some of you at a tournament or at the BCC.

BCCAdmin: Any last thoughts?

DG: More than anything, this experience has been about the community of bloggers and readers who have traveled this path with me. I can't possibly leave without saying thanks to all of you. I really shouldn't mention names because I'll obviously miss some important ones, so if you think you should have been mentioned and weren't please don't take offense -- I meant to include you.

Thank you Don. Thanks Sancho, Pale, Pawn Sensei, GK and J'adoube. My thanks to Tempo, BDK, chessloser, Mouse and Tak. Thanks to Goran, Dennis, Michael, Mark, Brad, Tom, Sean, Robert, and Petros. Thank you Rocky, BP, Edwin, DK, Tyro, BlueEyed, Steve, Scary, CG, Sciurus, Ivan, Globular and Polly. Thanks to everyone who thought my posts were worth reading and/or commenting on. And thanks to everyone I missed.

...'til next time...

Maybe we should move the club to France

Check out this photo from the first anniversary party for Philippe Dornbusch's Chess & Strategy blog. Regrettably the BCC Weblog anniversary parties (what parties?) were not so well (or attractively) attended.

Calling All Chess Bloggers

Goran Urosevic of Chessdom has a request for all you chess bloggers out there. He would like to publish profiles of chess blogs and the people behind them on the site during Corus, when Chessdom receives particularly high visit rates.

If you are interested in having your blog profiled, please send an e-mail to goranurosevic@yahoo.com. The e-mail should include 1) an introduction or description of your blog, 2) a few words about yourself and 3) some discussion on how/why you started chess blogging.

He'll publish anything he receives over the next 5 days or so.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Vicary - USCL Blogger of the Year

I knew my own candidacy was in trouble when I rebuffed the commissioner's uncomfortable personal advances.

How do we get him to the club more than once a year?

Takchess reports on his New Year's day at the Boylston Chess Club.

The sidekick reappears

Sancho Pawnza, one of the founding Knights Errant, has returned with his first new post in almost ten months.

...this may just be a one off deal or I may decide to post on a weekly, semi-weekly or even monthly basis.

The envelope, please

DK hands out his chess blogger awards for 2007

Lithium calls it quits

It just got to a point where my enthusiasm was shot to hell and I just couldn't be bothered with it anymore....

I know some people can take a positive from their losses, but for me, well it just pisses me off. There's a dozen other pastimes out there I can excel in in only a few months of practise and I'd rather spend my rather limited time, patience and enjoyment on those than constantly bang my head against a brick wall that is the Australian chess scene.

Do I love Chess? my oath. On design and principle it's strategic gaming at the absolute pinnacle with a rich and fascinating history.

But if you want to learn to play to win, you better start before you grow pubic hair because it's one hell of a bloody competitive game and for a late bloomer like me, I'm way way too late to the game to hold my own against the top dogs.

So with regret and sadness I am withdrawing from the Knights. I was foolish to think that it would help me get a leg up on the competition but really, I was just fooling myself.

Read his complete post, "It's not cricket...".

Chess Blogger Q & A

Pokemon Chess interviews Goran Urosevic of Chessdom and the Chess Strategy blog.

Way to go!

Congratulations to chess blogger Simone, who won a Girls - 8 and under gold medal at the 2007 North American Youth Chess Championships in Mexico.

From the Bard of the Blogosphere

While his essay project on chess bloggers is still far from complete, DK Transformation has embarked on another major blogging project. Parts 1 & 2 of 3 of his Semi-Annual State of the Elation/Divination Report are posted.

While part 2 is a rather straightforward discussion of chess improvement plans (until one reaches the notes and comments), part 1 is vintage DK. When finished you'll ask, "Is he crazy or is he brilliant?" I'm betting on both.

**********

Speaking of essays in three parts, Chess Tales is in the midsts of posting 16-year old Emma Pierson's piece entitled, Why I Play Chess (part 1 and part 2). Here is a sampling:

It is getting late. I am sitting across the table from a guy, our knees not quite touching. Around us, the room has gradually emptied and now we are alone. Our eyes meet for half a second; he looks away. I continue to study his face, searching for clues. He seems composed; my hands are shaking. I watch intently as he meets my eyes again and reaches slowly towards me.

Then he moves his rook two squares to the right and taps the clock, starting my timer counting down. I cup my chin in my hands, trying to overcome my exhaustion. We have been playing for four hours, and I have not eaten dinner; my headache has faded to a mental numbness. As my energy has ebbed, however, my antipathy has grown; at this point, my need for food is compensated for by my desire to destroy my opponent. I contemplate hideous chessboard revenges–first, I'll skewer him, then I'll fork his rooks; I'll finish him off with a vicious zugzwang. He resigns half an hour later, to my relief, and I feel my anger fading. No longer my opponent, he now seems likeable once more. As we pick up the pieces, I remember what it's so easy to forget–it's only a game.

Imagine being able to write like this at the tender age of 16.

Where is the ferris wheel and merry-go-round?

Thanks to the efforts of Jack Lemoine, the first Chess Blog Carnival has taken place. The carnival is quite similar to the "Around the Blogosphere" posts which you often see here, at About Chess, and at other chess blogs. The main difference is that individual bloggers get to submit their own favorite pieces, instead of leaving the editorial decision making to the blogger writing the post. Avid chess blog readers will probably be familiar with most of the blogs and posts which are mentioned, but even I found a blog which wasn't in my listings.

My understanding is that the carnival will be repeated periodically on different chess blogs. Whether this concept has legs, we'll see over time; however, for now, this looks like a good way for newer chess blogs and those without a strong established readership to get exposure to a broader audience.

Inside Baseball

Chess Bloggers talking about their visitor stats...

• Who's that watching? - Streatham & Brixton Chess Club
  
  
• It's a Numbers Game... - Chessbuff on Chess

...though admittedly, I've been known to do the same from time to time.

Transforming the Chess Blogosphere

DK's essay project on chess bloggers is well underway with nine completed to date (seven bloggers and two wildcard topics). Those hoping for inside dirt and scandal are sure to be disappointed. Instead, what we have is... well, to be perfectly honest, I'm still not sure exactly what we have. Words like interesting, baffling, enlightening, off-beat, thought-provoking, twisted, or captivating simply don't capture the essence of the essays.

They remind me of watching an art film and leaving the theatre thinking, "What the heck was that about?", and then continuing to ponder the ideas presented for days on end. Somehow, DK has this amazing ability to capture deep insights into people he knows only through this virtual realm. He wraps these perceptions in literary allusion and mystery and reveals them to the reader only with time and contemplation.

The essays themselves are not the complete story. Many of DK's comments on the essays are worthy pieces of writing in themselves. Without revealing any specifics, let me just say that his discussion on seeking truth over playing the game and paying a price for it, struck a deep and powerful chord with me.

Get yourself a large cup of tea, sit back in a comfortable chair and start the excursion. Then, give it a few days to sink in...

• Prolegema to Any Future Chess Blogger Community, or Kant Help it (featuring Temposchlucker, Blue Devil Knight and Wormwood)


• Prolegema, or Kant Help it: Wahrheit, Grand Patzer, Part II


• Prolegema, or Kant Help it: Chessdog Part III


• Prolegema, or Kant Help it: WFMU, Part IV


• Prolegema: The Blue Devil Dialogues. Chess Relearner, or How I did Strunk and White: Essay Nine

Chess Bloggers Exposed

dk has already fired a couple of warning shots (see the last part of this post and the first part of this one). He's planning a tell-all series on the lives of 15 chess bloggers. What dirt has he dug up? Whose reputations will be damaged and destroyed? How will readers respond once they learn about the dark underbelly of the chess blogosphere? It's all supposed to begin as soon as Tuesday.

Watch out fellow bloggers!