Casual chess

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  • Casual chess

    I do a lot of walking, all over the city of Toronto. With my portable magnetic set in my pack. Any time I stop, park bench, whatever, I set up. So many times I have noticed someone looking at the board, and I will ask them if they play. So many times I hear "I'm not that good". And I say something like, that doesn't matter to me, as long as you have fun, or some such. If I get this far, they all sit down to play, I destroy most of them with a smile. And they all say thanks, it was a oleasure playing you, and depending on the location, they all come back for more. And usually something comes my way, without my asking. Love it.

    What about you all, do anything similar?

  • #2
    Not similar, but here is a story that may amuse. I was sitting in a bar on Ottawa's Elgin Street, named Woody's. They used to have live jazz every Saturday night back in those days and I was always in attendance. About an hour before the music begins, I am sitting enjoying a beer and I hear some man behind me telling his drinking partner that he is a fantastic chess player and that he had finished near the top, I think he said third, in the Canadian championship. He did not specify whether it was the Open or the Closed. Given that I worked at the CFC at the time and knew most of Canada's top players, at least by name, I turned to him and asked him if he would like to play a game. I did not recognize him. He said, sure, do they have a set here? I said, let's just play without one. He said, what the hell are you talking about? I smiled, turned back to my beer and waited for all that jazz.

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    • #3
      I like to tell a woman that seems interested in me, particularly the bold smooth talkers, that if I could do only one thing for the rest of my life, I would choose chess over sex. That usually gets a rise out of them, particularly if I say things like...

      I get bored after two straight hours of in/out but I could play chess all day long.

      I once told a woan that I was hitting it off with that I could play chess all day, but I'm too old to have sex for much more than 15 minutes, and she casme right back with 'i'm pretty good with extended foreplay"
      Last edited by Fred Henderson; Tuesday, 25th April, 2023, 08:51 PM.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Fred Henderson View Post
        I do a lot of walking, all over the city of Toronto. With my portable magnetic set in my pack. Any time I stop, park bench, whatever, I set up. So many times I have noticed someone looking at the board, and I will ask them if they play. So many times I hear "I'm not that good". And I say something like, that doesn't matter to me, as long as you have fun, or some such. If I get this far, they all sit down to play, I destroy most of them with a smile. And they all say thanks, it was a oleasure playing you, and depending on the location, they all come back for more. And usually something comes my way, without my asking. Love it.

        What about you all, do anything similar?
        So the obvious conclusion is that casual or occasional players who have never studied the game are not afraid to get beat, they are afraid they might be wasting "our" time.

        !!!
        Last edited by Fred Henderson; Saturday, 14th September, 2024, 04:53 PM.

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