Orwell wrote:
Ragtime wrote:
Orwell wrote:
I'm 19, and already too old to really learn to play chess at a high level.
Oh, I don't know about that... I'm finding, now that I've re-taken up chess, that I have much more patient slyness than I did back when I was younger and only wanted to win, win, win. Now, I actually enjoy the
whole game, and since humans' brains reach maturity at around age 30, I'm finding new mental resources that I didn't have before. (I can also attest that that last part has been true for each year of my twenties.)
I've had the humbling experience of being slaughtered by 8-year-olds too many times.
Dang, that's a little out of the ordinary! Do you have an estimation of your numerical chess skill rating?
I'm about a 1400, even though I'm so out of practice that I got beaten 4 times in a row last night by this
cool new chess program I downloaded, when I had set it to play at a 1400 level:
http://www.download.com/Deep-Sjeng/3000-7562_4-10670361.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=10734491
But then I beat it this morning.
It's a really cool program, and is free as a trial for 30 days. You can set the skill level in exact increments -- anywhere from a 600 rated player to 3000, which is the top end of world champion. It says it adapts to your playing style, and can help you learn by annotating your moves and the strategies involved. But I don't use that part. I prefer learning naturally. You can also set it to play defensively, aggressively, or "balanced", which is the default. You can also set how much time you want to allow the computer to take per move. I set it at 10 seconds, just to keep things moving.
Anyway, I had great fun kicking its ass at 1000, 1100, 1200, and 1300 last night. 1400 proved too difficult at first, due to really boneheaded mistakes I was making because I'm so out of practice, and I was playing so fast for no particular reason other than I felt like it. So, I took back 2 really stupid moves I had made, and then went on to slaughter it on the 1400 skill level.
It's a 30-day free trial, but I have 4 computers, so...

I get 120 days free. But it's only $29, so if I stay into it for the 30 days I may go ahead and purchase it. I was surprised just how much I enjoyed playing this program.
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Christianity is different than Judaism only in people's minds -- not in the Bible.