Hales Corners Chess challenge XII!

It's all over - for now, darlings!

I came, I saw - I lost!  LOL!  Every single game.  I'm exhausted.  I must get in shape, geez!  It's hard work playing against people young enough to be my grandchildren.

Shira Evans, playing black, Round 2, HCCC XII, October 16, 2010.

Today I put my foot where my mouth is and showed up, as promised, at the Hales Corners Chess Challenge XII, together with my friend and chess buddy Shira Evans and new friend Crispin Sanderson.  Crispin didn't play, but he cheered both Shira and I on as Shiras played in the Open, the only chess femme to do so, and I played in the Reserve Section along with five other chess femmes.

For my efforts, despite losing all four games, I have earned a tenative USCF rating of 700-something.  Honestly, I was so tired earlier this evening when I asked Shira to do a preliminary calculation and was right in the middle of cooking supper for us, a very hungry and very tired trio, that I do not remember what she said, but I do remember 700--something.  LOL!

We had filet mignon, mashed new red potatoes drenched in butter and cream, and spring peas that, unfortunately even given a bath under water and then a rescue-me drench in butter in the microwave, turned out icky. They were frost-bit and dried out, nothing could save them, alas.  I should take the package back to the Pick 'n Save and demand my money back!  The steak and potatoes were fab, that saved the evening, plus we were all starving!  Just about anything tastes great when one is starving.  So, my reputation as a five star cook remains, more or less, intact :)

More tomorrow when I've gotten some sleep under my belt.  It's about 1:50 a.m. now  We capped the night off watching that most wonderful movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer" and it reaffirmed to me just why I made a fool of myself today - for the love of the game, which I will never be any good playing because I lack discipline but, you know, as the saying goes, "hope springs eternal."

The good news is that Shira, the only female playing in the Open Section, scored 50%, winnings games 1 and 3.  Preliminarily, we calculated she added ratings points to her ELO.  More tomorrow when full reports will be available on standings and which chess femmes won prizes for their wins and draws.