[ExI] "Olympics on steroids" takes a high-tech, F1-style angle on athletics

[efc at swisscows.email]

Hello spike,

On Thu, 8 Feb 2024, spike at rainier66.com wrote:

>> ...But a drug directly affecting chess performance, I don't know. Probably
> other here are way more knowledgeable than I am and can suggest some
> goodies. ;)
>
> Eh, I am not looking for goodies.  I want someone else to fool with these
> goodies and I will play without goodies.  I wouldn't touch that kind of
> goodies with a stick of dynamite.

Come on, surely you drink coffee? ;) Jokes aside, for me it's a classic 
"it depends". Every drug has potential negative side effects and benefits. 
I'd say that my favourites are caffeine and melatonin.

>
> One of our former members Robert Bradbury claimed there are
> brain-performance enhancers.  I didn't ask any questions, and now we will
> never know, because Robert mysteriously passed away at age 57.

Sorry to hear that. =(

>> I would cheerfully play for the squares.
>
>> ...Are you good?
>
> Middle A, rating 1900 typcally.

That's pretty good!

> >...Can you teach me?
>
> The best bet is to get on Chess.com and play your brains out.  It adjusts to
> your skill level, and gives you worthy opponents.
>
> I have scaled back.  Chess is addictive as hell.

Yes... that was the conclusion of my dear IM. He looked at the sheer 
amount of time and effort he would have to spend becoming a GM and with a 
child on the way came to the conclusion that he'll hop off the chess train 
at IM level.

I still remember once when we played and he paused, and the other guys 
were wondering if he had a problem which would be strange. He responded 
that "no, I'll mate you in 7, but I'm, just trying to figure out the most 
beautiful way to do it". ;) So the question is where we that bad, or was 
he that good?

But we got our revenge. Once he played Magnus Carlsen online, and he was 
treated the same way by Magnus Carlsen. ;)

Best regards,
Daniel