July 20 marked a year of active correspondence chess activity for me, as well as a year of actively trying to learn the game more. I can no longer recall what brought me to a renewed interest in chess, nor the circumstances that led me to search for it on the Net which eventually led me to discover the correspondence style of play. I couldn't have been happier, though. It has been a year of fun and discovery for me, and gaining respect and understanding for a game that has been around for such a long time.
Without CC on the Net, I would probably still not be playing as actively as I am right now, basically for lack of people to play with and the time constraints that is imposed by on-the-board games on one's schedule. Coupled with freely (!) available resources on the Net for almost every aspect of the game for all levels of players, and a community of players in sites I play in that encourages and even teaches other players (some of them are really really good), there is hardly any excuse not to see improvements on one's game if one just give some time (on one's flexible schedule, an advantage) and attention to improving on the game.
As I will later know, CC today has been improved over the traditional postal style of play that has been around for decades, and the email-based game that has been around for a shorter time. But internet CC has the advantage of advertising itself and reaching a greater number of audience, as the fact that these two styles of CC has escaped my attention clearly show (of course, it's just a matter of time before email cc would evolve to the current server-based cc style).
Right now, I am just a tad bit above the starting rating (which is essentially saying it's the average rating) provided by both CC sites I play in. It is, however, an accomplishment for me, having seen my rating dipped significantly as I was pitted against different players from diferent parts of the world with varying style of play and strength (such diversity again an advantage of CC).
It's also a source of fun and pride to maintain this blog, honing another aspect of me - writing - as I try to use this for self-discovery and therapy on my games. If for nothing at all, the series on Discipline in Correspondence Chess gave me a sharper realization of the influence of certain aspects of the game that aren't directly related to the strategies and tactics of the game itself. In addition to continuing the series if ever I get to recognize some more aspects, I also have some more ideas that I will be introducing soon.
Good game to all of you!
