Category: Sue’s thoughts
-
British Citizen
On Tuesday I had my Citizenship Ceremony at Sheffield Town Hall. This has been a long process and there was a period where I thought we would have to leave the UK but thanks to having great friends and family we were able to bear the financial and emotional burden of having an application denied.…
-
Tata Steel Masters – Round 6-8
We always knew that rounds 6-8 would be difficult. Having Black against Vladimir and Magnus and White against Peter meant getting any points would be nice. Gawain managed to get 1 out of 3 which is a good score from that field and is now on 3.5/8. In Round 6, Ga faced Vladimir Kramnik and was…
-
The Ups and the Downs
I feel like this is a subject I can write about. If you don’t know much about my chess abilities then I’ll start with the history of my chess career. I grew up in NZ and my dad Temu played chess and still does. He’s about 1700 on a good day! I learnt relatively late…
-
Zalakaros Open – Round up
Our time in Zalakaros came and went so quickly! It feels like we’ve been here forever (just over a week) but we haven’t been able to do so much. It’s weird when I’m explaining to our non chess playing friends what your schedule is like when you are playing a tournament. They really can’t believe…
-
Citizen of the World
I think I wrote previously about my change in federation from representing New Zealand to England. Why did I do it? Well, for several reasons. Last year I had some goals about my chess, I wanted to play more, get better and learn! I have played more and I think I’m now a better player…
-
I’m a bit of a loser.. and more so after not learning from my (same) mistakes!
I started my new job last week and I’m loving it! I’m having so much fun but I’m now working a 50 hour week which means that my updates will be even more sporadic. I’ve paused my Mandarin studies for now as I don’t have enough time to study which I think I need to…
-
Back from holiday
Since I last wrote on the 17th of March so many things have happened. Gawain wise, he was the star player at an event which was held to celebrate the launch of an Urban Chess funding initiative from London’s newest neighbourhood – East Village, in partnership with the charity Chess in Schools and the Communities…
-
Work work and then “play”?
For the first time in a while I worked a full day and then played a game of evening league chess. I do have a very great lifestyle (Thanks hubby) which allows me to work part time and occasionally full time but it’s been a while since I’ve done a 7am bootcamp, an 8.5hour day…
-
The Stronger Opposition
You’ve just arrived at your board and look up at who you hope to be your next victim only to find that it’s a Grandmaster. Do you A) freak out with fear and start to sweat or do you B) feel no pressure and think you have nothing to lose? Many chess players, whether they are…