The header picture above is an AI generated image of an old geezer (me) playing chess against an 11-year-old granddaughter (Chloe). It hasn’t done a very good job of positioning the two players or the chess pieces!
I could have got chatGPT to refine it but I ran out of daily credits and so stuck with what I had.
My portable chess set
This is my portable chess set. I’ve had it for about 50 years. I bought it whilst I was working at The Electricity Council in London. I played chess with a colleague during lunchtime and its size meant I could put the unfinished game in my desk drawer ready for the next day. I like the pieces which are clearly distinguishable despite their size.
I haven’t used it much for over 40 years but it’s such a lovely thing that I won’t part with it.
Playing against a bot
In 2021 and 2022 I tried playing chess against a computer opponent on Chess.com. In fact I think I tried several computer opponents of varying levels of skill. I wrote a blog post My chess opponent is called Noam
I must have lost interest after a while because I didn’t continue with this.
My chess board and pieces
This is my current chess board and pieces. I bought the board in 2022 to replace a cardboardy thing I have had since decades ago.
I have had the chess pieces for over 60 years! The box they came in is not in great shape but serves its purpose.
VB.NET chess program (1)
During 2023 I wrote my second VB.NET program. It was to play the game of Loser/Take Chess. The object is to lose one’s pieces before your opponent does! I never considered attempting to develop a program to play proper chess as it would have been impossible to get the computer to make sensible moves. So I decided to concentrate on the mechanism of the game and to play a simplified version of chess – Loser/Take Chess.
VB.NET chess program (2)
During 2025 I produced a new version of my Loser/Take Chess program in order to play a proper game of chess. There’s still a lot of work I could do to it but I’m reasonably happy with how far it’s progressed.
Games at Christmas 2025
During Christmas 2025 my son and I played three highly competitive games of chess (3-0 to me!) which has renewed my interest in the game, hence this new blog page. I also have ideas to enhance my second chess program.
My chess books
I possess 2 chess books which I’ve had some time. I’ve not used them much but I’m planning to change that.
Logical Chess (Move By Move Every Move Explained) by Irving Chernev
Bobby Fischer’s Outrageous Chess Moves by Bruce Pandolfini
things change 
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