Williebob Member since Jul-31-18 · Last seen Feb-28-21 I live in the often lovely little town of Washington, D.C. Occasionally, my travels take me near the US Capital Building, and I have never missed a chance to point to that unmistakeable dome and say to my exasperated children, "See that? That's where they spend all the money!" Since some regulars have responded to my posts, I thought it would be friendlier to add this mostly anonymous bio; you all have my admiration and respect, and I thank you for giving me a spot in an extraordinary community. Music is my main gig. Chess-wise, I am a hack, but I'm also spending some newly acquired free time in 2020 "booking up" with the goal of acquiring an official USCF rating. I suspect my current ability is under 1600, so... plenty of room to soar!

Williebob has kibitzed 190 times to chessgames   [more...]

Feb-27-21 Levon Aronian    Williebob: At least an American chess player can rest assured that they will be safely ignored by politicians. Government funding tends to have strings attached.      Feb-22-21 Robert James Fischer    Williebob: Here's the comprehensive article of Winter's Chess Notes regarding the authenticity of "My 61 Memorable Games". https://www.chesshistory.com/winter... We did not get direct word from Bobby regarding the publication, which appeared during his rapid decline in health after ...      Feb-22-21 Garry Kasparov    Williebob: Episode 3 of “Garry on Lockdown”, a video podcast that Garry hosts and talks a ton throughout, is about free speech. His guest is Eugene Volokh, a major figure in American constitutional law and scholarship. https://ava.st/2W50rNg      Feb-18-21 E Rosen vs S Lang, 2019    Williebob: Mate with pawn was a touch of class.      Feb-17-21 chessgames.com chessforum    Williebob: Low priority request: Mark Dvoretzky should be Searchable; last name search doesn't appear to work, though he does appear in the Player Directory (deservedly so). Thank you, CG!      Feb-13-21 Leko - Karpov Match (2006)   Williebob: There are numerous examples of serious longevity at top level chess, going back to Steinitz and Lasker. Korchnoi gave many lessons to top players 1/3 his age all the way into his 70s. I'd love to see Anand choose this professional path too, no idea if he considers it. Pure ...      Feb-13-21 Fikret Bozkurt vs Erdinc Tanrivermis, 2004   Williebob: By fake, you mean the game was composed, or somehow prearranged to achieve some sort of notoriety perhaps, or is there another explanation? It seems like this game could easily be a real game with a mildly interesting story. Maybe they were blitzing towards the end, maybe Black      Feb-12-21 Kosanovic vs M Pap, 2001    Williebob: The pun is not about Pat Smear the guitar player. Pat Smear's name is a great pun on the pap smear, a female-specific medical test. This game's pun is hilariously straight to the point.      Jan-31-21 Tata Steel Masters (2021)    Williebob: Congrats to Van Foreest, and Giri too - to Dutch chess! Most impressive. And to the kibitzers complaining about 'low quality', 'second raters', etc... Please tell us more about how the top-rated players should play to win. Please explain how they can better avoid mistakes in ...      Jan-21-21 Lubomir Kavalek    Williebob: Agreed with <perf>, though I'll assume <MS>'s point stands. Funny thing is, whatever their shortcomings (pun intended,) I feel certain I would find both Kavalek and Short to be delightful company on a personal level. I love a good sense of humor, don't you? Public ...

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Nov-16-20    morfishine: You can establish your USCF rating by playing one tournament. At least thats the way it used to be. If you go in unrated, I think they put you somewhere in the middle, like the 1700 group, that prevents "sandbagging" and after your 5 games (typical weekend swiss) you have an official rating to use for your next tournament. Good Luck! Nov-16-20    Check It Out: <Williebob> <Music is my main gig> Tell me more! I've played in a (used to be) gigging band for the past 25 years, let's chat. Nov-21-20    Williebob: It only just occurred to me to check my own dang profile page for kibitzes, and lo and behold! <morf>, thanks for the post. Time to polish up an opening or two! <Check it Out>, for the last 15 years I have been entertaining families around the D.C. area in a group called Rocknoceros. Original songs, often meant for children, but our approach has always been to make Beatles-sounding songs that grown ups can enjoy as much as the wee ones. What's your gig, and do you think you'll get it back soon?!?! Nov-21-20    Check It Out: <Williebob> Nice to hear from you! that's great that you write music for kids and grown ups. You can never go wrong with a Beatles-type format; so much to dig in to, not to mention all the great harmonies. Is it the lyrics that make is kid-oriented? I play guitar and sing in a heavy rock band. We do all originals and have been together now about 10 years, played maybe a 100 gigs or so during that time. Mostly angular riffs, odd time signatures, and tight arrangements, with a two alternating lead vox approach. We have continued to rehearse and write and can't wait for that time when we can play our stuff again for folks. I anticipate we will get to gig in the second half of 2021, so we hang in there, like you, I'm sure. Rocknoceros - is that like Rhinoceros? Nov-22-20    Williebob: <CiO> Yes, like "rhinoceros". Definitely the lyric writing is the most "geared" toward a family-friendly thing. We like to think our approach is like a Pixar movie - keep children and parents interested together. To our small community of fans, we have succeeded on that front. I love the description of your band! I started out as a bass player, loving and studying Rush and Yes bass licks, and have played some hard rocking type stuff in my lifetime. In high school, I got to play "One" by Metallica in front of about 2,000 peers and parents, a fond memory. We killed it! Would totally check out your band - do you have recordings out there? I record and mix a lot of stuff at home, trying to get back into making song demos. Nov-22-20    Check It Out: <W> Nice videos! Pleasant stuff. You guitar playing is smooth, and has some nice jazz, rockabilly, and rock n roll sounds to it. I'd love to post some of my band's songs, but right now I'm thinking maintaining my anonymity on this site is best. Sorry about that. If there is a way to relay it to you without posting it here I would. Nov-29-20    Williebob: <Check It> Thanks for checking out the goods, and the kind comments. We continue our search for improvements! Understood regarding privacy. It's too bad that CG doesn't have a PM! Still, I look forward to further music chat and otherwise - see you around :) Nov-30-20    Check It Out: <Willie> I wonder if you have experience with this phenomenon: I am the main riff, melody, and lyricist writer for my heavy rock band. The bass player is the "editor": he slices and dices the ideas, and we end up with these rock constructions that hold up against any "mean" rock band live. But, when I'm simply writing for myself I tend to write these rather traditional-type songs, with jangly rhythms, happy melodies, and sappy lyrics. What gives? Dec-15-20    Williebob: <Check it Out> Clearly your creativity is more universal than one band can accommodate! Recording has been tough in 2020, I've got a youngster at home while schools remain closed, but dangit I need to make some demos! Remind myself that I occasionally write. I say, try to devote some time to developing all your ideas, especially pop songs. (when I write 'pop' I mean pretty much all song craft, vs. more compositional type work... a fuzzy line but I think you know what I mean.) Heck, <Check>, you could write a hit, or a piece of one! I know people in L.A. who have careers based on a single hook - not even verses, just a good chorus. Probably the lyrical side of the hook is the thing most worth toying around with.

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