What about that novel your friend is writing? Can you give some more info? Today I'll too going to spend time with an old friend, she will land in Iasi from Bruxelles, and I havent seen her since...30 years! Yes, imagine that. And yes, you too can read between my lines...just keep it under your hat :)

Some chess games now and them, Murakami reading going pretty well, and also some home related business/repairings. I am going to start a novel this month, and the story will develop by itself, meaning that I will have no idea about the outcome while writing it, not even about what will happen on the next chapter or even page. I've noticed this method has given me most satisfaction in my past writings. Of course, planning ahead is good, and even necessary, in a long prose, as the final product needs to have a certain structure. But this (the planning) may wait, until I reach further stages in the development of the book. It's how I proceeded with my first novel, and it end out pretty good.

A bit of rain, dark but not too cold and looking forward for a nice continuation of this week.

Have just conquered a big headacge and it is one of the best feelings in the world as you will be the first to know !

It was a wonderfull evening with my friend and old collegue yesterday.We do swing on so many levels and can talk about everything.It is a pitty she lives os far away,but may be she will move to Århus aggin (: And how about your meeting after all these 30 years !? (Quite a coincidence that we both had a rendevous with a lady ;)

Well,JWH´s book is about a revisit he made to Berlin 2 years ago, were he saw all the places where he used to live and work many years ago.And in the book (3oo pages alreday)he tries to focus on some processes he had with some of the people he met and the realtion with his GF.The main theme is, that he had difficulties to find and follow his own path so he was kind of easy prey to those who persuaded him to feel and act as the meant he should.So he kind of tries to heal those wounds and try to liberate some of his more real powers as to come closer to be more authentic in (his)life.A really interesting journey,also for me who tries my best to follow and understand him.

Finally all the workeers are gone and it almost feels a little empty !? Well,almost ;)

Cristmas is only a few weeks away...
And weather is like a baby face with not much personality,yet.

Wife is lovely as ever and Mr D could be worse and is,perhaps,getting closer to the normal level.

That was it,with all my best wishes as well as for the weekend.

Sorry, late again answering your post but life's as usual here, chess sometimes good but mostly bad, and the writing of the novel hasn't started yet. We've been to Onesti this weekend, where everything was about normal and the journey was a pleasant one.

Yes, I know well that conqueror feeling, I've got it every day...:) Very interesting the subject of your friend's novel, I hope he'll make it well up to the end of it and enjoy its fruits. Never been to Berlin.

Oddly enough, the meeting I was telling you about was not to happen, as my friend gave no response to my messages on FB, starting with the date she was supposed to arrive in Iasi, and never answered since. I do hope nothing wrong happened to her (she hasn't posted at all on FB ever since). I will keep trying contacting her, but by now (is she ever made it to Romania) she should be back in Bruxelles.

Rather mild weather up to now, but somewhat colder today, not much rain, a bit windy. I suppose your kind of weather :).

It was a wonderful night in Dublin and difficult to fully understand(in a good way!)that we now are going to WC next year in Russia.That should make it easier to go through the dark wintertime for many people...

Will soon be back to you and in the meanwhile I hope you will have a fine day !

Back from town with KJ and PK...It is always smart to double up :) Especially with PK it was so giving after 2½ month. He is very satisfied and relieved with his new job.And a lot of football talk with both.A lot :) Still a bit overwhelming as just a couple of month ago we were almost done.So....Every tru fan need to dream big..or at least to dream.Nést pas !?

And how about your date ? Have she turned up with an excuse/explanation,or ?

And tomorrow the Grand Prix starts and hereby the exciting race for the last two tickets for the candidates!Yours truly will be at the ringside as much as possible.It feels like ages since last time I followed a tournament with high stakes...

Weather here is a bit like you described,though more sunny,which is extremely appreciated.And dont you think it is a bit strange that Christmas Eve is not more than a month and a few days away !??

Now it is time to hit the pillow and I beg you good nigth and perhaps au revoir tomorrow at Las Palmas.

Haven't followed Mallorca at all, and I really don't know why. There sure has to be a reason for it, only that just can't put my finger on it just yet. I did play my chess games over the net, and did manage to get (very) good positions and/or material advantage, sometimes as high as +4 - only to eventually find myself equalised and even defeated...Then time for a reconsideration of my real strength chess-wise, accompanied of course by the respective decrease in enthusiasm :) So...the time until I'll hit the candidate master level is still far away. Should work on some openings, I know, at least for 2-3 of them to get a better grip, both with black and white. But...laziness or lack of time or lack of dedication make their presence known. Excuses. So I remain with the joy of playing (still there, each time), and I leave the journey to a desired candidate master level for some other time.

Well,that certainly doesn´t sound like good behaviuor on her part.But hopefully she will come up with an explanation.It must be frustrating for you !?

PK is a kind of computer operator and changed company because the atmosphere were close to unbearable and it is so good to see him more relaxed and happy now.And by accident he knows one of JWH´s close friends (My 2 friends in this story,dont know each other!!:)who works in his former company and has the same problems...Him,he has given his best recommendations to his new boss.A wonderfull little world it is-sometimes. As one day in Paris many years ago,I independently met 2 girls I knew,but on two different occasions with only 2 hours between the meetings !!...the rest of the day I saw friends everywhere,but then it had turned back to the Paris we know :)

Talking of big cities:Wife is about to arrive in Copenhagen in a few minuttes(a translation job for her company-she works as a secretary in an accountent company)so back tomorrow and I will "take advantage" of the situation and meet with JWH if the olld body permits so...Is he still stuck on wednesday in his Berlin revisited story ??,or...

Here it is getting dark early and it is ok with me.Another kind of cousyness.Another kind of charm.And you? Have you adjusted to wintermood,or?

Hope you chesswise will hit the point that gives you the most satisfaction and let me know if you want some opening ideas.

Dont feel so attached to the Grand Prix as I thought it would be.Too many draws and the commentator need some other player to support him.I feel he is like a train or a tram running around in the same circles.But spoiled we are.

That was it.Salmon and mashed potatoes are lurking in the background and a half homemade fag upstairs.

It has been good talking with you.

Friday afternoon, can't get enough of this feeling :) Waiting for Mallorca to start and maybe follow the games a bit. Although, kinda tired, for some unknown reason, been like that since morning. The symposium finished well, my article was appreciated and we had an interesting discussion.

Sister in law is to arrive on Monday from Paris and after a couple of days in Iasi she will leave to Onesti, together with Maria. I stay at home.

Typical November weather outside. But life's good...;)

A fantastic weekend to you as well!

Well she hopefully will come up with something,better soon than later.Otherwise it sounds like really bad behaviuor...let us hope she is OK.

Here also typically novemberish,but also with a lot of poetry between the lines.The soft dark night sky and the visible stars.Just a bit cold in no stressing way.-----I do eat my vitamines too:)

Mr D is significantly lesser,about back to normal,and this is off course wonderfull.Like a seed that feels springtime comming.

Like thirsday with JWH.We do indeed have magic moments and appriciate it with all my heart.

Wednesday with KJ and like an accidental tourist two days in a row beeing to town is big experience for yours truly.

Wife is cooking today,fish with rice and tomatoes and leeks.One of her signaturedishes :) Better than the rather IMO disappointing
grand prix tournament in Mallorca ): But hey : good old London Classic is just another weekend away.

And glad to hear your symposium finished well.So you can obtain a weekend with good consciuosness I suppose !?

<Although, kinda tired, for some unknown reason, been like that since morning.> Sometimes tiredness this time of the year(besides from tousand other reasons:)can be because of lack of vitamine D.(doesnt cost very much and it is only on pill a day)

Now dinner is ready and please say hello to Maria from me !

<<>The London Chess Classic 2017 begins Friday December 1st<>>

Less than 3 days to go!!!

Countdown to the London Chess Classic...

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdo...

♘LCC♘London Chess Classic 2017♗LCC♗

http://www.londonchessclassic.com/

This tournament will run from Dec. 1st thru Dec. 11th 2017. (9 Rounds)

Participants include Adams, Anand, Aronian, Carlsen, Caruana, Karjakin, Nepomniachtchi, Nakamura, So, & Vachier-Lagrave

Average rating: 2779(as of 11/25/17) - Category XXII

*****
*****

<<> London Chess Classic 2017 <>>

Pairings and Schedule - http://www.londonchessclassic.com/g...

< 3 Prediction Contests: (Win virtual medals - Gold, Silver & Bronze) >

*** User: lostemperor - Predict the order the players will finish. Run & hosted by <lostemperor>. (3 categories to medal in) ***

**User: Golden Executive - Predict the result 1-0, 1/2, or 0-1. Run & hosted by <Golden Executive>. (3 categories to medal in)

This year will be the 11th Anniversary for this contest! (from 2007 to 2017 - 11 years running)**

*User: OhioChessFan - Predict the result 1-0, 1/2, or 0-1 & the number of moves. (4 categories to medal in). This contest is run by <chessmoron> & hosted by <OhioChessFan>.*

*****
*****

Also, don't forget about <chessgames> ChessBookie game for this event. He can't wait to take some or all of your chessbucks. ;)

ChessBookie Game

Some cold and rain/snow came upon Romania, but Iasi seems spared for the moment. D is static, meaning none. Headaches, the usual dose.

The last 10 chess games played over the net are 7 wins and 3 draws. Not bad. Thanks for kind offering help, but for now I'm not in the mood to memorise opening variations.

I didn't make it to Bucharest to follow Kasparov, and in the Kings tournament in Medias Chucky & Anna Muzychuk reigned supreme. Looking forward to 4 free days starting tomorrow :)

Was to the dentist today and no holes !
Not because it was expected but still it is a nice relief.And on top of that,the dentist and I had a laugh attack after the treatment :) One of my stories from the many times I sold Christmas trees.About this alcoholic type who passed by sometimes and told me about his wife who had a tendency to beat him,especially if he was drunk. And on this very day he wanted a tree.But according to his boss at home,it should be a very very slim one. I then gave him one,for free,also because of his rather toxicated condition and the poor impression he made.The tree was so slim.more like a stick and almost without any needles.But it was free.

Next day he told me he had been beaten.With the tree....): :)

Yes,London comming up.So it is this time of the year were Cristmas is approaching.A tradition.And usually we are treated the best way by the hosts:Good commentators,amically atmosphere and a lot of love for our royal game.I am looking forward to it and it gonna be interesting to see how it will turn out,when so many players are close to the candidates.Will they hide their preparations,or ?

All is well here and perhaps I´ll celebrate it with JWH in town tomorrow. And good to hear you got a natural explanation from your friend.And perhaps you already are starting to enjoy the first of your 4 days free !?

See you around and may you have the best weekend possible !

My father had a car accident a few days ago (he was near the driver in a multiple car crash) but he's alright, nothing broken - the worst was/is the after shock resented from the airbag opening. He still needs to take painkillers for a few days.

London's on the way and a lot of draws, but some of them were fought. What do you think about the games between the two robots, to be found here and also the piece of news on Chessbase?

Yup, Christmas time coming up and preparations shpould follow, but we usually take it easy and leave (almost) everything for the last two days before the 25th.

Very good to see you in da house again !
And I do get used to your minibreaks,but sometimes I can get a little anxious... Anyway it is christmastime today:Hannah is going for a girls lunch and I am off to London,to see if the drawfest continues,or they will go all out/inn today.The old body is feeling very good,only downside is,that I came too late for the bookie ):So hopefully Aronian and Carlsen dont win both ;)Or:OTOH,they are heavily played in the bookiegame,so if I was´nt dizzy beforehand :)

Sounds like quite a chock your old man got !....Hopefully he will recover fast,but who can prepare themselves for such an accident ? (Which reminds me of an incident were a national famous biker went down with his helmet on.And answered to the journalists question "what he thought about using helmets?" A:"I dont like them,they break!")

About the new playing alpha-zero in the
class I have no other reaction than feeling impressed,very surprised and a bit scared.Further testing on proved egqual conditions is required IMHO.But I read about the London players reaction on Chess.com and it is definately a read worth and hereby highly recommended.And what is yours opinion ?

<Yup, Christmas time coming up and preparations shpould follow, but we usually take it easy and leave (almost) everything for the last two days before the 25th.>

Sometimes the lazy line from A to B is the fastest :) Bougth more or less all Hannahs Christmas gifts on wednesday and it is a big relief that it is already settled.

First snow for the season started 5 minuttes ago.Gourmet snow. And Carlsen is about playing the Polar Bear system in London.GM Danielsen will be very happy.

So from here:The best wishes for december to you and to Maria!

Lately I've been drinking a certain young red wine wich I like very much and, for some reason, it doesn't give me a headache. The decision to start writing my third novel is trailing. Did you know Hemingway survived two plane crash, in a single day? No more dizziness lately, that being months ago. And I still enjoy playing chess, even when I lose. But what a thrill to start another one, not knowing: will I lose or win? Chess is a thrill provider, you'll have to agree on that.

London's gone and no more major tournaments up to the end of the year, I guess. I forgot to ask you: do you have children? I don't.

No,I didnt know that about Hemingway,but it sounds like "typical" him ;)And very good to hear about your absence of big D which I suppose must be felt like a big relief,nést pas!? Here D is about normal and that is bearable.And you have found a brilliant wine:young and without"sideeffects",while the novel is waiting for your creative touch...Great.

Yes,I have one son,as I have told you.It is him who got braindamaged elleven years ago ):. But 30 wonderful years we had together.Kind of being my best friend too...Miss him every day,but live with the pain,but perhaps for some unknown reason it is harder this Christmas time. And I do recall you haven´t had any kids.Was it by purpose ?

It sound slike a fine spirit you have with your chess and I certainly agree that chess is a chillprovider.Sometimes one of the greatest in that department. Sometimes,or rather often,when I have hit the pillow I use some of my old chessgames as an entry to dreamland.Mostly the fine and important wins :) Goals I scored in football too.Better than counting sheeps:) Didn´t know about Balanel and hence dont know if he lives anymore. But breifly evaluated from the game vs Larsen he certainly knew how to move the pawns and pieces.

I met Larsen several times,but unfortunately not over the board,though I came close one time. One time we analyzed more than one whole hour together,which I always look back upon with gratitude.

Here it is melting snow too and christmaspreparations are progressing like they should and we look forward to the 24 th.

Now it is about sleeping time and I send you all my best wishes for now and for all yours and Marias endavours here in december.

And you are right, the would-be novel is still waiting for my decision to start being written. This morning we woke up with a lot of snow outside, but it's already beginning to melt.

Again I'm losing chess games and I don't know if I should, at last, learn an opening more properly. Or maybe not.

"A man enters the dentists room.Trembling all over."Are you nervous ?" asked the dentist."Yes" answered the man.It is so rare I come here."----Now the man sees it is the dentist who trembles.Very shaky fingers."Are YOU nervous?" asked the man."Yes", said the dentist."It is very seldom someone comes here".

Which reminds me of my first international tournament,Las Palmas Open in Spain.The first round were I was pitted with a spane,about whom I knew litterally nothing.A closed sicilian it was and I was very nervous,even after the first mandatory moves.but then I realized that my opponent was perhaps in an even worse condition!....Since that moment my postion became better and better and around move 40 the full point was mine and off to a good start.

So now it is Christmas...Soon.
Just got the biggest tree indoors today.And dear wify has finished her last day at the office. No big prepartion left,merely trying just to enjoy the Christmas spirit. Besides from a couple of minor body issues it has been a fine time since last.Friday the magic hours with JWH and sunday with common friends on our irish pub.A good occasion to remember the old year and to say Merry Christmas at the same time as I will do to you now,with a lot of thanks for the almost bygone 2017 were I enjoyed and deeply appriciated our postcards and sharings.So I wish all the best for the New Year with good health,wind in your back,sun in your face and some creative challenges that will come your way.

Wifes rice with shrimps are soon on the plate !:)

And all the wishes were also to Maria.

Haha, funny dentist...:) My first international tournament was here in Iasi, and I've lost my first round encounter to a girl who now hapens to have the highest rating within Romanian women. All I remember from that game is that there were moments when my loss was not sure, and even that (as a colleague playing nearby showed me after) I could have turned the tables, have I been more concentrated. Then the second round I've won, also against a girl (both of them had an Elo a bit over 2000, while I had none) from Moldova. That game was going rather equal, until I've noticed she'd put her queen and rook on the same diagonal with my (defended) bishop - and of course I couldn't lose the chance to grab the point...I was rather happy seeing it's not that difficult to win against a 2000+. Then the third round brutally brought me to the reality, I've played against a 2500 rated Russian who quickly demolished me in a Scotch (I was black). For the remaining rounds I think there was just another win (or draw) for me, and the rest were losses (I've also got a Bye once).

I bought the Christmas tree but still not installed it, maybe tomorrow. Today it's presents shopping day. Gloomy outside but not very cold, and little snow. We ate carp with vedgetables salad yesterday, but I put a tad more salt in it. This lunch I'll have something else, maybe turkey.

Few chess games if any, no more reading or writing, no video game since quite a big while, just a documentary on the Great Coral Barrier last night, after returning from a Christmas concert at the local opera theatre - which was charming, especially the children choir.

Wifes in the kichen cooking,shrimps with pasta,óne of our big favourites :)While the wind is howling ooutside and it is dark and rainy.Just like in the novels...But inside it is very very cousy.And we have had the privellege to watch directly from Riyahd on norwegian television with an excellent broadcast.And as the story goes:tomorrow will be a close race with several contenders.Can hardly wait :)

Besides from some bodyissues,it was a fine Christmas:big tree,good food and many presents between our two :) as we almost have no family.

Thanks for your Christmas greetings and still some to you and Maria in return s.v.p....Still a strange,but not a dangerous feeling that the other Maria is now living just on the other side of this very living room! And an interesting read about your first international tournament to boot.

I lost two games over the net, but it's fine, I still don't feel like learning an opening decently, just prefer to improvise and/or discover everything over the board.

Weather warm for this time of the year. The trip to Onesti went all right, and this time we preferred to stay at a hotel over night.

Magnus not so well today in last round of rapid games in Riad, something went fishy in his game against Grischuk. We'll see how he fares in blitz. Broadcast was fine, but I hope the Norwegian TV one was better, as on the official site they repeated the bad idea not to relay the moves on a board in real time (other than the side view upon the players themselves) - and the comentators found themselves most of the time left behind with the flow of moves while analysing different possible scenarios. Why it's so dificult to keep a board on the screen with real time moves going on, and just let comentators do what they wish on a separate board? Oh well, now the rapid part is over and I imagine this will be hardly possible in blitz, as moves will go just too fast to keep track. OK, I suppose I could keep a separate board for real time playing on my laptop screen from another broadcast, but, you know, it gets complicated.

Regardless, it's great to have live this event by the end of the year, with most of the top GMs competing and us spectators enjoying the show (and complaining :) So, good luck for your Scandinavian in the next two days!

Good night.