mountain lake chess club | Russel Ray Photos

I have been playing chess since I was 13. I played competitively throughout high school and colllege but quit that route after I realized that I needed to pay the apartment rent, buy food and clothes, pay the cooling bill (I lived in Houston), and, maybe, buy my first car (a used 1976 Chevrolet Impala with 4,632 miles on it; yes, I have records)……….. little things like that.

Just before I started blogging in 2007, I spent most of my free time playing chess at Game Knot, my favorite chess site…. There are online tournaments, puzzles, forums…. everything a chess enthusiast could want, except, perhaps, actual people sitting across the chessboard from you.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I stumbled upon a chess table at the San Diego County Fair:

See the little guy in the picture? Here he is:

How nice to see a young child playing with something other than an iPod or iPad…….. just saying.

I watched him for about 30 minutes — he’s good. Real good. I wanted to play him but then I realized that I was at the Fair to, uh, see the Fair, not to play chess. That realization allowed me to leave with my ego intact.

There was even a larger chess set for those who don’t like to sit around: