A chess dad player

This weekend I took my own advise from “Put yourself in their shoes” — since my wife and kids were out of town, I decided to participate in theĀ Central California Open. This was the first time I played chess without my boys — not as a chess dad, but as a chess player.

I was very fortunate to meet Dejan Bojkov, who is a GM from Bulgaria, and share the weekend experience with him. Not only did I get to watch his behind-the-scenes work to compete in the tournament (he won 1st place), but he also helped me with analysis of my games.

I told Daniel many times how useful post-game analysis is for improvement, but I never actually did this for myself and my own games. Dejan gave me the opportunity to really experience for myself how powerful this can be.

Santana Row

We love Santana Row. The restaurants, the shops, the people, the atmosphere. It’s always a place that’s humming with energy, and it’s always a blast to just be there.

It also has a “life-size” chess board, and some chess tables, and is essentially the bay area equivalent of “Washington Square Park” in NYC. Most days, and especially on weekends, you can pick up games there with some really decent players.

Santana row is where Daniel saw a chess board for the first time, and got hooked. It will always hold a special place in our hearts.