"Chess, like Music has the power to make men happy"
Chess is one of those activities that you either love or are completely oblivious to, and those who are captured by its fatal beauty are doomed to hear its siren call for the rest of their days. I fell in love with it in my youth, taught by my grandfather, but thought I'd left it behind for good when I "retired" at 19. Yet 17 years later a chance encounter with an old book was enough to awaken the slumbering virus and send me back to the 64 squares which somehow manage to contain all the battles and conflicts, hopes and expectations, thrills and excitements, which the human mind can bear. On the chessboard you can be as agressive, as romantic, as daring, as cunning, as any hero or villain in the most outlandish of movies. You are in charge of your own destiny - your mind against your opponent. You can seek the ultimate truth or take the money and run. Admire the enchanting fluent grace of the finest combination or drag your opponent into the mire in the hope that you can survive better than he.
In the last three years I've had little time to play and my form has suffered badly, but I have tried to keep up with my various administrative duties. I'm currently President of Chess Edinburgh - the organisers of the league system in the Lothians, Membership Administrator of the Edinburgh Chess Club (having been Secretary for about five years), and on the council of Chess Scotland.
If you'd like to have a look at some sites about the game then go to
the Chess Edinburgh site - which I built for the League
the Edinburgh Chess Club site - which I built and wrote
and the Chess Scotland site.
All of them have links pages to other useful sites around the world.