PURDY'S CHESS CHRONICLES

In January I had 2 subscriptions to Purdy's Chess Chronicles.

I'm almost half way through February and I am closing in on two dozen.

I sold thousands of those books we published on Purdy so I am hoping for at least 100 subscriptions (I hope BIG). I've written to people in Australia and New Zealand gotten one subscriber (New Zealand).

One guy wrote and told me he had the Search for Perfection book in Descriptive Notation! Who cares, I am selling the Chronicles. I asked him to subscribe, so far, no answer. Read on...

I've tried to make it clear that the Purdy Chess Chronicles will be full of bits of business, stories, games, and photos that are NOT in My Search for Chess Perfection. Now I will tell you a story. Maybe some will think it is braggin' (probably because they have nothing to brag about) but it makes a point, which is a lot easier to do when it is personal.

What happened launched my career as a mathematician!

In grades 9-11 I was a disaster in mathematics, a C student. The Poster Child for "He doesn't get it." Late in my Junior Year the whole school (High School) was required to take the State's H.S. mathematics test. I got the highest score in my school! HOW ON EARTH did that happen? I read the darn instructions! It said, plainly, and clearly, "If you don't know the answer or how to work the problem, and your answer ("guess") is wrong you will lose points on your total score." So I did only the ones I knew how to do and left the others alone. The school's top genius in math (a good friend of mine) did ALL the problems and obviously got a lot of them wrong. I was stunned. No kidding. The high school math teacher I had for 3 years said, "Long, I knew you could do it!" (I thought to myself, "you are the only one.") So he talked me into taking the Advanced Course in Math the next year. For the first time ever I ended up on the Honor Roll.

Trying to decide between mathematics and accounting, I chose mathematics and though it was hard, I loved it. And in 1967 I was awarded the college's first Mathematics Excellence award. Only one was given out. HOW DID this happen? I READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! Amazing.

Now that I am older, though not senile, I occasionally miss something. Not too often, but...

This week will be the beginning of a series on the SLAV for the Chess Reports (#123). Probably run several issues. You can still subscribe for $69.95 for 10 issues which is full of all kinds of good stuff, including every other time, an article by IM Andrew Martin, original stuff for you!

See ya soon. Read the Instructions.

bob@thinkerspressinc.com