The Casual Opponent

While the major purpose of a chess club is to organise competitions, they also serve as a place for casual games to take place. During my travels I've occasionally dropped into a chess club, and found myself playing a few "friendlies"  against the locals. Often my opponent (and their strength) is completely unknown to me, which makes the game even more of a challenge.
Of course I sometimes become the "local player" especially at Street Chess. This most recently occurred at the Canberra Chess Club, where I was serving as the "House Player". As there was no need for me to play last Wednesday evening, I instead played a quite interesting (and untimed) casual game instead.


Press,Shaun - Maz [B22]
Casual, 30.01.2020

Playing on the big board

If you are in Canberra City during the week, you will find the big chess pieces are now being put out in Garema Place. Most of the time they aren't being used, but for the last couple of Fridays' I, and a few others, have gone down at lunchtime for a couple of games.
However, using the big pieces is a slightly different experience than playing normal chess, as the following game demonstrates. Apart from the difficulty in keeping track of everything, both players were following the 'big piece' playing guide which includes: Move fast, play aggressively, make obvious threats, and don't worry if you lose.


Press,Shaun - Raidisch,Matt [B22]
Canberra Big Board, 07.06.2019