Chess Videos
Chess Tools
Other
February 26, 2008
Member of the Week: curtains!
curtains is the strongest member of the ChessVideos.TV community, as he is an International Master and one of the top rated 5-minute players on ICC. curtains also happens to be the live commentary king of ChessVideos.TV, having recorded more than 130 commentaries. Here's our interview:
How did you get into chess?
My dad played chess, he was 4 time state PA Champion. Then I played some tournaments, it was fun, got to skip school to goto Florida sometimes, and also I was a big champion which was good for my young ego.
How long have you been playing?
Since I was little, although my first USCF tournament was like 4th grade? Back then I was pretty young but now 4th graders are over the hill.
Who is your favorite player of all time?
I dunno? I can't look past the person and only see the chess-player, which is a problem for most of the greats (because they were completely out of their minds or giant assholes). From a very pure chess standpoint I'd have to say Fischer.
Have any chess books had a major influence on your development as a player?
Not really. In my humble opinion most of the time purchasing a chess book won't help your game very much. Probably the best thing is to play a ton and to go over every game you play with a fine tooth comb. If you find yourself playing for fun a lot without doing any serious analysis on your mistakes etc, then you are really going to have a hard time improving.
What is your best chess result?
I guess when I got a GM norm in Bermuda but I had a few other good results. Played in some International Round Robin in SF, just missed a GM norm, went the entire tournament without losing a game, beating GM Baburin, IM Lakdawala and drawing with GM Shulman and GM Wojtkiewicz.
Do you have a favorite chess game?
Favorite of my games is a game I played against Ehlvest. It was a draw. I'm pretty sure it's not his favorite game. I also had an interesting game against Waitzkin where I came up with an insane move (opening novelty) over the board in the Dragon that actually turned out to be pretty good. The gamescore got lost and a friend of mine played it later, so I get no credit boohoo.
Favorite game of all time is.....I don't know, it's tough to say, there are so many good ones. I'm going to cop out on this one. There are just too many great games. Off top of my head I'd say Kasparov - Topalov, but that's not really true, it's just the first game I thought of when reading the question.
Do you have a favorite chess quote?
No. What's a chess quote anyway? Ok ok I'll try. Let's say... I dunno anything that involves the quote "playing for two results" or "playing for three results". Like Petrosian plays for 2 results, Tal plays for 3, etc etc. I find it amusing somehow.
How did you find out about CV.TV?
I think I was harassed with multiple private messages on twoplustwo.com until I finally gave in and decided to click on the link.
Anything else we should know about you?
Hmmm...no it's all secret, sorry!
How did you get into chess?
My dad played chess, he was 4 time state PA Champion. Then I played some tournaments, it was fun, got to skip school to goto Florida sometimes, and also I was a big champion which was good for my young ego.
How long have you been playing?
Since I was little, although my first USCF tournament was like 4th grade? Back then I was pretty young but now 4th graders are over the hill.
Who is your favorite player of all time?
I dunno? I can't look past the person and only see the chess-player, which is a problem for most of the greats (because they were completely out of their minds or giant assholes). From a very pure chess standpoint I'd have to say Fischer.
Have any chess books had a major influence on your development as a player?
Not really. In my humble opinion most of the time purchasing a chess book won't help your game very much. Probably the best thing is to play a ton and to go over every game you play with a fine tooth comb. If you find yourself playing for fun a lot without doing any serious analysis on your mistakes etc, then you are really going to have a hard time improving.
What is your best chess result?
I guess when I got a GM norm in Bermuda but I had a few other good results. Played in some International Round Robin in SF, just missed a GM norm, went the entire tournament without losing a game, beating GM Baburin, IM Lakdawala and drawing with GM Shulman and GM Wojtkiewicz.
Do you have a favorite chess game?
Favorite of my games is a game I played against Ehlvest. It was a draw. I'm pretty sure it's not his favorite game. I also had an interesting game against Waitzkin where I came up with an insane move (opening novelty) over the board in the Dragon that actually turned out to be pretty good. The gamescore got lost and a friend of mine played it later, so I get no credit boohoo.
Favorite game of all time is.....I don't know, it's tough to say, there are so many good ones. I'm going to cop out on this one. There are just too many great games. Off top of my head I'd say Kasparov - Topalov, but that's not really true, it's just the first game I thought of when reading the question.
Do you have a favorite chess quote?
No. What's a chess quote anyway? Ok ok I'll try. Let's say... I dunno anything that involves the quote "playing for two results" or "playing for three results". Like Petrosian plays for 2 results, Tal plays for 3, etc etc. I find it amusing somehow.
How did you find out about CV.TV?
I think I was harassed with multiple private messages on twoplustwo.com until I finally gave in and decided to click on the link.
Anything else we should know about you?
Hmmm...no it's all secret, sorry!