Checkmate!
I just recently signed up on Chess.com. My original motivation was to be able to play my newest rival who lives almost 400 miles away in Chicago. This is my bosses daughter. A 9-year old girl that has a keen mind and is a wonderful girl. I will get my games in with her, and learn from her as she is being professionally trained, while I’m a rather casual player my whole life, but I think I will be spending more time on the site than just to have matches with her.
Chess is a marvelous game! Besides the timeless simplicity of “minutes to learn, but a lifetime to master”, the game has a unique “no excuses” quality I always admired. There is never any options as to why one person wins a chess game. They played better!
Most other games have a variable involed. Whether it is roll of the dice, luck of the draw, or physical ability of one player over the other. Chess has none of this. If you lost, it’s because you were outplayed. No ifs, ands, or buts. It’s a great lesson growing up, and one I’m glad I passed on to my son.
I’ve played a couple games so far, and put a badge up on the blog here. I am anxious to see my rank go up as I improve (I hope). I’ve never been ranked before and am looking forward to the officialness of the matches to come. I still think some of my most memorable matches will be quick pick-up games with my son, but this is a nice alternative.
I’m practicing Shay. Watch out! 
Anthony