What are you missing & what are you appreciating?

[Hygro]

It makes me uncomfortable how comfortable I am with all of this.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I miss having mood to play game or do something fun, something that you cannot wait to do it. Now I just mostly either work, talk with wife-the only thing I enjoy or do 1 min chess game with heavy music. I lost my mood.

At chess dot com I use the same username and avatar. I play leisurely games, not minute games, but I have ample mood and would willingly share.

It makes me uncomfortable how comfortable I am with all of this.

No worries man, it hasn't really bothered me at all. Other than the people dying I think it's mostly amusing.

 

[H4run]

It makes me uncomfortable how comfortable I am with all of this.

You shouldn't Hygro, and I wasn't worry at all, well not until there are risk that my income can leave me and my whole family. And that only one thing, while there are lots of other things. If not for those things, I already buy a new game and enjoy the quarantine.

At chess dot com I use the same username and avatar. I play leisurely games, not minute games, but I have ample mood and would willingly share.

I already joined your game before you even invited me, this is the time , I hope the notification work this time. It's 4 of us against a Gujarati right? He must be really good then. I will be there whenever I log in at chess.com

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I already joined your game before you even invited me, this is the time , I hope the notification work this time. It's 4 of us against a Gujarati right? He must be really good then. I will be there whenever I log in at chess.com

Ah! I didn't recognize you! That's actually us against another club, and in all likelihood our ace is better than theirs, so long as I don't mislead the team down some garden path. Wolf is a very very good player.

 

[H4run]

Ah! I didn't recognize you! That's actually us against another club, and in all likelihood our ace is better than theirs, so long as I don't mislead the team down some garden path. Wolf is a very very good player.

My avatar is a dirty cat. I already put my line of thought also. I'm looking for a new opening line for King opening with black, so this game is good for me, Colorado gambit is not a good opening at all I want to unlearn it and learn something else.

 

[Narz]

I've defected to lichess.org, you don't get any avatar but it's just so clean & neat & nice to play on

I do have to admit I like the Puzzle Rush features of chess.com

Spoiler :

 

[H4run]

I've defected to lichess.org, you don't get any avatar but it's just so clean & neat & nice to play on

I do have to admit I like the Puzzle Rush features of chess.com

Spoiler :

Your video is not available.

When I was more serious about like chess years ago I use lichess.org for free engine analysis. But I like chess.com because it has the most player and lots of professional play there also? It's just my impression.

Btw Narz you are a chess master right?

I do have to admit I like the Puzzle Rush features of chess.com

Now I get the video, yea this kind of puzzle is not free in chess.com IIRC, I was using chesstempo for the free one, chesstempo is a gem really.

 

[amadeus]

I miss eating in restaurants until I heat up something in my microwave and put that in my feed hole! I was going to do takeout tonight but then I just tossed a packet of rice and vegetable curry in and BAM! I was eating like the Sultan of Brunei.

I’ll probably get something to go tomorrow afternoon though; I’ve got an essential outing and maybe I’ll treat myself to something. You can still eat in the restaurants here, but I haven’t been in one in a month and don’t think I’d care to sit down when some goofball could start coughing and wheezing.

I’ll still put everything in the microwave though just to be safe!

 

[Narz]

Your video is not available.

It should be now. I guess I posted it before it was 100% processed. It's not very professional, my friend & I are arguing about best moves (he's in the background so it may sound like I'm a crazy person arguing w myself).

When I was more serious about like chess years ago I use lichess.org for free engine analysis.

Yeah, I really like that feature, also you can create studies, having ChessBase isn't even necessary.

But I like chess.com because it has the most player and lots of professional play there also? It's just my impression.

Yes, chess.com has more IMs and GMs but lichess is catching up.

Btw Narz you are a chess master right?

No, no, sadly not even close right now. USCF & FIDE around 1900, high water mark was 2078 a few years ago, hoping to get back there, to make USCF Master at my advanced age I'd have to have a lot of discipline.

Now I get the video, yea this kind of puzzle is not free in chess.com IIRC, I was using chesstempo for the free one, chesstempo is a gem really.

chesstempo is great, yeah, I've done over 20,000 tactics on there and most of the features are free. The owner is really cool too I've emailed him back & forth. I don't like how chess.com is always trying to take your money. I did notice chess.com's PuzzleBattle is free for the next two weeks for anyone so I played my friend on that til 2:30AM

Spoiler Made this today :

 

[amadeus]

I totally blow at chess; I lose to the computer at the easiest setting.

 

[H4run]

No, no, sadly not even close right now. USCF & FIDE around 1900, high water mark was 2078 a few years ago, hoping to get back there, to make USCF Master at my advanced age I'd have to have a lot of discipline.

That 100+ point is steep but also this is the last mountain you need to climb before finally you reach the peak. Chess doesn't offer so much money, but being a chess master is surely something to be proud about, there is a positive stigma for being one and it's surely a life achievement!

I don't like how chess.com is always trying to take your money.

Chess is an expensive sport, even though it doesn't promise enough money unless you are a super GM, nevertheless the studying material, the coach or even the hours that you need to invest on studying, is staggering, and still sometime if you are unlucky, despite all the scarifies that you do, you may bought the wrong material, study under the wrong coach and investing time doing the wrong drills

I did notice chess.com's PuzzleBattle is free for the next two weeks for anyone so I played my friend on that til 2:30AM

That's a lot of fun!

 

[Narz]

Chess is an expensive sport, even though it doesn't promise enough money unless you are a super GM, nevertheless the studying material, the coach or even the hours that you need to invest on studying, is staggering, and still sometime if you are unlucky, despite all the scarifies that you do, you may bought the wrong material, study under the wrong coach and investing time doing the wrong drills

I'd say chess is a pretty cheap sport, a $10 plastic set will last 20+ years and tens of thousands of games, online play is free & even if you never buy a chess book there's enough free instructional content on YouTube that you couldn't watch even .001% of it in a lifetime (there's a YouTube channel with 32 separate videos just on K+Q vs K+R endgames!). Of course if you follow the adage that time is money it's very expensive indeed and also, if you want to spend money on coaches, software, books, video courses, etc. there is an infinite array of ways to spend)!

Actually, my friend & I are developing training software that creates puzzles from the games you play online. You can then sort them by opening/middlegame/endgame or games against a particular opponent. It's gonna be the most amazing chess training software in the world. It's in beta-testing right now, if you want to try it PM me & my friend can make you a free account in exchange for feedback.

 

[H4run]

I'd say chess is a pretty cheap sport, a $10 plastic set will last 20+ years and tens of thousands of games

yea you are right if you put it like that.

if you never buy a chess book

I'm chess illiterate, I cannot read chess annotation

Actually, my friend & I are developing training software that creates puzzles from the games you play online. You can then sort them by opening/middlegame/endgame or games against a particular opponent. It's gonna be the most amazing chess training software in the world. It's in beta-testing right now, if you want to try it PM me & my friend can make you a free account in exchange for feedback.

Are you telling me that you are making a soft-ware that able to recognized my game pattern, then tutors and improves my game by providing me puzzles that are created from the very game that I play? That is unbelievably organic! a personalized chess tutor, that's awesome I never heard anything like that before, you can even sell it to chess.com and it's so fit for me who like drilling chess but dislike studying and memorizing. Count me in Narz, recently I'm bored with video-game and play chess much more often.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Navigating Your Sex Life in the Pandemic

Stress takes a toll on intimacy. Practicing ‘mindful sex’ can help.

Last week, Marcus Anwar had an offer he never thought he would refuse: “Do you want to have sex?” his girlfriend asked.

Mr. Anwar said no.

“I had been watching the news and I had too much on my mind,” says the Toronto-based 30-year-old founder of a classified-advertising website. “I was worrying about a recession, about my elderly parents, about whether I would accidentally make my girlfriend sick.”

So Mr. Anwar turned to his girlfriend and tried to let her down gently. “How about tomorrow?” he asked. She smiled and replied: “OK, I understand.” How’s your sex life?

It’s a tough time for intimacy, when people are terrified that kissing, touching or even breathing on someone could be deadly. Stress and fear are big libido buzz-kills. And even if you can get in the mood, privacy may be hard to come by, with kids and anyone else you are quarantined with home all the time.

Early in the pandemic, many people speculated that there would be a baby boom next winter. Experts now say that probably won’t happen. Research has shown that baby booms sometimes follow low-severity stressful events that end quickly—like the threat of a tropical storm—because people respond emotionally. But when the trauma is intense and remains high over time—such as after Sept. 11— there’s typically no baby boom. People are too anxious to think much about sex. And they question the wisdom of bringing a baby into the world. In the case of the coronavirus, there are also worries about whether a pregnancy, and baby, would be healthy.

“A state of high threat, characterized by stress or anxiety, is not conducive to having sex,” says Justin Garcia, acting executive director and research director of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, in Bloomington, Ind. “There’s a reason gazelles don’t mate a few feet in front of a lion.”

There’s another factor at play, too, Dr. Garcia says. Humans have evolved to have a disgust response, an innate tendency to avoid things with the potential to transmit disease. This is why we’re grossed out by feces, maggots or rotten food. And it’s why we might be turned off by the idea of kissing now: Our lover could unknowingly harm us.

Last month, Dr. Garcia and colleagues at the Kinsey Institute launched an online study called “Sex and Relationships in the Time of Covid-19.” The initial results, of a sample of 1,200 participants, show that half are having less sex since the pandemic began. Yet, those who are still having sex are often trying something new, especially among younger adults, people living alone, those who feel lonely, and risk-takers. The most common new activities were sexting, sending nude photos to someone else, trying a new position and sharing fantasies with a partner. But some people were experimenting with activities that aren’t overtly sexual, such as taking a bath with a partner.

Is sex safe now, though? In March, the New York City Health Department put out guidelines on sex and Covid-19. Doctors caution that the coronavirus is new, so the data so far is incomplete. The virus has not been identified in semen or vaginal lubrication, doctors say. However, it can be transmitted via saliva and breath, and research has found the virus in the stool of some patients. In other words, the actual act of intercourse isn’t dangerous. But getting close enough to breathe on another person or swap spit is. “The decision to have sex is not very different from the decision you make to be in the same room or be closer than 6 feet with a person,” says Lauren Streicher, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “The risk is the same.”

To help people navigate this, Dr. Streicher divides sexual activities into three categories: absolutely OK, probably OK, and absolutely not OK. Masturbation—at least 6 feet away from your partner—is absolutely OK. Also perfectly safe: “If you and your partner are essentially on a desert island and have no contact with the outside world at all,” Dr. Streicher says.

It is probably OK, Dr. Streicher says, to have sex with a partner you live with, or who is your regular partner, if you are monogamous and have been doing an excellent job of social distancing from others. “If you are sitting and having dinner together and breathing on each other, you might as well have sex,” Dr. Streicher says. It’s not OK to have sex with someone who has symptoms. And this isn’t the time for a new partner, Dr. Streicher says.

Many experts suggest using technology, such as sexting, virtual sex, video or phone sex, or toys that can be operated remotely. But these options don’t allow for one of the most important aspects of sex, something people crave now: physical touch and a sense of connection.

So how can you bring sexy back?

One way: a concept called mindful sex. The idea has been around awhile. In 2002, Lori Brotto, a clinical psychologist who is now a professor of gynecology at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, started using mindfulness— a technique that evolved from meditation—to help female cancer survivors regain their ability to become sexually aroused.

There are two core concepts: Focus on the present moment. And practice being nonjudgmental and compassionate. Techniques include doing a mental scan of your body, to identify tense areas; observing your breath; and focusing your attention on touch when your mind starts to wander with anxiety.

ILLUSTRATION BY BENEDETTO CRISTOFANI

TIPS FOR PRACTICING ‘MINDFUL SEX’

• Don’t have sex if you don’t want to.
• Remind yourself that it’s OK if the sex isn’t great.
• Have compassion for your partner. If you’re having trouble focusing, assure your partner it is not his or her fault.
• Breathe. Slowly and deeply, to help calm your nervous system.
• Mentally scan your body for areas of tension
• Pay attention to touch. Direct your mind back to the present if it starts to wander.
• Open your eyes. Make gentle eye contact with your partner.
• Try something new. It doesn’t have to be overtly sexual—consider a bubble bath or a massage.

A caveat: Therapists advise when you’re not feeling up for sex, just don’t do it—and don’t let that stress you out. It’s OK to give yourself a pass and find other ways to connect.

Mr. Anwar, who once owned an escort agency, describes his pre-quarantine sex life with his girlfriend, whom he has lived with for eight years, as “steamy.” The couple typically had sex four to five times a week, he says.

Now, gripped by stress and fear, the couple has sex just about once a week, if that. Even when they are intimate, it’s not like before, Mr. Anwar says. Instead of spontaneously starting to make out, now one person will ask: “Do you want to have sex?” They avoid kissing and are careful not to breathe in each other’s faces. “It’s all very mechanical now,” Mr. Anwar says.

To recapture their passion, the couple is trying to replicate what they used to do to get in the mood. They dress up as they would for a night on the town. They set a pretty table, cook a nice dinner and turn on some Rachmaninoff.

And they talk. “We acknowledge the fact that this is temporary,” Mr. Anwar says. “We will have that passionate sex again. Things will get back to normal.”

 

[Narz]

Got it, penetration is fine but no kissing.

Weird that they would mention he used to be a pimp.

 

[Farm Boy]

I'd say chess is a pretty cheap sport, a $10 plastic set will last 20+ years and tens of thousands of games

Decadent Westerner with your shaped pieces and plas-tic. Rocks and scratches in the dirt will play Go, also a long-dead game in the era of AI, which should be enough for mud-monkeys.

It makes me uncomfortable how comfortable I am with all of this.

I will be too until if and when it becomes an issue. This **** is big. When is not unlikely, and that's government work in the US of A. I don't miss the office, though I do begrudge losing 4 hours today to Adobe signatures. Life carries on, otherwise, like I would wish it do. The grass grows. The kid gets smarter faster than I get wiser. The brush grows back and I get more skillful, but weaker, cutting it back. Goddamn I am sore.

 

[H4run]

This **** is big.

I tell you it's. I remember watched Mike Tyson interview, he said each morning he feels like somebody kicks him in the nuts, at that time I don't understand what he mean I just think this guy is surely nuts. But right now I know what he meant.

When I was a kid I love riding bicycle, and one day I slip from its chair (?) and that strong iron like branch part of the bicycle (I don't know what it called) just hit me directly to my nuts. It's so painful, not a single word coming out from my mouth, I put down the bicycle and I just crouch, not saying a single word coming out. It's similar like a good punch to solar plexus or to the ribs, you just disabled and silence, you cannot even scream, you just go to your knee and silent, losing your breath. Now I feel like that, if it's not because of my wife I even forget to cut my nails or trim my mustache.

Well unlike in US, Europe or Canada, here Covid come with little to no help from government, the employee reaching at you seeking for help for their financial problem but you also don't know if you can help the situation, your optimist and always energized boss for the first time look empty, then we got our family.

I just hope this will pass before the damage is too much for us to fix. A real kick in the nut, lol.

 

[GenMarshall]

I missed how the world wasn’t turned upside down (not that it’s already turned upside down with Trump).

 

[Terxpahseyton]

For half a year of unemployment or as I would like to call it "sebatical" ("spirit trip" even better, but that sounds nuts), with Corona I actually have found profitable employment. Like Corona makes my new business actually thrive. However, for that half of a year, I very regularly pilgered to two temples to find salvation, And escape. Freedom. And Puberty.
The Fitness Studio, be it remembered proudly, and Techno Parties, may they never die. In both I also had a weird way to rise to prominence, while in many other areas feeling lost and directionless. Not without reason.
So with Corona my whole world kinda turned upside down. It seems to only help my development, actually. I am just pissed off by having to wear a mask, honestly. Annoys me. I am not saying it is wrong. Just annoys me. The rest - is okay. But well - would be cool if not forever.

I mean FRACK homeworkout
I need to pump. Sometime again, plz. I miss it even more than techno. I mean I can still dance.

 

[Ferocitus]

It makes me uncomfortable how comfortable I am with all of this.

I've spent most of the last 10 years mooching around the house in my pyjamas, playing Civ, and writing programs and scientific/mathematical papers.
It's like everyone else suddenly saw the light.