Tag: blogging

How to Teach a Kid Play Chess

~ Veselin ~ 2 Comments

Chess is a game that should’ve disappeared by now. Chess engines have become so strong that humans can no longer contribute to game theory—except by coding the chess engines. Yet, YouTube is filled with funny and wildly popular chess influencers. As a result, both of my kids have taken an interest in learning the game. Now, it’s time to teach my youngest, who is 6.

Here’s my strategy for teaching the game:

  1. Show the piece movement, arrange the board and start playing
  2. Do not win! Little kids seem to love beating their parents 🙂
  3. Do not take any pieces outside of avoiding check or recapturing
  4. Encourage them to use all pieces
  5. Once you feel like the kid got a basic idea, switch to mini games
  6. Give them 2 rooks and queen vs your king. Let them find a checkmate
  7. Once they find a checkmate, give yourself a pawn and play hard
  8. Once they find a checkmate, give yourself 2 pawns. Teach them how to attack the backward pawn
  9. Once they find a checkmate, give yourself a knight. Teach them forks
  10. Keep adding pieces to the board for both sides until a real game becomes possible

Around point 10 it’s time to find a chess club. This is when the chess became a chore for both of us with the big kid. Also, finding a tick where the kids played didn’t help much. I’ll try to improve the process with the second kid, maybe find a club without ticks.

A Deadly Influence by Mike Omer, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ Leave a comment

A Deadly Influence is a crime thriller about Abby Mullen, a hostage negotiator assisting with a kidnapping case. Somehow, the kidnapping is linked to a cult. Abby Mullen grew up in a cult and is still haunted by the massacre that brought it to an end.

Overall, the book is fantastic—well-written, unpredictable, and somewhat logical. I don’t often read fiction about events that could actually happen.

The only issue was that the publisher used a very tiny font size to save from paper. It was painful to read. They squished a 450-page book into 300 pages.

5*/5.

What would you do if you won the lottery?

~ Veselin ~ 12 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What would you do if you won the lottery?
View all responses

A fellow blogger Dr. Victor Bodo wrote about the types of happiness. He identified 4 types of happiness by origin – coming from pleasure, from purpose, from spirituality, and one from following a wise path. Lottery winnings can greatly impact the first type of happiness. However, I don’t think they can make me younger, smarter, healthier, wiser, or more connected to the family and community, leaving the 3 other types of happiness unchanged or at risk.

I once met a lottery winner while standing in line for bread. Those who have lived in communism know that shortages were common, and waiting in long lines for basic stuff was a daily chore. In my case, it was bread. An old man stood in front of me, loudly sharing the story of his life. Years ago, he had won the national lottery, with the prize being a large apartment. Winning didn’t spare him from aging—or from standing in line like everyone else.

So, in case I won the lottery, I think I’d rather invest the winnings and live a normal life than surrender to a life of luxury and riches. I might get myself an electric car 🙂

Last year I blogged that I think money can’t make you happier beyond a certain limit. I still believe it.