I most dislike playing chess against opponents who used to be my students. If they bought into the methods that my coach taught me, it’s like playing against superior versions of myself — they’ve got everything I gave them, plus whatever else they picked up along the way. If they did not buy in, then I feel additional pressure to smash their stupid faces, in a manner to suggest: See? If you’d gone with the program, you would’ve won this game.
I tried retired from over-the-board play, but following my lecture last week, the Kolty club asked me to fill in as a house player to make an even number of players. Last night, the Menlo Park club, I thought, needed higher-rated players to encourage the participation of the best player on our club roster, so I played against an ex-student on Board 2, but the Welsh women’s champion was not in attendance.