Talk about your small world, l played fourth board on the 1972 Aggie chess team! We won the southwest championship that year but I was a much weaker player than you, about 1600. Like you I have picked the game back up after retiring and am playing in a couple of Houston tournaments and on Chess.com frequently

Our team was John Moffitt, Joe Turner, Rudy DeLaGarza, and William Weaver - we didn't have any ratings over 1900 but beat everyone we played (including Rice and UH) except lost 2 1/2 - 1 1/2 to LSU (but they had the La state champ and New Orleans city champ fixed up with student ID).
Still, we had a lot of fun at Marde Gras.

Now, several schools in Texas give chess scholarships, so situation is much different.

Well, you had a much better deal. The big SW Regional Championship that we played in was in Canyon. Texas, not exactly the French Quarter! I don't know if you follow college chess now, but it is indeed a big deal. Texas Tech and UTD have two of the top programs in the country. The Webster team that won it this year has two teams, both of which are all grandmasters. I play in an occasional tournament and the scholarship opportunities put great pressure on the high school kids.

Check out this beauty by Anand: https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/zurich-skvortsov-anand-2017/1/1/1

Nice queen sac by Anand.

I've got two accounts, ~2100 and 1900 Lichess, and mid 1700s chess.com

NM

I'm game.

Yes, it makes me sad. He should be +1, maybe even +2. His ability to finish isn't what it used to be. Reminds me of when fischer played spassky in 92 and kasparov said he's still good, maybe around 2600, nowhere near world champion level...paraphrasing of course but that was the gist of it. His turn now I guess. Really surprised considering the way he obliterated Short a few years back.

Rongagin71 said:

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I'm a fish compared to really strong players - the highest rated player that I knew at A&M was a math prof from England named Roger Smith, he was +2400...Next was Hungarian economics Prof Pejovich (2360) who designed A&M's chess computer program that competed in the World Championship in early 70's.
Anyway, I downloaded Chess.com and guess someone will challenge me at "Willweav1948@gmail.com".

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Cool stuff. I took one of Pejovich's last classes while I was in school, had no idea he was that good of a chess player. I do remember we had to buy the tiny green book of economics essays he wrote for $100+, which I kept instead of selling back to Loupot's for $3.

Paying attention to TCEC at all?

I've spent the last month on chess.com playing chess seriously for the first time in my life. It's a good way to keep a guy humble. I'm stuck around 1050.

That much is true. I know a guy who I think is dumb as bricks, but he's rated near 2400 and he wrecks me most of the time.

Stockfish and Houdini playing right now. Blacks position looks really awkward but the engines say it's even...

I once won a rated game I played at a chess club in Dallas, by technicalities. It was awesome.

It pays to know certain, "things" like, "touch move!"

This is huge: https://arxiv.org/abs/1712.01815

Might be a good idea. I doubt most non chess players pay any attention to this thread, but this may be a subject that is of interest to beyond just chess players.

Some interesting, positions , will be on display at the 2018 World Chess Championship.

https://worldchess.com/2017/12/17/branding-for-the-2018-match-unveiled/

That would be a women's championship I could get behind.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/12/19/grandmasters-complain-londons-world-chess-championship-logo/

TxTech gives chess scholarships:
https://www.facebook.com/TexasChess/posts/10156019089664706

Turns out UTRG also made final four...I remember back in the '70's when they were PanAmerican and the SID, Jim McKone, was very interested in chess:

http://www.utrgv.edu/en-us/about-utrgv/news/press-releases/2018/january-05-utrgv-chess-teams-expert-moves-lead-to-final-four/index.htm