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Good morning, Greg.
Four rapid, three wins, and the rating's up nine. The one to keep: move 22 in the French, you had the break and took the trade instead. Small thing — but it's the third time this week.
Today, when you sit down: look for the pawn break before the piece trade.
Online chess is a marvel — an opponent in four seconds, any hour, your exact speed. But one rapid becomes six, the rating bar starts to feel like a mood, and the evening's gone.
“…I'm gonna look up from my phone and see my life.”
— Phoebe Bridgers, Garden Song ↗
The thing you love is always available now, and that's a lot to hold alone. We're the friend who walks home with you after a tough match — just to name the one thing worth keeping.
Prophylaxis for your practice
A back-rank mate is the small disaster — a king trapped at home because nobody pushed a pawn to give it air. Players call that air luft.