Many years ago I was a better than average chess player. When I was in the Israeli Navy I was the Navy Champion for the years 1973-76 and came in third in 1978. As you can see, that was a long time ago. After I was released from the Navy We moved to our present home in Elazar. Elazar is one of the villages in Gush Etzion. I joined the Gush Etzion Chess team that competed in Jerusalem. After a few years I dropped out, and turned my interest to competing in the Jerusalem Scrabble Club rather than playing chess. I am still one of the better players in the Scrabble Club, which meets once a week, and occasionally hosts tournaments. But the only chess I play is with my children and grandchildren, and then only sporadically.
This week someone approached me in the synagogue on Friday night. It turned out to be the organizer of the Gush Etzion team from the days when I played serious chess. We had a lovely time reminiscing, and I invited him to stop by our house later in the day to play a few games. He came. We played 3 games. He won 2. I won 1. When I was on the team I probably would win every encounter, but then I took the game much more seriously. Today, I simply enjoyed having him stop by to play and chat.
Wetherhorn 