For some people, chess comes naturally; for others, it takes a lot of work and study to become proficient. No matter how much talent you are born with, some study helps to get more enjoyment out of the game.
If you learn well from books, there is a wealth of good books on all aspects of chess. If you fare better with a teacher and immediate feedback, I can help you.
Since 1972, I have been teaching chess to people of all ages from absolute beginners to players ready to enter tournaments. I have taught at a community college in Sudbury, and at chess camps in Texas. I have taught in elementary schools: lunchtime and after school courses and also as part of the curriculum. I have taught privately in my home, and in my students' homes.
Now, I have an office and small classroom where I can take up to four students at once. Located on the southeast corner of Gerrard Street East and Woodbine Avenue, I have a storefront where I can conduct informal. drop-in sessions as well as scheduled courses.
For $5.00, I will play a game against anyone who comes into the store. The money will be refunded if I lose or draw.
For $15.00, I will play a game, recording it as we play. After the game is finished, I will play over it, pointing out ideas behind the moves as well as obvious errors. The emphasis will not be on analysis of the best moves (there are computer programs that can do that better than almost any human); rather, I will examine what you were thinking when you made a move, and how you could have thought differently about the position.
For a more concentrated study of the game, I give 6- and 10-week courses.
The Internet, particularly the World Wide Web, has revolutionized the way information is stored, retrieved, presented and viewed. This revolution has been made possible by HTML, the HyperText Markup Language in which web pages are written.
HTML is simple, yet incredibly powerful. It enables information to be delivered by many different types of user agents, from the common graphical browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer to text browsers such as Lynx. There are also programs that convert HTML pages to speech or braille.
Because an HTML file is plain text, it can be edited in any text editor (Emacs, Notepad, etc.). Unforunately, rather than learn HTML, many web developers use WYSIWYG tools and content management systems that generate unnecessarily verbose and convoluted HTML. A person viewing the HTML code of pages built with such tools can be forgiven for thinking that HTML is very complicated.
The writing of simple HTML pages is made possible by using HTML to describe only what is on the page. How the page is presented is relegated to one or more cascading style sheets (CSS). The resulting page is simple enough for anyone to maintain with only the minimum of instruction in HTML. (Look at the source code for this page, for example; use view->source in your browser.)
If I design and code your web site, you will get a site that works in all browsers, on all operating systems, at any screen resolution and window size, no matter what the default font-size, and yet is simple enough for you to maintain. For more information, go to my web design site.
The store is my office and my classroom. It is open to the public from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, and I sometimes stay open a little later. I am available at other times by appointment … or knock on the door; I may be in.
Here, I compose the cryptic crossword puzzles which appear in the Toronto Sun every Saturday, and every month in Good Times. a Canadian seniors' magazine. (You can subscribe to a weekly puzzle in PDF format for $25.00 per year.)
Here, I meet clients and give lessons; I write web pages and create graphics.
Here, I write computer programs for myself as well as for clients. I program many different tasks, from helping me compose crossword puzzles to filtering e-mail and analyzing data.
I spend a lot of time answering questions other programmers have about UNIX shell programming.
I sell CDs containing GNU/Linux ($5.00 per CD), an operating system that is becoming popular as an alternative to Microsoft Windows. One of its advantages is that it is not susceptible to viruses.
I am also selling much of my collection of close to 2,000 books. Most hardcovers are $5.00 and paperbacks $2.00.