Friday tidings

The 36th edition of the Sevilla International started today.  Fellow Canadian Leon Piasetski is also participating, enroute to Gibraltar later this month.  This tournament is always a tough tournament…15 GMs or so and as many IMs.  Sevilla is one of my favourite cities in the whole world!  You can follow the tournament on the link given below the tournament poster.

Leon looked a bit under the weather…his trip from Vancouver could have gone better.  He forgot his PC adaptar and had some unfortunate experiences finding a replacement.  His latest adapter blew up in his face earlier today…however, not is all bad news.  Leon managed to save what appeared to be a hopeless position against a fairly weak player in round 1.  When things go bad….duck!

Don’t worry, Leon!  Tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of your life! (original saying)

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Chess players know they sit too much.  But how much is too much?  And , seriously, can it be bad for your health to stay seated too long and too often?  Scientific American had an article that might interest you this week:

”We all know that physical activity is important for good health—regardless of your age, gender or body weight, living an active lifestyle can improve your quality of life and dramatically reduce your risk of death and disease. But even if you are meeting current physical activity guidelines by exercising for one hour per day (something few Americans manage on a consistent basis), that leaves 15 to 16 hours per day when you are not being active. Does it matter how you spend those hours, which account for more than 90% of your day? For example, does it matter whether you spend those 16 hours sitting on your butt, versus standing or walking at a leisurely pace? Fortunately or unfortunately, new evidence suggests that it does matter, and in a big way.”