| For those that need a break, an outlet, an escape, a haven, a sense of normalcy…I get that. There have been wonderful online tournaments being put on these past few months. Leading the charge are Saumik Narayanan, Andrew Titus, and Stuart Strack. For a Link to the Online Grand Prix For the remainder of the June, there will be other events being put out. They will continue to make chess available during the COVID Crisis with the same unmatched passion that you have for the game. I will now shift to the other crisis at hand. This will conclude your Look Into June, 2020. You may stop reading, or carry on. |
| A mark of a chess player is their ability to reexamine their assessment to the rapidly changing position after each and every move on the chessboard. A mark of a human being is their ability to reexamine their assessment to rapidly changing information with each moment in the game of life; it is always your move. Every now and then I realize how much I don’t know, how foolish I am, how naively stupid I am. This is one of those times. I am finding it incredibly hard to gauge emotions considering that state many others are in. I struggle to find well intended words, they feel weightless and void of meaning with the gravity of the situation. There is a heaviness that people are trying to navigate without direction, trying to find answers when there are none, trying to be vocal when it lands on deaf ears, trying to listen when no one is talking, trying to help when it is not clear how. This heaviness has taken on many forms as we see the events unfolding in our very own cities [what happens to a dream deferred?]. The murder of George Floyd and many others will have a reverberating impact for years to come. I pray for peace, not pieces. The type of peace that comes when actionable mandates are set in motion to uproot generations of unjust practices. Difficult conversations, the channels of communication need to be open and knowledge to be gathered for true change to happen, for a shift in mindset to expand ones reasoning. What I thought I had believed has changed with each passing day. I feel I have learned more in the past week than I have in a generation, and have no plans to stop educating myself and try to make more of a difference. I believe I will make mistakes along the way, and I will learn from them. I believe there is still much more for others to learn, and ways to get involved. This has been your Look into June 2020, but also Ourselves. Thank you. One day at a time One move at a time Opinions expressed in this communication are solely my own and do not necessarily express the direct views or opinions of the MSCA Board of Directors |