Hospital Simul

I’m writing this piece from a hospital bed in Salford receiving some treatment I’ve been waiting a while for. I’ve just finished playing an online simul against some of my students which was a nice distraction from the tube in my arm. The nurses thought it was quite funny! I scored 13.5 / 14 dropping a half point in the final game. My coach (my husband Alex) will no doubt be critical of my endgame technique but for once I’m going to blame external factors!

For those that don’t know this already, I have MS (multiple sclerosis), an incurable condition that affects the brain and nerves. I’ve never written about this publicly before – but I’ve spoken to a few people recently who talked about the benefits of being open so here we are! I think there is a lot of pressure at times to present a certain image of yourself and admittedly some of this is internal also. I think I’m quite independent and a bit of a fighter so it’s natural for me to sometimes pretend all is great.

I’m receiving a treatment called Lemtrada – basically for four hours I have an infusion pumped into my arm once a day for three days. Lemtrada works by attacking the immune system which at first glance appears counterproductive! However, with MS it is the bodies immune system which is attacking the myelin – a sheath that surrounds the nerves. This can result in various symptoms.

Due to Covid Lemtrada has not been available due to the extra risks. This is my third treatment and so far the impact has been very positive so I am just glad it is available again. It’s a bit of a pain having to have monthly blood tests - however I want to live as normal a life as possible and this is a price worth paying.

I was diagnosed in 2015 whilst on a mini-break in Harrogate. For several days I’d had double vision and some loss of function in my hand. Obviously the news was something of a shock – though I have to say it is remarkable how quickly you adapt and get used to a new set of circumstances. Thankfully I was able to get booked to receive the Lemtrada treatment very quickly and the acceleration of the symptoms has been really pushed back since then.

I want to talk a bit about my current aspirations regarding my own chess and how I plan to fit this in with my career as a coach, the practical realities of being a mum to two young kids and the need to manage my health. But those are for another article. For now, enjoy a couple of games from the simul!

Hard Fought Draw

After a dodgy middlegame I reached a very promising endgame position, but my technique was a bit sloppy and I let my opponent off the hook

Tactics

Here I missed a nice chance to win material

19th Century Chess

Finally - the opening from this game looks like something out of the 19th century !