I don’t like to lose (in chess either), but how could I play chess well (and defeat many) if I only attended one chess lesson at the Pioneers Palace of that time and because of that, it’s no surprise that I want to play with a person I know I can defeat for sure. And such partner does exist in my chess life. Unlike me, citizen Gocha Abashidze had put a lot of effort in learning chess and attended the lessons (held by Mr. Pavle Khizanishvili) for a long time, but what I had learned in a day (from Mr. Shota Intskirveli), he did not learn throughout the years and it’s been so many years since I’ve been defeating (him, Gocha Abashidze) with shameful score. Although, Gocha Abashidze (since his coach has passed away) sometimes creates chess problems on his own and (like Pipinia Eristavi) works on himself as well, sometimes he even trains and uses chess terms during a match (for example, “Sicilian Defense” or some “Gambit”), but he still loses mercilessly, because he doesn’t to the most important thing that chess needs – he doesn’t think.

Despite the fact that unlike Gocha Abashidze I attended a chess lesson only once, I learned that most important thing, which I need not only in chess and use not only in chess – I try to think – all the time, everywhere and about everything. I believe that it’s because of chess that I always think and maybe often with errors, but still, in my opinion – thinking is the most important thing.

I think that a person who doesn’t think has a Soviet consciousness, because people in the Soviet Union were prompted not to think and that someone else would do that instead of them and that’s what they did. That is why the Soviet people lived more with their instincts and even now they continue to live like this, with inertia. And a person’s main advantage is of course, thinking and judgment and that makes him different from any other animate being on earth.

Gocha Abashidze wants to win at my expense as well, and during each match he hopes that I will make a mistake or leave a chess piece without attention and defense, so that he could sneak up on my defenseless piece, treacherously kill it and gain advantage. In reality, he can easily defeat me if he opens that chess textbook (which I gifted to him, by the way) even once, learns and works hard, puts in effort and studies and not wait for something that many Georgians are waiting for to this day. At the hangout in the street, where I used to stand in my childhood and youth, even now, after several decades, I still meet a person who still stands there and whenever I ask him how he is doing, every time he tells me that he is waiting for something.

Of course, he is waiting for a friend, a friend of a friend or a relative to be appointed on such position that he/she could get him a good job too, which means good salary or a chance for him (as they themselves say) do some other stuff too. I have heard exactly the same words from people who were left with unfortunate mentality by the Soviet Union – like a person’s happiness and success depends not on their own abilities, but on some kind patron who would fix and arrange their life and the whole life passes while waiting for this…

Though, if citizen Gocha Abashidze is secretly studying but still cannot win, this means that he has to study harder and find better books, because apart from everything, I’m embarrassed in front of Pavle Khizanishvili and I have thought so many times to go to his grave and apologize, but what if his mourner (who accidentally turns up) ask me what I’m doing, should I tell them the truth?

Lying is very hard for me and how could I sneak the words to Mr. Pavle that I defeat Gocha Abashidze, who he raised, sometimes with the score of 20:0, I would not want to kill that departed, well-respected trainer and teacher the second time and it could never slip my lips (especially at his grave) that I once defeated my happy partner with the score 43:0.

I really do not know anyone on this earth who is happier than Gocha Abashidze. Regardless the fact that if not half of the world, I do personally know half of Georgians and it’s not like I haven’t seen and known anyone else with that Soviet inertia, who lives only by instincts, but when you are defeated twenty times in a row, go home and sleep like baby (turned on one side), you really are the happiest person.

I really wanted to for once just ask his wife (Nino Tskhakaia) on which side (specifically) does Gocha Abashidze prefer to lay down at night and how does he sleep in reality and whether he tosses from side to side, but I was embarrassed to ask, since it is because of Mrs. Nino that I so successfully defeat his extremely happy husband in a clockless chess (by the way, he once insisted that I went to the Chess Palace with him, to turn the clock on and play that way and we actually went, but very soon he was in such trouble that he was asking me if I accidentally knew the name of the mother of whoever came up with this clock).

And why is it because of Nino Tskhakaia? Because once, completely accidentally, such phrase slipped out of her mouth about her husband’s unusual weakness, that during almost each match I successfully use it and during any of our chess duels I remember that Gocha was trained by Pavle Khizanishvili and my trainer was – Mr. Nino herself. So it turns out…

Obviously, this wasn’t such a treacherous hint like Artem Araratel dared to say on September 10 of 1795 near Krtsanisi (that King Erekle didn’t have the gunners), but I’m still grateful to Nino Tskhakaia that she (accidentally) hinted what was most useful to me (and helps me to this day) against Gocha Abashidze. Though, Gocha Abashidze himself deserves a thank you from me the most, because playing chess is not only the best workout for my brain, but also a kind of drug, which Mr. Gocha Abashidze never deprives me of and he never holds a grudge.

As for Kartlos Khotivari’s film “Serenade”. I think, it’s already clear how this amazing film and its story is connected to this blog and so, I won’t explain…