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Sam commented that - 'It's a shame there isn't as much interest in board
games as there used to be in Ohio. I think this is because people are
playing online games instead.'  
GKG response: I need to clarify, it is really the 'my neck of the woods'
part of Ohio (east of Cleveland, along the Lake).  Other areas of Ohio:
Cleveland (south of it and west), Akron, Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnatti
seem to still be doing well at chess.  I managed to run a city club in my
area from 1996 up to 2005.  Even had rated USCF tournaments.... the last
one had 3 people sign up.  And the city's support for chess went
belly-up.

Sam also wrote: 'I never went for online games; if I am playing someone
at Chess and losing, I want to be 100% certain that my opponent is not
cheating so I can feel that he is winning fairly. I can never do that on
the internet. I think an essential human element is lost when people
interact with computer screens instead of real live people.'  
GKG response: I certainly understand.  I had actually quit playing on-line
and e-mail games for that very reason.  Then I was happy to find Chess
Variants and I thought, 'Great, games that computers can't play.'  But
then I found out that lots of games could be played by computers.... even
my own Pillars of Medusa (my first game)... I believe that the only true
fair games are the ones we can play over-the-board, face-to-face, in one
sitting (no adjournments).  But with players scattered all over the world,
we simply must be appreciative on the positive aspects of computers and
games which are:
1) they provide a means of playing against other people, all over the
planet
2) they provide a good training arena
3) they make for easier write up of game literature (chess books, etc)
4) they allow for the creation/presentation of complicated games, that
seem to need computer intervention in order to enforce actions that the
human-mind can find time consuming.  Time Travel Chess, for example, is
well at home on the computer...without it, the re-visiting of the past
becomes more time consuming and prone to error.
5) With this CV site (and possibly others like it) the computer provides a
means for us to quickly create and share new games. They allow for game
communications (talking) between players and developers, thus speeding up
game evolution.
I think these positives highly outweigh the one negative, which is that
some opponents might sit back and enjoy a burgandy, and while you think
you are playing against them, are instead playing against a silicon
monster.