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Thomas Lindblad

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  1. Thomas Lindblad
    While still half asleep, Åke heard Hans, no early riser, banging on three doors after one another. His door was the last one and he immediately got out of bed, put on yesterday’s clothes, and got hold of his backpack. Minutes later they were cycling with the four of them along the water to the central station. Hans, Marcel, Åke and Johny – an improbable combination of housemates intent upon winding down on a resort island for a couple of days. As all students at Dutch universities, they enjoyed
  2. Thomas Lindblad
    Already at an early stage of his stay in the Netherlands, Åke had paid a visit to Matthijs in Leiden. He was just as heartily received by Matthijs’s parents as one and a half year ago. Doctor Tiggelaar was still in the running for a professorial chair and his wife was ready for a nice cup of coffee at all times. Matthijs had suggested Åke could spend the night in Leiden, but there was no urgent necessity to do so. The journey by train to Amsterdam took only thirty-five minutes and Åke’s bike sto
  3. Thomas Lindblad
    Åke was unexpectedly soon back in the Netherlands. He arrived in Amsterdam in late August, exhausted from twenty-four hours in the train from Västerås. Matthijs waited for him at the station, hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. They had not met since Thanksgiving last year, when Matthijs had visited him at Colby College. One obvious reason was that Matthijs had not returned to Dartmouth after Christmas but decided to resume his studies at Leiden University. Åke, on the other hand, had remain
  4. Thomas Lindblad
    Precisely what I had in mind and you express it very succinctly. Readers will soon see what happens next to Åke. Thee are still some chapters to go.
  5. Thomas Lindblad
    Åke felt completely at home in Kevin’s Chrysler Valiant. His Icelandic sweater lay in the back seat, cans of cola and chips littered the space between the two front seats. Massachusetts flew by, on to New Jersey Turnpike, straight through Delaware and Maryland. The first leg of their journey ended with a hamburger dinner at the outskirts of Baltimore. Christmas holidays lay ahead. Åke’s father had not objected when Åke said he wanted to stay over Christmas and do some travelling in the Uni
  6. Thomas Lindblad
    You really get into the heads and hearts of my three personages! That gives me much pleasure.
  7. Thomas Lindblad
    November brought cool evenings and occasional showers. Åke was getting used to the new routines in his daily life that came with his friendship with Kevin. In the morning, he stayed in bed until Kevin came to wake him up. He played chess with Kevin more often than he had done with Henning and Malte at the time in secondary school. He escaped from the company of other housemates by making weekend trips with Kevin’s Chrysler Valiant, which in addition brought welcome opportunities to practise driv
  8. Thomas Lindblad
    I too have been enjoying it tremendusly, just recently catching up and presently very much looking forward to the following chapters. One small detail though. Slav's use of third person instead of first person is a clever device to show he is in the process of learning the language. Still, there are languages when such usage is standard, for instance Indonesian. I especailly like how Gavin and Jason are becoming distinct, predictable personalities. The easily awkward sharing of intimate information between Matthew and Rory is very nice too. Thanks for giving us this story!
  9. Thomas Lindblad
    The door of his room flew open. Kevin came rushing inside. ‘Wow, he’s got a lead!’ Åke rubbed his sleepy eyes and took in his visitor. Kevin as wearing his usual faded jeans and an equally faded T-shirt. He was an early riser and had made a habit of awakening Åke so that they could play a quick game of chess before classes. ‘3 ½ against 2 ½ and three games to go,’ Kevin spoke breathlessly. He was obviously referring to the final match between Bobby Fischer and Tigran Petrosian in
  10. Thomas Lindblad
    It was a long journey. Two hours in southern direction over the empty Interstate 95, passing Brunswick with the rival Bowdoin College, past Portland, the only city of reasonable size in Maine. At the border with New Hampshire on to a calm provincial road in northwestern direction. By that time, Åke was only halfway. The forests of New England glittered with bright autumn colours, a spectacle witnessed by the driver and a handful of passengers. Åke looked out of the window and took time for
  11. Thomas Lindblad
    Åke was excited when embarking on his long journey. His father brought him by car to Gothenburg. Subsequently, there were brief stops at Oslo and the airfield Keflavik on Iceland before touching down at New York. He only got a bit worried when he had a hard time figuring out the announcements by the stewardess during the final leg from JFK to Portland, Maine. If he was to endure a whole academic year in the States, he must be able to understand what people were staying, he rightly concluded. He
  12. Thomas Lindblad
    Paris never fails to enchant young people. ‘Perfect destination for a holiday together,’ Matthijs had put it when he proposed they meet again in the summer. Åke was enthusiast, although it meant asking for leave at work and spending his first salary on an air ticket. But it was their only chance to get together before his departure to Maine. Besides, he had never flown before and this would be a good practice for crossing the Atlantic in September. For Matthijs, it was different. He only needed
  13. Thomas Lindblad
    I could not resist the temptation of divulging for a moment into Swedish folklore with its unique traditions of celebrating graduation from high school. It is still clebrated in that way.
  14. Thomas Lindblad
    Thanks for this very good point. You put it better than I had formulated it in my own thoughts.
  15. Thomas Lindblad
    Readers have commented about references to specific chess games as being less relevant for non-chess players. My logic is that you cannot write about boys or young men who are fanatic about chess without offering a minimum of substance of the game they are so fond of. Otherwise it would be like writing about a a fan of rock star without adding someting about the music of that musician. Please don't worry about the chess details. The main point is that Åke, his two countrymen and Matthijs love chess almost to the point of obsession.
  16. Thomas Lindblad
    This was a very special day and Åke showered at length. In his mood he sensed the familiar combination of a light nervousness and firm confidence in a good outcome. Would Ulf Andersson feel the same when facing a game with a player from the world top? Nothing of the kind was at stake for Åke today. For him, it was the conclusion of twelve years of schooling. He put on a new, pearly white shirt. His dark blue suit had at the time been purchased to allow for growth. The length was now all ri
  17. Thomas Lindblad
    Åke was fond of camping. He was therefore happy with the accommodation he got in the home of the Tiggelaar family at Leiden. He had the attic all to himself in the narrow eighteen-century house on the bank of a canal. Under the wooden joists of the sloping ceiling, there was room for a single bed, a bedside table and a hassock. The wooden floor was covered by soft rugs. Lying in bed with the light of his reading lamp directed at his pocket chess board, he imagined he was in a tent, without the i
  18. Thomas Lindblad
    Åke came from Västerås. His father, Ragnar Raxell, had settled down there together with his young wife Blanche Bergman. They knew each other from the hamlet Gasslanda in the province Småland in southeast Sweden. Her health was fragile and after Åke’s birth she was advised against a second pregnancy. She passed away when Åke was only five years old. He had only hazy memories of her. An unmarried aunt helped Ragnar to care for Åke but after a couple of years. he remarried with Ingegerd Törnqv
  19. Thomas Lindblad
    Three Swedish boys got off the local bus at the square in the center of the tiny Dutch village Wijk aan Zee. It was Sunday morning and chilly, scarcely above zero, but not a lot of snow like where they came from. Their faces were pale after a train journey of twenty-four hours. Leaving their hometown Västerås in Central Sweden on Saturday morning, changing to the night train at Copenhagen, and starting the next day with breakfast at the central station of Amsterdam. ‘What a despicably small
  20. Thomas Lindblad
    This is a story about a young man from Sweden who loves chess and looks for like-minded friends. The story is set in several countries at a very interesting time in chess history, the early 1970s. It is not a story about the game of chess as such but it contains references to actual players and famous games.
  21. Thomas Lindblad
    Beautiful interaction between Gavin and Jason, Gavin and Matthew, Matthew and Rory. Indeed, very much cozy family life but not as it's usually conceived. Rory's father's despicable reaction is, regrettably, not so far off from what some people of my generation have experienced. The outing by The Gang with the hilarious names is probably well-meant but not very respectful of Rory's privacy. Curious to see if Matthew will be integrated into The Gang or Rory will get closer to Matthew at the expense of The Gang. In short, a very stimulating story. I always read a chapter as soon as appears on the website.
  22. Thomas Lindblad
    It was still early in the day, but already pleasantly warm. Alarik had his morning coffee on his balcony. Wolf stood opposite the canal in his tight boxer briefs. A little while and Wolf would be spooning yoghurt from a bowl in his living room. At the usual hour, he would appear in the front door downstairs. Today it was exactly one year since Alarik had spotted him for the first time. A lot had happened during the past year. In the autumn there had been the silent remote contact with Wolf,
  23. Thomas Lindblad

    Slav intrat

    Thomas Lindblad commented on Robert Hugill's story chapter in Slav intrat

    Tremendous chapter with the shyness of both of them. So much like real life. Very curious to see what will happen as Rory joins Matthew, his father and uncle on holiday.
  24. Thomas Lindblad
    Nice comments from all of you!
  25. Thomas Lindblad
    The second morning in the holiday home. It was almost unbelievably quiet all around. Alarik and his company were overlooking the calm water reflecting the rays of the sun. Nothing but thick forests on the shores of the lake. They were having their morning coffee on the terrace and did not wish to disturb the peace by doing too much talking. The holiday home of the Liljensparre family was a rectangular building of dark wood at right angles to the water. The windows on the front side at the t
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