The blog isn't shutting down, but this is a very busy week for me, plus I'm feeling a bit stale with blogging and would also like to enjoy the upcoming Tal Memorial from a purely fan-based perspective. That was the original point behind the foundation of this blog back in 2005, to write about what interested me, as a fan. Even back then I was doing tournament reports - and was just about the only person doing them, certainly with any rigor, at least in English - but that wasn't what drove me as a blogger.
So: if I want to blog on something in the near future, I will; if not, then not. But I'm taking a break from the tournament commentary treadmill, especially now that it's just one big tournament after another. (When I started there was Wijk aan Zee, then Linares, then the Amber rapid & blind, then nothing major until Dortmund in the summer, and that was it for major tournaments!)
As for my back, I feel more or less human again, more or less like my old self. My back is weaker and more vulnerable than it was, but hopefully continued exercise will take care of that and will eventually leave me in better shape than before. I remain deeply grateful to all of you who offered your support in various ways during the first weeks after the injury; it is for people like you, many of whom never comment but are faithful readers all the same, that I am especially happy to write.