I am hot. I am hotter than hot. I am as hot as as Wilt Chamberlain when he scored 100 points against a bunch of dads.

I have a scorching record on my new board I got for Christmas. Not only is it breathtakingly beautiful, but is also bringing me great luck.

Or maybe luck has nothing to do with it.

Maybe it is due to the days upon days of playing on chess.com, the minutes spent reading books, and the multiple times losing to my mentor Kohl, as well as losing to my feline foe on chess.com – Catspurrov.

Especially Catspurrov.

According to my calculations, the perpetual losing has gotten me to a point where I have a five-game winning streak against Kohl – beating him fairly badly multiple times.

For those who know basketball, they know Carmelo Anthony turns into a different person when he puts on a hoodie – going under a majestic transformation into “Hoodie Melo” – a lethal hooper capable of taking on Michael Jordan: Space Jam version.

While Caspian is my alter-ego for the chess world, I have discovered another version of myself of truly epic and terrifying proportions – turning into “Hoodie Adam.”

Unlike Caspian, Hoodie Adam can only be brought out once per match, and must be at a key moment of the match.

The hood goes up; the confidence goes up; my percent chance of winning goes through the roof.

The sight of me in a hood was so terrifying it forced Kohl into the worst move I have seen him make in dozens upon dozens of matches.

Judging how I cannot beat him in Mario Party on the Nintendo Switch, it motivates me to be able to beat him in something.

Here are some more openings to try over the board, or on your cellular device.

Caspian’s list of openings part II, featuring Hoodie Adam The Benoni Defense (playing as white)

– White plays the queen pawn to d4

– Black plays the queenside bishop pawn to c5

– White moves the queen pawn up to d5

– Black plays the kingside knight to f6

– White plays the queenside knight to c3

– Black moves (likely queen pawn to d6 or other moves)

– White plays the king pawn to r4

The Benoni defense gives white a huge advantage in the middle. Black cannot take a pawn without sacrificing the knight. Black cannot move its light square bishop without being captured. Lastly, black has no great moves on advancing their pawns.

English Opening (playing as white)

– White moves the queenside bishop pawn to c4

– Black moves

– White moves the queenside knight to c3

– Black moves

– White moves the kingside knight pawn to g3

– Black moves

– White moves the kingside bishop to g2

The English opening, ideally, is supposed to give white a huge advantage over a crucial center square – the d5 square – by attacking it with three different material: the c4 pawn, the c3 knight and the g2 bishop.

Have cool chess sets, ideas for moves, or want to play chess? Reach out to Adam Dodson at adamd@athensnews-courier.com.