Chess Players of FDR - UNITE!

[shnugwa]

Hello, folks!

 

Chess is an intellectual's game, a battle of tactical prowess and positional leverage symbolizing the eternal struggle posed between the forces of good and evil, light and dark, BLACK AND WHITE! I'm curious to know, are there others in this community who enjoy the challenge of chess? I believe it to be truly unrivaled in its depth and complexity; no two games are ever truly the same (except novel fool's mates performed on unsuspecting victims). It'd be great to hear of your experiences in chess, how you came to appreciate the game, and the degree to which you think that skill in deeply logic-based games like chess may or may not translate into other facets of life, like business, education, etc.

 

As for me, I've always been fond of the game, having been the strongest chess player at my school during Junior / Senior year of high school. Many a lunch were spent in the computer classroom sitting at an empty table, battling away the opposing forces of my fellow classmates. Since leaving highschool and not having any friends who're into chess, I decided to make a chess.com account a couple of years ago. Boy, was I surprised to find out that I had the strength of but an average chess player! My average rating was ~1000, right in the middle of the bell curve. So given that information, I strove to become better at chess! I've been pretty passive achieving this goal for the first year and a half, but this summer I aim to improve my play to a rating of 1400 across the board of all speeds of play. I've already made it in one category!

 

Anyhow, add me on chess.com if you've got an account and like to play!

 

http://www.chess.com/members/view/Shnugwa

[J. D. Stembal]

I've signed up! EndingTheUsurpation

 

I have no idea what my ranking would be, probably mediocre or 900-1000. It took me four tries to beat the 1200+ computer opponent.

[Mister Mister]

Hey, thanks for bringing this up!  I am Rosecodex on chess.com

Yes I think it is a fascinating game.  I was interested in it from a young age, I used to play with my mother until I started beating her as a teenager.  I had some friends who put up a good challenge.  Later, in my first year of college, I played a lot in my circle of friends.  It was probably the only mental stimulation I got that year.  But there were some real good players among us, including an Indian guy who really taught me the essentials of opening strategy - control the center, develop your pieces, protect your king, etc...Then in the last few years I started playing on chess.com, and realized like you that I wasn't nearly as good as I thought I was.  I also found that, while I improved a little from playing online a lot, I quickly plateaued, making similar mistakes again and again.  That's when I started to study the game in more detail.  Chess.com has some good resources, and there are many youtube channels.  My favorite is MatoJelic, he has a great voice, entertaing way of presenting, and features examples from many great games in chess history.

I do think it connects to other aspects of life.  One thing I have found, that for playing faster games, preparation is key, particularly with openings, tactics and endgames.  The good players have studied these aspects of the game so that they are automatic, and they can save their time and mental power for only the most new and challenging positions.  This rule applies to life in general, that preparation is key for success in high pressure situations.  Another aspect of chess, possibly the most important, is tempo.  Typically there are two kinds of moves; one that forces your opponent to react, and one which is in reaction to the first kind.  Usually whoever controls the tempo is winning, much like soccer or tennis or other competitive sports.

I have to disagree with your analysis of the game as good vs. evil however.  If anything, both sides are evil in that they are willing to sacrifice pawns and other pieces to protect their king and kill the enemy king, but the king himself is never killed - the game ends before he can be killed.  If anything it gives you some sense of what it is like to be a sociopathic manipulator, in that an evil person has as much empathy/emotional connection to other people as you and I have to chess pieces.

I am also interested in the mentality of great chess players.  Many of world's best have had somewhat troubled lives, maybe there is some deficiency left by an overly intellectual and competitive mindset.  In particular I think of Bobby Fischer who went mad, and Mikhail Tal who drank himself to death in his 20s.  A big exception is Garry Kasparov, my favorite player, who has become a great philanthropist and a real hero in Russia as one of the most prominent voices speaking out against the Putin regime.

Would love to play and talk chess with any of you.

[DaVinci]

I have always wanted to try playing a game like chess through the mail. I think it would be fun to get a letter every few days with your opponents move on it.

[Mister Mister]

^well I'd be happy to keep the postal workers employed this way, but we can also do long-term games on chess.com