I've played chess for a while. I was never very good, just played casually. It is a great game to take up to get your mind off of life and erase problems in your head temporarily. It is also fun to destroy somebody and inflict pain. I spend way too much time on my phone with a couple specific games so chess because somewhat of a therapeutic break for half an hour a day. Lately, chess has caused more negative emotions than positive ones. I won 13 straight ranked games on Chess.Com, skyrocketing into the 1400s range. I was excited so kept playing. Then I lost. Then I lost again. And again. Next thing I know I lost 10 straight, a personal best for me haha. I never take chess seriously so these new frustrations got to me. Then Isaac asked if I wanted to play a game. We have played our fair share of games and he has never won although there have been some close ones. I got into time trouble and lost some pieces. Badly. Then lost the game, and lost the next. I lost some more online games, dropped into triple-digit rankings for the first time since I made my account, and decided it was time for a break. Apart from some fun games in chess club I haven't played at all and am content with looking at my phone for all of my free time instead of almost all of it. My philosophy when it comes to hobbies is if you aren't enjoying them there is no reason to pursue them. I would still recommend it to the whole world as something to get into, it's great to play at any level. There is just no hope left for me. I can't win and chess isn't worth being angry about even if I do play only once a day at most. Here is a link to chess.com with my account details so you can go play my opponents and maybe increase my rating. What are your hobbies outside of school besides sports?
https://www.chess.com/play
Hi Zev. Even though I beat you twice, I still do think you are probably a little better than me. But regardless, I don't think that you should give up chess because you lost a few games. It may be time for a break to give your mind some time to focus on other things and then get back into the game, but don't think you should give it up because of how fun of a game it is. I have also recently had a losing streak (not 10 games, but still a good amount) and what I did after that was instead of playing more games, I watched videos about chess and did exercises on lichess (they have a lot of really good ones on lichess) and learned about the history of the game in YouTube videos to keep my interest while I took a break from playing. That may not help for you, but hopefully you will be able to get back into the game without getting any more negative emotions while playing it.
ReplyDeleteHi Zev, I'm sorry you've been going through a rough patch in your chess game. I would help beat your opponents if I could, but I'm not good enough. At least you still have districts to fight for. Maybe its time to give chess a little break before you make your breakthrough to the pros...
ReplyDeleteHi Zev, I hope that you get past your rough patch in chess. Currently, I like going to BBYO and hanging with friends besides playing golf.
ReplyDelete