I was a pretty good chess player as a kid, kind of gave it up in high school when I developed other interests and other players who were obsessed and studied it and read books about it all the time surpassed me.
Played friends who had interest in chess here and there the next 15 years or so and did pretty well. My circle of friends got smaller (but closer) as I got older, and I had no partners and didn't play any at all for about 15 years.
Then the Pandemic came, and I started playing a chess app and then online. I was horrible. I didn't see the board well anymore, didn't remember anything beyond basic strategy. What was once sort of a skill was now humbling. There is nothing worse than the opponent making that move that reveals his plan to you - and it is just too late. He has been working you for several moves, you didn't see it, and now there is no way out.
I have gotten better, slowly, but man there is nothing as helpless as looking at the board and realizing you are thoroughly beaten because of your own stupidity. Likewise, like Joe said, there is the rare time you see something, like having a vision, and execute it and watch the opponent fall right in your trap.
as much as i appreciate Joe's writing on sports, especially baseball, it's these non-sports-related screeds that I love and stay with me the most (and yes yes, I know many see chess as a sport).
More pieces on chess! On your tennis adventures! On conflicted emotions about your growing daughters! About snuggies and other as-seen-on-tv delights! And we're still waiting for that iPad review Joe...
This was outstanding. It reminded me of a time, about 28 years ago, when I was playing Ultimate Frisbee and had that moment of clarity and saw how a play was going to unfold, and I was able to run to the right spot to score a point.
I haven't played chess in so long though that I want to take it up again.
That moment of transcendence is the thing that keeps people coming back to frustrating games. The feeling of exceeding your limits and really grokking something keeps us coming back for more.
Same goes for Golf, especially if you are pretty terrible, those few moments you stand over a long iron or a tee shot and u get that perfect contact, makes all the slices and duff shots somehow worth it
I genuinely can't get over Joe writing this today, I have just myself started to try and teach myself Chess (I am currently one of those 600-800 ELO players mentioned, so am very useless) but just yesterday I had the exact moment Joe talks about, I could see exactly what was happening a few moves ahead (exactly as I keep hearing other ppl do) I planned my attack and executed it perfectly and thought "Yes, finally, I get this stupid game" then the very next game gave up my Rook to Queen attack about 3 moves in followed by my Knight and then continued to get wiped out through my own stupidity in the next 6 or 7 games
Like, imagine a much worse, dumber player than Joe, but having that exact same moment in a worse dumber way, then waking up the next day to read about someone doing basically the same thing
I have a chess app on my tablet. It's your basic "play the game" thing, but it also has a collection of something like 30,000 "mating" puzzles. I spend some time on my lunch break trying to solve them (and resorting to the "Hint" button when I get stumped - which is almost every time).
"But what he didn’t tell me about chess — what I didn’t know at the start — is that the better you get in chess, the worse you get. This is because the more you understand chess the more ridiculous you feel when you screw up."
I am, in my fifties, trying to learn Spanish. It started as an idea for a vacation. And I have reached the point, after some number of years, where I am good enough to hear my mistakes, constantly. I suppose that is progress. But it is also torture to hear myself murdering the language day after day after day, and using the approximate vocabulary of a seven-year-old. I think this is good to do; I think the humility that comes with it is not a bad thing; there is a certain join in the slow progress, and in the occasional moments when I just speak and listen in Spanish without being aware that I am doing it. But man, the humility comes as the result of a lot of humiliation.
I'm surprisingly pleased to discover how much you hate the game that has become your addiction.
I've enjoyed your articles so much (The Quisenberry tree, Jose Lima, Sparky, Tony Peña, the annual Royals will win it all article, fencing and badminton at the Olympics, Rulon, Stan, Bo, the Willie Mays HOF, and so many more). And now I find out you hate playing chess so much. If you're ever in Houston and want to hate losing to a bunch of kids we have no right losing to, I'll pay your entry fee into a Fort Bend Chess Club live tournament. Or give you a lesson if you want. And talk Royals between rounds. I've enjoyed your articles so much, and it would be a privilege to do anything to help you hate your chess game a little less.
I was a pretty good chess player as a kid, kind of gave it up in high school when I developed other interests and other players who were obsessed and studied it and read books about it all the time surpassed me.
Played friends who had interest in chess here and there the next 15 years or so and did pretty well. My circle of friends got smaller (but closer) as I got older, and I had no partners and didn't play any at all for about 15 years.
Then the Pandemic came, and I started playing a chess app and then online. I was horrible. I didn't see the board well anymore, didn't remember anything beyond basic strategy. What was once sort of a skill was now humbling. There is nothing worse than the opponent making that move that reveals his plan to you - and it is just too late. He has been working you for several moves, you didn't see it, and now there is no way out.
I have gotten better, slowly, but man there is nothing as helpless as looking at the board and realizing you are thoroughly beaten because of your own stupidity. Likewise, like Joe said, there is the rare time you see something, like having a vision, and execute it and watch the opponent fall right in your trap.
Highest of highs, lowest of lows.
as much as i appreciate Joe's writing on sports, especially baseball, it's these non-sports-related screeds that I love and stay with me the most (and yes yes, I know many see chess as a sport).
More pieces on chess! On your tennis adventures! On conflicted emotions about your growing daughters! About snuggies and other as-seen-on-tv delights! And we're still waiting for that iPad review Joe...
This was outstanding. It reminded me of a time, about 28 years ago, when I was playing Ultimate Frisbee and had that moment of clarity and saw how a play was going to unfold, and I was able to run to the right spot to score a point.
I haven't played chess in so long though that I want to take it up again.
I also love chess. Can't recommend chess.com enough. If you feel like playing one, find me @richvar, i'm currently 1096 ELO.
sorry you are too good, far too good for me, swinging between 650 and 700
That moment of transcendence is the thing that keeps people coming back to frustrating games. The feeling of exceeding your limits and really grokking something keeps us coming back for more.
Same goes for Golf, especially if you are pretty terrible, those few moments you stand over a long iron or a tee shot and u get that perfect contact, makes all the slices and duff shots somehow worth it
I genuinely can't get over Joe writing this today, I have just myself started to try and teach myself Chess (I am currently one of those 600-800 ELO players mentioned, so am very useless) but just yesterday I had the exact moment Joe talks about, I could see exactly what was happening a few moves ahead (exactly as I keep hearing other ppl do) I planned my attack and executed it perfectly and thought "Yes, finally, I get this stupid game" then the very next game gave up my Rook to Queen attack about 3 moves in followed by my Knight and then continued to get wiped out through my own stupidity in the next 6 or 7 games
Like, imagine a much worse, dumber player than Joe, but having that exact same moment in a worse dumber way, then waking up the next day to read about someone doing basically the same thing
Very very spooky
I have a chess app on my tablet. It's your basic "play the game" thing, but it also has a collection of something like 30,000 "mating" puzzles. I spend some time on my lunch break trying to solve them (and resorting to the "Hint" button when I get stumped - which is almost every time).
Really fun! The lichess puzzle rabbit hole has kept me “entertained” entirely too many hours.
"But what he didn’t tell me about chess — what I didn’t know at the start — is that the better you get in chess, the worse you get. This is because the more you understand chess the more ridiculous you feel when you screw up."
I am, in my fifties, trying to learn Spanish. It started as an idea for a vacation. And I have reached the point, after some number of years, where I am good enough to hear my mistakes, constantly. I suppose that is progress. But it is also torture to hear myself murdering the language day after day after day, and using the approximate vocabulary of a seven-year-old. I think this is good to do; I think the humility that comes with it is not a bad thing; there is a certain join in the slow progress, and in the occasional moments when I just speak and listen in Spanish without being aware that I am doing it. But man, the humility comes as the result of a lot of humiliation.
I'm surprisingly pleased to discover how much you hate the game that has become your addiction.
I've enjoyed your articles so much (The Quisenberry tree, Jose Lima, Sparky, Tony Peña, the annual Royals will win it all article, fencing and badminton at the Olympics, Rulon, Stan, Bo, the Willie Mays HOF, and so many more). And now I find out you hate playing chess so much. If you're ever in Houston and want to hate losing to a bunch of kids we have no right losing to, I'll pay your entry fee into a Fort Bend Chess Club live tournament. Or give you a lesson if you want. And talk Royals between rounds. I've enjoyed your articles so much, and it would be a privilege to do anything to help you hate your chess game a little less.
chuckbo
My experience, exactly. Decades ago. I have never looked back.