First off - the picture. That board that no one is sitting at (w/ the oj bottle) is where I lost the round 3 game. There are several people in the picture, who I've played. Most of them are really nice folks and easy to talk to.
Also in this picture is the kid, with the use of his dad and his dad's computer, got a bit of help in the 2010 Class Championships (see this post). Another father and son duo were playing in this tournament. I played the kid in a side-game and he was a really well-behaved kid. I mention this because I wish one of my kids would get addicted to chess and we could go to tournaments on the weekend. Right now, they all like playing checkers with me - it's all about fun.
And now a few random observations in the form of a question to the people I observed.
"Why do you have to wear your PJs to the tournament? Have you really given up that much on life?"
"Sunglasses?! Are you freaking kidding me? Maybe if you were playing for $10,000 stakes and for some weird reason your thinking-threads could be seen streaming across your eyes, it might be a good idea to wear shades. But at a tournament like this?!"
"Have you people heard of Kleenex? Clearing your nose by snorting - not once, not twice, but several times - is not the way to clean house."
"I love the Asians - Buddha bless them! Sometimes I wonder what kind of person I would have turned out to be under the tutelage of a Tiger Mom."
Anyway ... chess. I need to figure out why I'm playing it. I hit on some reasons in my post "I Play Hope Chess". To get good and decent at chess requires a tremendous amount of time and effort. It's a game of "inches" ... sometimes you win or lose by an inch Several hours or even years of studying and practice yields only a few inches in progress.
Is it a worthwhile endeavor? Or should it be considered a pastime? Relatively speaking ... compared to watching TV, chess is better. Compared to video games, in my opinion, chess is better. Compared to playing in sports leagues such as basketball or football, chess is not better.
And to go off on a tangent - how many calories does one burn in a 3-4 hour game of chess? Does the brain really burn that many calories? I just googled that ... it does burn calories, but not much when compared to physical exercise.
Off tangent - back to message ... Better than reading? Maybe better than reading a comic book. Maybe not better than reading a book like Carnage & Culture.
I love doing tactics at ChessTempo. I love playing long games. I love playing blitz. Studying can be fun at times too. But I don't think I'm prepared to pour more than a max of 7 hours a week into the game. And then when I do pour time into the game, it must be consecutive hours - especially for a game. 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there doesn't really work too well.
So that leaves me at just calling it a pastime and simply enjoying the game - realizing that I should work to improve, but that the gains will be small and that I should focus on enjoyment more than results.
I'm ok with that. Life is about balance and spending time on worthwhile efforts. Chess certainly has its utility, but it is not a big rock.
A friend of mine wears sunglasses at chess tournaments for medical reasons. Certain lighting and flashes from cameras can cause serious problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the pajamas and the Kleenex.
i have no problem w/ medical sunglasses. this clown, however, only wore them during games. he was a young buck too.
ReplyDeleteYou know what else I find annoying is the players try to "stare down" other players while their opponent is thinking. I've had it happen to me once or twice and I wasn't overly distracted but I'd never once think of doing it to break someone's concentration on the board. Basically you should keep your tactics on the board, not off as well. P.S. that engine using father/son duo man... USCF should ban them.
ReplyDeleteHey Rocky!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post but why do we need to compare chess to other things to gauge the value of it? That seems a bit misplaced and could ruin any fun that chess may (or may not) add to your life.
Comparing chess to physical exercise for qualitative assessment doesn't add up. They are generally done for different reasons. So there isn't any comparison.
I like to ride a bike for exercise but I don't compare it to chess. They have different functions in my life.
Same goes for reading. I couldn't imagine not reading (whether for pleasure or for knowledge or enlightenment). But chess and reading don't conflict.
And personally: I don't think playing in baseball or football league IS better than chess. But that is just me! Many people may enjoy it more than chess so that is what they should do.
Which brings me to my point. If you enjoy chess as a hobby and balance it with your life then that automatically turns it into a worthwhile endeavor. There is no need to compare it to other endeavors if you enjoy studying and playing chess. Just make sure that it balances with everything else.
But to try to make some qualitative judgement as to what is the better endeavor (chess vs. baseball vs. reading comic books etc.) just clouds the issue and puts too much pressure on ANY of those activities. None of those activities will stand under so much scrutiny!! Music is my profession and I love it AND I still won't make those kinds of qualitative comparisons with music because in the LONG run the only earthly things that can stand under that type of scrutiny are family, friends and health!
I am not sure why there is such a fascination in the chess world to judge chess' worth in one's life.??
It is a great game and hobby and if it brings one joy he or she should pursue it to the extent that they are able. Period!
If it does not bring one any joy, he or she should probably find another hobby.
Thanks for the thoughts and comments Tommyg ... let me address them in ALL CAPS SO YOU CAN EASILY SEE MY RESPONSE - BUT DON'T THINK I'M YELLING :-) ...
ReplyDeleteInteresting post but why do we need to compare chess to other things to gauge the value of it? That seems a bit misplaced and could ruin any fun that chess may (or may not) add to your life.
WHY COMPARE? FOR ME, TIME IS A LIMITED RESOURCE, AND I NEED TO CONSTANTLY EVALUATE WHERE I'M PLACING MY PRIORITIES. SO, I'M COMPARING THINGS I DO IN MY LIFE, NOT ACTUALLY COMPARING THE UTILITY OF CHESS W/ OTHER THINGS IN THE CONTEXT OF PHILOSOPHY.
Comparing chess to physical exercise for qualitative assessment doesn't add up. They are generally done for different reasons. So there isn't any comparison.
TIME IS THE COMMON DENOMINATOR. IF I WERE TO RAMP UP MY TIME SPENT AT CHESS AT THE EXPENSE OF LIFTING WEIGHTS OR RUNNING, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A POOR DECISION.
I like to ride a bike for exercise but I don't compare it to chess. They have different functions in my life.
AGREE, BUT WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF WHERE YOU SPEND YOUR (LIMITED) TIME, THEN YOU HAVE TO MAKE A JUDGEMENT CALL.
Same goes for reading. I couldn't imagine not reading (whether for pleasure or for knowledge or enlightenment). But chess and reading don't conflict.
SAME THING ... LIMITED TIME. YOU HAVE TO PUT ALL THESE THINGS ON A PRIORITY TOTEM POLE.
And personally: I don't think playing in baseball or football league IS better than chess. But that is just me! Many people may enjoy it more than chess so that is what they should do.
IF A BASKETBALL LEAGUE WERE AVAILABLE AT THE RIGHT PLACE AND THE RIGHT TIME, I WOULD PLAY IN THE LEAGUE AT THE EXPENSE OF PLAYING CHESS - THAT'S JUST ME. OF COURSE THERE HAVE BEEN OTHER TIMES WHEN I COULD DO NEITHER B/C OF TIME COMMITMENTS TO FAMILY AND PART-TIME MBA SCHOOL.
Which brings me to my point. If you enjoy chess as a hobby and balance it with your life then that automatically turns it into a worthwhile endeavor. There is no need to compare it to other endeavors if you enjoy studying and playing chess. Just make sure that it balances with everything else.
I THINK I WAS PUTTING IMPROVEMENT AT CHESS AND PLAYING CHESS IN CONTEXT. TRUE STATEMENT: I ENJOY CHESS. TRUE STATEMENT: I WANT TO GET BETTER AT CHESS. TRUE STATEMENT: TO GET (A LITTLE) BETTER AT CHESS TAKES A HUGE TIME/EFFORT COMMITMENT. TRUE STATEMENT: I'M NOT PREPARED FOR THAT MUCH TIME/EFFORT WHEN PLACING IT ON THE PRIORITY TOTEM POLE.
But to try to make some qualitative judgement as to what is the better endeavor (chess vs. baseball vs. reading comic books etc.) just clouds the issue and puts too much pressure on ANY of those activities. None of those activities will stand under so much scrutiny!! Music is my profession and I love it AND I still won't make those kinds of qualitative comparisons with music because in the LONG run the only earthly things that can stand under that type of scrutiny are family, friends and health!
FAMILY, PROFESSION, CHURCH ... THOSE ARE ALL AT THE TOP. I WAS MORE COMPARING THE ACTIVITIES THAT ARE DONE IN MY "SPARE TIME". AND THAT COMPARISON WAS DONE IN MY OWN LIFE'S CONTEXT ... NOT AS A PHILOSOPHICAL DEBATE ABOUT WHICH IS BETTER.
I am not sure why there is such a fascination in the chess world to judge chess' worth in one's life.??
It is a great game and hobby and if it brings one joy he or she should pursue it to the extent that they are able. Period!
AGREE - WHICH IS WHAT MY THOUGHTS WERE ALL ABOUT ... TO WHAT *DEGREE* SHOULD I PURSUE CHESS.
If it does not bring one any joy, he or she should probably find another hobby.
Hi Rocky,
ReplyDeleteAnother great post.
Chess is certainly a challenging pastime and I'm not sure why but a loss in chess seems to hurt more than most other challenges. It's funny but I never seemed to dwell on a loss in tennis (my profession in younger days) or even the occasional $ loss at a casino outing as much as a blown informal skittles game at the local library.
But I really believe that being able to play decent chess is not very difficult or time consuming and even playing good chess doesn't really take a whole lot of effort. I think I've might have posted before one of the ways to get there. However, playing very good top of the heap chess does take a lot of time and effort and sacrifices and that is or at least should be a big decision.
Related to kids and chess, personally I never once asked my kids if they wanted to play chess. Since they saw me play, they asked about it and I showed them what they wanted to know and got them a PC game called something like Fritz and Chesster and let them know if they had any questions or wanted to play I'm there for them and it seemed to work out very well.
As you've noted putting chess in perspective is tough enough for adults, pushing them overly into chess as kids just seems like asking for trouble.
Hi Rocky,
ReplyDeleteI just took a quick look at on of your earlier posts that I must've missed. The game 40 against the 1800's coach.
It doesn't seem a very helpful post-mortem if he gave you the impression that you were lost early, I think it looks OK through at least 9...0-0, even with chances for you getting a slight advantage.
I think looking at various White moves at that point with the idea of forcing tempo (if I do this he needs to do that or risk disadvantage) shows White probably still has a good game.