My Forey Into an Age Old Board Game | Chess
As of late, I've been playing a lot of chess and I've been really enjoying it. Hopefully I can convince you to give chess another go by the end of this blog post!
Early days with chess
Growing up in India, everyone I knew were at least familiar with the rules of chess. I knew how the pieces moved, their relative values and what constituted a victory.
In the chess boom during the pandemic of 2020, I was introduced to some popular chess YouTubers like GothamChess and Anna Chess. During that time, I familiarised myself with basic chess strategy, like what moves to make during the early game. But I did not commit to learning chess in any more detail.
Revival of my interest in chess
Over the past few year, I played chess rarely with my friends on Chess.com. We mainly played chess when waiting for a game to load or when we were bored of the games we had available to us.
I don't remember exactly what rekindled my interest in chess once again. Maybe it was a YouTube video from Anna Cramling suggest by the algorithm. Or maybe it was a vintage chess book I picked up from a second-hand charity book store. But my interest took hold and I started getting quite into chess.
Since then, I got into a comfortable routine around chess. I would read chess books and watch videos on chess during the evenings. Then at night, I would settle down with my laptop or tablet to play some chess. I would usually warm up with a few puzzles and blitz games (5-10 mins long) and finish the night with a longer game (around 15-30 mins long). Then the following day, I would analyse my games by myself first, and then with the help of computer analysis.
I also played correspondence chess, where each player has up to two days to make a move with some of my friends and people online. This I particularly enjoyed, as I am a big fan of asynchronous games. It also gives me loads of time to think about each move and its implications.
My current platform of choice is Lichess.org, a non-profit that allows us to run as many computer analysis as our hearts desire. They also allow us to run the analysis locally on our device.
Teething pains
At the start, I was playing with the winging it strategy. It soon became apparent that this strategy won't serve me well in the long term. I was getting checkmated in less than ten moves by the popular Scholar's Mate more often than I like to admit.
This is around the time I started to learn some of the absolute basics from the Chess WikiBook. It was a brilliant resource to learn all the basic chess tactics and strategy. I also learnt some common openings and end game tactics to checkmate my opponents.
One of the main challenges I faced during this time was in the middle game, where apparently most games are won or lost. I would find myself in a good position and with more material (opponent pieces), and yet I'd have no clue what to do. So I'd play a random move, only to find that I'd blundered away my queen and eventually I lose the game.
I later learnt that the easiest way to overcome this was to simply have a plan of attack, and make sure that no matter where I place my pieces, that they were well protected. I also learnt about the checks, captures and attacks framework to plan my moves.
Over the last couple months, I've built up a reasonable understanding of chess. I had one of my proudest matches last night, where I managed to beat someone with a rating of over 900 on Lichess at a blitz game with a checkmate. You can see a GIF of the match below.
Apparently I only made one blunder (an unnecessary Rook sacrifice) and zero mistakes, which is truly unheard of for me. I apparently made a few inaccuracies which I'm not too bothered by. My opponent was playing a good game as well, having made only one blunder, although they made a few more mistakes and inaccuracies than me.
Caption: A proud moment for me when I beat someone who was rated higher than me
How you can get started
Getting started with chess is easier than ever now. All you need is a mobile device that can connect to the internet. With that, all you need to do is head on over to an internet chess server (I recommend Lichess.org or Chess.com) and start playing against some real people (which is waaay more fun than playing against bots).
If you are starting to enjoy the game and want to learn more, then the WikiBook on Chess is probably the best starting point. Not only is it super accessible (can be read through the webpage or as a PDF), it's also very easy to understand for beginner level and it covers all the main bits.
I also recommend finding yourself a friend or family member to join you on your chess journey. By having someone a similar level, you can bounce ideas off each other and also play casual matches against each other.
Once you feel comfortable with the game, you can even challenge me for a game!
“Chess is the gymnasium of the mind.”
– Blaise Pascal
Chess really has been a great way to pass time in a productive way. Its social aspect is also quite nice, especially when playing correspondence chess.
These are the reasons why I highly recommend Chess!
Other recommendations this week:
- Kindle Jailbreak: Break free from unreasonable restrictions put on your Kindle by jailbreaking it.
- The White Lotus: A thrilling social commentary about the lives of people of different financial backgrounds with the backdrop of a murder mystery.
- Standard eBooks: Beautifully crafted eBooks of public domain works.
Hope you enjoyed this post. If you liked this one, please feel free to share the URL with your friends and consider subscribing via RSS.
Recent posts
Other blogs