The Chess Thread

[LogGrad98]

I was a good chess player till I read books about how to play chess
Now I stink

Books helped me gain 200+points in my rating and win some tournaments when I was younger. Not sure how much all that became ingrained and is evident now but I play pretty well for the most part, I think. Not as well as when I was in my late teens and early 20's. There's a reason why the best chess players become evident in their teenage years. It's when the mind is most flexible and capable of extreme abstract thought that lends itself very well to playing chess. That's also why for some people books don't help as reading books can stifle creativity somewhat. Even though generally if you push through that initial slump your game can improve dramatically. The book that helped me the most was fisher's book of his favorite games with his commentary and original notation. Gave great insight into the full potential of chess less as an exercise in mathematics and more as an art form. Highly recommended.

 

[Step-Back Lauri]

I played it a lot with my brother when I was in elementary school. Then we just kept fighting over it and never got back the interest.