Yesterday, I posted the upsides to playing chess. However, as I mentioned a bit in that post, there are also some downsides to playing this game, despite all of the great things about it. Sometimes, the downsides are so great, it may be almost impossible to continue. I remember speaking to one guy after a long tournament who posed the question “why do we do this to ourselves?”
In fact, I remember one occasion in particular where someone close to me was considering dropping out in the middle of a tournament due to the rough time they’d had.
The Imperfectness
Chess is an imperfect game, and, usually, the people who play chess are used to perfection, or at least pursuit of perfection. In chess, you will never be perfect. I am one of the top ranked chess players in the world (for my age). In my career, I have had one game that came close to perfect. It was in a simul against Grandmaster Shabolov. I won. Note: Read my testimonial on ChessOnDvd of how I won the game (I apologize for how poorly the site is configured and the grammer; I didn’t actually write it in such bad grammer. I personally know the guy who runs the site, and we are currently working on a deal so I can help him improve the site). I can recall numerous occasions where I thought I had played well, but, really, I had been losing the entire time. A lot of chess players happen to perfectionists, and you’re going to have to let go of that to do well.
Silly Mistakes
Chess players work hard on their games. Games often last hours, and many more hours are often spent studying. Making a silly mistake can be crushing to one’s ego. The experience of repeatedly blundering and losing the game when you were clearly winning is a horrible experience, and one that is not desirable on any level.
Hard Thinking
I’m going to write more about this shortly; but chess is a hard game. Aside from all of the studying that is involved, games often last hours, and that thinking for that long takes a lot of hard work, concentration, and determination. This is the best part about chess, for some, but also the worst, as it really is just so difficult.
Draining
This goes along with the above point, but thinking so hard for all of those hours is just so draining on a chess player. Personally, I don’t get particularly drained from playing chess, but from what I’ve heard, almost everyone does. That drain can really build up through out a tournament, and, by the end, it can get to be very difficult.
Losing
This is definitely the worst thing about chess; losing. The competitiveness is something that chess players can thrive on. However, when you’re on the losing side of that competitiveness, it is extremely tough. As mentioned above, chess is a hard and draining game. To lose after all the preparation and hard work is just amazing how hard it is. But when you win, the game is beautiful, so, in a way, it balances itself out,
As you can see, chess is not just all fun; these things are pretty difficult about chess. The emotions that go along with these aspects are large because of the devotion that a chess player has to his game. In the near, look forward to a post about how hard chess really is.
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