It’s a wonderful drug. My newfound addiction to chess started about 2 months ago, right after I started this blog. I was looking to get away from the shitty mobile phone games that were rotting my brain and replace them with something wholesome. I’ve killed time with language-learning apps before, but I always end up switching languages at some point and it ends up being a wash. It never really adds up to anything. Chess on the other hand, is a lifetime affair.
I started playing chess as a kid, my parents taught me and I was somewhat decent. However when I joined a chess club in gradeschool, I started getting wrecked around age 10-11 and just couldn’t keep up. The other kids actually had some sort of “strategy”, and I definitely didn’t.
When I was 27, during some downtime at work, one coworker played me in chess, the version all iPhones have. It was a tight game, and that started a little bit of interest in it for me. I started playing some games on chess.com, to practice so I could get good enough to wreck him. We both lost interest about a month later.
Two full years later, I was dating a girl who liked to challenge me in iPhone games. She was good at pool (billiards), I sucked at it. Then we played battleship sometimes. But when I tried to play chess, she would always say she didn’t know how to play. I would say that’s pretty common for the general public!
Anyways, the fact that she wouldn’t play chess, made me remember chess.com. And then I saw they had an app, say what? I downloaded the app and started playing the CPUs. The 400 level CPU was a challenge for a day or so, ’til I beat them. Then the 700, 800, et cetera. Beat the 1000 level CPU, then the 1100, 1200, and eventually the 1300. As of right now, my skill level is still beginner, but I usually play the 1000 (If I want to win), to the 1300 level (if I want to lose four out of five games).
That’s where my skill level is at right now, at the beginning of December 2021. I did buy two chess books, but they’re way out of my league and I can’t extract much from them in the short term. I did just buy a third one though, and if it helps me, I will do a full book review on it.
As of right now, you can catch me playing chess on Twitch, and Youtube.
Or if you want to play with me, I’m down to play anyone just for the experience. My username on chess.com is LateTwentiesAndBroke
I will be doing an end of the year Net Worth Update, after I get home from my holiday vacation.
Keep your stick on the ice,
-Jonny B
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