Chess is not simply an analytical hobby, it is a fight. If my way of keeping fit was a competitive sport then perhaps I wouldn't play, but it isn't, so I do.

Dink Heckler wrote on 05/28/14 at 20:18:29:



Quote:



Thanks to all for your insightful answers and comments. 
It's nice to see that other people struggle with the same problems than I do. 

The two quotes above are really the things that I am struggling with the most: I am not an engineer but I work as an economist in the finance industry, hence, my job requires a lot of reading (sometimes of technical papers), excel spreadsheets, econometrics (using R most of the time), but also many oral presentations, something which, while very interesting, is also quite tiring...
Hence, I feel like I would not be able to play well after a full day's work and that also, if I do have the time, maybe going for a run would be a better idea. 

Betablinx wrote on 05/28/14 at 21:03:37:


I think I am a bit in the same boat as you, i.e., enjoying more studying/reading books rather than playing. However, I think that there is a difference between just reading books and really studying a subject, whatever it is. And, I know that in the past,  I had trouble with really studying chess, knowing that I was not going to really be able to test it out in practice. 
As a former assistant professor, I have also read a lot about teaching, practicing, and I think one key issue about that is feedback. IMO, if you don't get to play chess competitively, you cannot get feedback on your progress, and it is hard to keep studying. 

Well, maybe one solution would be to play more 30-45' games over the internet. Do you guys do that or do you mainly use ICC or Playchess for blitz? 

Thanks again for your help, this is very much appreciated!

ErictheRed wrote on 05/28/14 at 21:28:45:


That seems to be a common problem. I hate tournaments that start friday evening after a day at work. Not only because this is exhausting anyway, but because I also have an analytical job like you explained (chemical engineering with a fair share of computational work to do).
I used to be a very lazy with physical activites but things changed when I started playing chess.
I got into the game when I was on vacation 5 years ago with my brother. He had Jussupow's course with him and I randomly took a look at some of the first problems. I knew how the pieces moved from my childhood, so I could solve a few of them. I have had all kinds of hobbies when I was a teen but always lost interest after some time. With chess my interest actually still growing. I kind of regret that I didn't start at an earlier age (24 is just too old to start and get anywhere really), because I finally feel like I found a hobby which I'm somewhat talented at. I still thoroughly enjoy playing, reading about, watching chess. I love that chess has about the correct mixture of creativity, knowledge, calculation to be a fun and also fascinating pastime. I guess everyone here knows the feeling of awe, when you find/are shown the solution to a wonderful endgame study or see a beautiful tactic in a game. I remember Peter Svidler commentating at the Gashimov memorial. He tried to figure out what was going on in a rook ending and showed some possibilities which lead to some very surprising conclusions (I don't remember the position though) and after some lines he just fell into a reverie how complex and beautiful the game of chess really is (in his usual chatty still). I guess I have the same kind of fascination ... on a far humbler level of course.

Dink Heckler wrote on 05/28/14 at 20:18:29:


As an electrical engineer, I struggled with that some.  I've always been active (I run, surf, go to the gym, etc), but it was extremely hard for me to play well in evening club games, having used much of the same parts of my brain all day, they were fatigued.

I got addicted when my dad taught me; good times. Decades later, I still have the board that he made by hand, and I'm sure I'd save it if there was a fire in my house...

But now I've got to the stage where I've pretty much hung up my pawns; I'm in the rush hour of my life, with three kids and a busy job; I just can't put the time and energy into it. Now it's blitz on the internet and the daily puzzles from Chess Today. When my kids are older, I'll revisit the issue.

Also, I've come to the perhaps belated realisation that with a sedentary, analytical job, it doesn't make huge sense for me to plow a lot of time and energy into a sedentary, analytical hobby - anima sana in corpore sano and all that.

I'm still holding out hope that I'll finally get a pellet the next time I hit the clock!

Somewhat more seriously, I think that most people continue to play chess because they are addicted to it, and there are far worse addictions to have.

Knowledge of the game if by far the most important for me. I'm fascinated with the game, I enjoy a lot playing, analyzing, studying other opening lines, talking with people about chess... 

If I win the game, I feel better than when I lose, but I am very critic with myself and sometimes I fell not so OK when I win in a bad game.... And sometimes I fell very satisfied with a lose game if I think I've learnt something interesting or I have reinforced an idea previously thought/studied/read.

I have to admit that when I was younger, maybe the winning factor was more important.