Today i wanted to rant about the game Chess.
It is one of the few sports that interest me.
A strategic game that i really enjoy playing. Not because it doesn't
require much physical efforts such as running (which definitely isn't my
thing), throwing, striking or hitting balls. It just involves using your mind
to its fullest extent, then your carpals and metacarpals.
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To some, when you usually say Chess, the players are the “geekiests”
of the geeks, those who are bored of their lives who has nothing else to do but
to sit all day and those who want to spend all their energy thinking and
staring at the wood, plastic or glass pieces whatever kind of chess set they
have. That is actually a wrong connotation about it. People even think it is
boring because of what the players’ do- they just sit there facing the chess
board and their opponent waiting for each other's moves. Boohoo, of course that
is dull - for those who can't appreciate the effort that your opponent is busy
thinking for their next move to take you down.
Well, I grew up playing chess at home aside from basketball. It was
actually one of the many reasons why me and my older brother, Mike, used to
quarrel before. You know the usual problem with chess games. "Touch
moves" or "mate" and neither of us doesn't want to give up the
fight and we would end up arguing. I remember that whenever we would play, he
would always choose the white pieces because to him they're stronger and the
black pieces are for losers and i get to have them. Another of those wrong
images embedded in our young minds wherein you just have one of those few
sibling rivalry moments on who's better and who's weaker. Hmmmm. Who would want
to be called weak? Huh? Do you? *raised eyebrow* i bet you wouldn't want that,
right? Coz up until now, i hate it. =P Although me and my brother doesn't play
chess anymore because he has his basketball to preoccupy him and he never
really liked my game.
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So it was Dad who taught us how to play the game. We would play
chess together whenever we have common time and he's not busy when we were just
little tykes. Of course, we're just kids then. He usually wins. Though i want
to thank him for teaching me how to play this awesome sport because i grew up
liking and loving it more. Ralph, my younger brother also loved this game. It's
LOVED, because he lost the urge to play when he learnt computer games. But just
to share some facts about him with this game, we used to play together for
practice. And he used to play the game, too, when he was in elementary until he
lost the urge to join try outs when he reached high school.
Hmmm. I was a chess player back in elementary. But i admit it, i was
not that good (it just so happened that there are not much girls who liked the
game - they preferred badminton or other ball games). And when high school
came, i never won try outs just like what i have mentioned about Ralph that i
never wanted to try anymore. Then came college, and i wanted to try my luck
again. I was fortunate that i got in the team and i managed to be a player for
the rest of my college years starting second year. It was one field that i
found i was good at and i have been looking forward to every year. Set aside
the free shirt they give you when you're a player, the free attendance (that i
don't really have to make an effort in falling in line and waiting for my turn
early in the morning or before i go home in the afternoon, free snacks and
lunch (which helps a lot before because i was trying my very best to earn money
so i could have extra penny to spend when me and my friends would go out or i
would like to buy something). However, what really mattered then was the fun we
had during that 3-day games and the bond that was developed with other
colleges. I miss them. We were not just there to uplift the name of the college
we came from but to have fun and gain friends. And we did.
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Chess is not the usual boring game but to me one of the highest
level of sport. It is an exhausting mind game. (Ahhhh, I am tiiiiiiired...) Did
you know that you also burn calories when you think? (hmmm, not so sure =P But
i think i am right). But there comes a point when you experience headache,
which is already one sign that you need a break and you've exhausted your
neurons too much and it's already overwhelming them. Enough of that.
With this game, you think of the fastest but surest way to knock
your opponent down. Although i do not play chess in a fast pace. If you'd watch
me play, you'd be bored. Coz i tend to think so looooooooong for my moves. I
don't know why but it makes me really think. I really push myself to have the
best move i can have. To the point that i talk to myself in silence while i
have my right hand on my jaw.
"C'mon Antonette. MOVE!!!!. Your time is running out.
La-la-la-la-la-la. What are you doing?"
or i'd end up singing or humming songs while rubbing my eyes with my
thumb and pointing / middle finger.
I know it's crazy... that self talk thing is creepy. And when i
play, once in a while i glance at my opponent then back to the pieces again- it
makes them conscious(super stare. It makes them think that you were up to
something).
You know what? I guess my slowness is an advantage for me. Whenever
my opponent is winning and then i just start watching all the pieces for
minutes (which really eats up my time and it's as if the pieces would move on
their own or tell me, "Hey. Pick me. Choose me coz i'm the right move. Put
me there, there, there.") - say 5 minutes for just one move and that is
really long enough - my opponent would just die of waiting because they just
want to WIN WIN WIN. It just helps in reducing the stress and putting up a
so-called "good fight" because you're prolonging your own agony and
the excitement of your enemy (tahahaha. EVIL LAUGH). At that point in time, you can really see the
glint in the eyes of the player when they know they're winning which is another
pressure for you. But basically, you're just waiting for your time to run out
or trying your best to turn the game around and win it (if fate is on your
side).
What i really like when i play is when you find a flaw in the game
and then you act as if you're losing but you have already planned your moves.
Wow, you just turn into the best actress you can be. The point where you seemed
to do not know what you're moving anymore and you're just waiting for your
opponent to bite the trap because they are excited. Sometimes, when they are so
excited they are focused in those moves that would make them win and they
wouldn't think of anything else. They would expect you to move something and
then you wouldn't which will definitely ruin their chance. But hey, don't be so
sure that they wouldn't know what you're doing because half of the time, the
players are so damn good that you stand no chance against them no matter what
you do.
Well, enough of the things i somehow learned in my 3 years of
playing chess. I hope you learned something or you might have been doing some
of the things i said.
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Playing this sport is a passion for me. During practice games even
though I say i will not take this game seriously and it's just for fun, I’d end
up thinking too much and the game would last for an hour or more. I was not a
great chess player as i told you earlier. I never had trainings nor any lessons
about it basically because i didn't have time to go on training and i never
thought of it. I was satisfied that i know how. However, the idea that those
who took trainings know their next 7 moves, know what move to take to block
something etc etc amazed me. Admit it, that amazed you, too, right?
Chess is a game of luck they say. (but is this really a game of luck
when others really know what next move to take).
You have to tear down all those barriers just to get close to the
King on the other side. Okay, one wrong move and it could be over. (But this
doesn't really mean that you have to waste your time over thinking what pieces
to move because you're afraid about your opponent's response). You have to
watch all your pieces, don't just focus on some part or on one piece. You have
to balance everything, move all the pieces that could help you. There is a
tendency for some players to hide those pieces that they think would really
make them win (like the queen, rook) while giving up those pawn pieces (i tell
you, pawns are one of the most important pieces in chess aside from the King).
And one great fight for me are those games wherein the King would be checked by
a pawn.
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So it's time for me to end this one because I’ve said too much.
What really counts in this kind of game is that you put up a good fight.
You don't always have to win the game. You just have to keep it fair, great and
worth it of the time because you would find it satisfying when you've given
your best in the war even though you lost it.
It's not all about who won but who put up a brave fight. You don't
have to surrender because as long as you have something to move there's hope.
Just like life. You weigh all the consequences of one move and then base the
next move from its result. It's taking risks. Jumping off the cliff to see
what's at the bottom. Until you find what's on the end wherein you can no
longer make a next move because it's "CHECKMATE".
