My all-time favorite hobby is basically learning new stuff almost each and every day. But right now, I have been more into chess. Bullet chess in particular. Where players set their clocks at 1 minute and play like machines.
Here is my most recent game in chess.com where you can see some pieces being highlighted as I "pre-move" before my opponent even takes his turn for me to save precious time:
Before, I only play 3-minute blitz games which give players more time, and essentially, enough time to think. With 1-minute games, each player pretty much does their own prepared moves for each "if then" situation on the board. Kinda like running a program in their own heads, hoping the opponent's brain "crashes" first. 😆
So yeah, I allot quite more time to chess recently than ever. Right now, I'm unofficially fluctuating in the 17-hundred and 18-hundred rating in bullet and stuck at around sub-1800 rating for bullet (unofficial as well). Chess kinda improves my memory and, for sure, my logical thinking. But it takes time to translate the logic from a game to real-life situations. But it can possibly be done. 🙂
Chess is a good hobby and it seems you really love it; It's good to keep the mind sharp and to help problem-solving. I play myself actually, but not well. I know the moves and some basic strategy but am certainly not good at it.
You should do a post or two about your chess playing.
Thanks for joining in this week and I hope you will come back again.
!ENGAGE 50
Yours is better than mine, I'm worse at chess 🤔 but I may be lucky if we both play I may win you😛
Yeah, you'll probably win if you played me at chess; It's not my thing really.
Hahahaha
I like chess for maybe one and a half matches then I get bored and give up. Or I get frustrated that I'm not winning and give up sooner lol
In this case then I'll have to play you the second game...That'll give me a better chance to win!
The problem-solving part of it really gets me hooked with chess. I guess I was born to solve puzzles. Hahaha! I also like helping others find solutions to their problems. I find pleasure in such activities. We used to only solve simpler and easier problems in the past. But as we grow, we learn new things along the way and get creative on solving many complicated problems. As Einstein had put it, "we cannot solve a problem in the same thinking that we made it." We can either get help from others or try to think harder. I usually go with the first one. 😄 As a result, I then enjoy watching annotated games and tutorial videos, as well as reading instructional books and reviews, and much more, to learn more and be able to solve more difficult problems in the future. 🙂
Sure, I'd love to share more about chess. Even Netflix has this miniseries named "The Queen's Gambit," most probably to promote awareness of the game of chess. 🙂
Yup! I also find it fun for joining. Thanks for inviting me.
I really think you should do a few posts around chess. I mean it's a game that has been around so long and has a massive following around the world, there must be a few here that are interested; I guess even if they are not, it will be good for you to share your passion and enjoyment; That's what hive is all about after all.
Holy shit, I spend more time than that thinking about a single move in chess! I'm going to have to investigate this bullet chess, it could be interesting. @dandays do you dabble in this too?
I have dude. To each their own, I honestly don't see much skill in bullet games. In my opinion, which matters to me and me only, it has to be at least 5 minutes.
Thanks calling me over here man, Ima drop this player a line.
1800 ain't no joke though, that's some gangster shit! I mighta reached 1800 once or twice, my average is a low 16, somewhere between 1550 and 1650. 1800 is gangster shit.
Damn, I'm unfamiliar with all that, my chess playing was never that organized.
I ain't buying it. I think you're slow playing me.
Nope, I save that for card games.
"Check!"
"Call!"
1800 hundred range?! Got dang! I think I caught 1800 one time, maybe, probably not. A 17-18 average, though, that's impressive. I'm a low 16.
Played plenty of bullet games. I think they ruin my 10 minute games, you agree? Do 1 minute games effect the way you focus on 5 or 10 minute games?
I am down at high 17 as of this moment. I played slowly and had some losing streak. I was actually just high 15 last week. I'm not so sure what happened to my brain to get me to my current rating. 😅
Yes, they kinda actually affect my thinking in longer format games. Though I cannot really tell because I only play 3 minutes, and now bullet. I think getting creative in the bullet games can actually make you more creative in longer games. Bullet also improves your opening repertoire since it's like you're performing the spaced repetition system method in memorizing things. By playing more games in short amounts of time, I think (I'm actually realizing it now), the opening moves you found to fit your style, get more glued to your system. But I guess I should try playing 10-minute games to really know for sure. 🤔
One minute matches? That makes my head hurt. Seriously. I wouldn't know whether to scratch my watch or wind my ass.
That's just amazing to me.
I actually even saw people play under 30 seconds! That is so sick! 😆 What even astound me is that some even "Berserk," which sacrifices half of their time even further to gain more win points in online tournaments. You could watch this YouTuber named Eric Rosen and look for his "Chess. Rain. Relaxation." video where I don't know if it will still hurt your head or help you relax with his choice of background music. 😆
I knew a Vietnamese guy that got here with the boat people. His parents were killed in the war and he was raised in a Buddhist Monastery. Was a prodigy and encouraged by the Monks. I knew him when he was in his 20s and he would play up to 20 people at a time in exhibitions. It was amazing. But I can't even imagine him at 1 minute games.
Oh wow, that was really amazing. On the other hand, I can't imagine myself playing simultaneous games just yet. I could try perhaps, but the outcome might not be the same. But what I can tell based on his story is, by having been raised by the Monks, for sure he has vast wisdom and that may have enhanced his innate chess skills.
Oh chess makes my heart hurt. My father forced my to learn at around age 5 and despite now being a VERY GOOD chess player, I find nothing relaxing about it. I appreciate the strategy I learned through it though.
!ENGAGE 15
In some way, I guess every game (chess or not) could actually be stressful at times. I had this conversation with @nightcorevids last night while she plays Axie Infinity. And she told me the game gets a little bit stressful for her at some point because of the efforts she exerted only to lose in a battle. But it is part of the game. We cannot always win. And what I've learned from playing thousands of chess games is that there is always an opportunity to learn something new, may it be after a win or a lost game. And I'm glad we share a similar appreciation for the strategies we are learning from this game of chess.
ENGAGEtokens.I tried playing chess with my friends but they usually win, chess is not my game but i enjoy watching people play
Oh we've got a similarity 🙂 I also tried playing games like the famous Mobile Legends and Among Us, but I am still figuring out how to get through the games. In the end, I just chose to just enjoy watching my friends and brothers play such games. And they are really good. 🙂
Yeah, not sure if you have older brothers or if you're the older brother but the younger brother syndrome is you end up watching your older brother play. That's how it unfortunately works but sometimes it's cool lol
In my case, I watch my two younger brothers play. Hahaha!
Aww, all my brothers really like this game 🙂. I used to play few time when childhood (not as good as my brothers 🤣) but couldnt remember how to play now. You must be smart and have a good memories 🙂. Really impressive hobby :))
Oh, now your brothers and I have a topic to talk about 😊 I remember still playing with my father during the weekends in my childhood days. I usually lose in our games, but after a few games, my father would get tired and lose for me. 😆
At some point in time, we really just forget things when we stopped doing or recalling them. I also used to play other board games like the Game of the Generals, and Monopoly but can't play them anymore. But I guess if we got our memories refreshed, I believe we can get back to playing our forgotten games once again. 😊
I saw you have a lot of hobbies. 🙂 I also really like reading but somehow I can't find time to turn pages now as I got into writing. I have a small library here at home with books, mostly instructional ones and self-help:
Right now, I currently have my favorite book at my friend's but I highly recommend the book Five Love Language by Gary Chapman. 😊
Na you getting smarter so you won over your father haha. Wow you know you have a great library 📚 📖 much better than me. You seem a cool boy
Aww salamat for recommendation, highly appreciated it. I will check it out when I have spare time. Your writing very good, keep up the good work. Hope to see you around
🌺😍
Hopefully, we can play again even just in my dreams. Since it's just the only way we could play together now. :) And oh, thanks. Those are the books I have read when the Internet was still not a thing here at home. 😄
Salamat, as well, for your compliments. Hope to see you around, too. Keep safe! 🙂
Chess is one of those things people expect you to do because allegedlyyou are smart, you try, and fail miserably. One of my daughters, though, learned on her own and was pretty good at it without even trying hard.
I admire people who can play it. I just can't. Too many things to considered in record time.
Perhaps that is the reason, too, why my mom decided to gift me one of those cute magnetic chess sets when I was a kid. My parents might have thought I was really good in the maths so I might as well play games in those lines. 😆 But that is true, there are surprisingly really good players without training or anything. I, on the other hand, took quite a while to consider myself "good" at chess. I still have a lot of room for improvement. But what's important is, as a hobby, I really find this fun and really enjoyable to play. 🙂
Glad you stopped by, I used to play chess as a kid, but then slowly it faded, even had a chess game on my First computer I think it was Battle Chess with dragon and dungeon type pieces as an option.
I also once stopped playing chess, especially when I started learning that there are people who could unscramble the Rubik's cube in less than 20 seconds. So I also got into that. 😆 But anyway, I never had the chance to play Battle Chess. But those pieces/characters sound cool!
On the other hand, I was able to purchase Chessmaster 9000 as a kid, and eventually upgrade to Chessmaster 10th Edition. Those programs helped me understand the essential concepts in chess, like pins, forks, discovered attacks, and much more. But it really takes playing and analyzing (this is important) lots and lots of games to really improve our skills in chess, whether we win or lose. 🙂
I could never quite wrap my playing around the en-passant move for pawns, it just made no since to me even after years of playing.
Man, that's awesome. Chess is a lot of fun but I don't know if I could handle the 3 minute or 1 minute games. I can barely play a game of chess in 30 minutes never mind 1 LOL. That's great though, chess and things like that are excellent for our brains and our thinking. I'm glad that you enjoy it and do it as a hobby, hobbies come in all shapes and sizes so it's important you have them!
Hey, thanks! :) They say our brains are also muscles that need working out. I'm sure you also have your own way(s) of getting yours all pumped up and improving. And I hope to hear about them any time soon. See you around! 🙂
This is impressive! I've been playing chess a few times this year but not enough to do this, this reminds me my obsession with my Rubik's cube! This is definitely a good hobby
Oh my, did you just say Rubik's cube? 'Cause I also get my hands on it every once in a while. Like I actually have it right on my desk - getting scrambled and unscrambled a couple of times a day. 😃
That is an amazing game of chess to have to make your move in 1 minute. So, my understanding is that you're pitted against another chess player online, or against the software?
Yes, I play with other players online. And that also fascinates my mom whenever she sees me play. :)
What I love from chess is the multiple options you have to enjoy your hobby online. It is lovely to be able to play against opponents from all over the world and learn together.
That is exactly true. I used to play with a computer and bots to imitate other player's playing styles. But playing with another actual person online makes the game more enjoyable to play. Funny enough, I also enjoy it when some players send me trash talks during the game. 😂