I have had a very strange relationship with the game of chess. At one time I loved the game, and my wins led me to believe that I was almost unassailable. The over-confidence obviously led to my fall, and this was the first lesson in modesty for me. But then, those defeats brought with them shadows of doubt. Confidence rapidly faded and gave way to defiance. I started avoiding the game. And so it was for almost 6 years, until a guy named Anshumali helped revive those feelings once again. But with a difference. This time, instead of being a boasting arrogant fool, I am going to a humble student. I have decided to re-discover the beauties of chess.
My association with chess goes back so long that I cannot remember my first game. I do not know who taught me to understand the moves of the pieces. The earliest memory that I have of having played chess is because of a photograph of mine. I was 7 then, and my brother 4 years younger to me. And in the photo we were joined by a friend of mine from school in a game of chess.
The best guess that I can make is my mother being my teacher. During those times, we were in Germany and she used to take care of my mathematics. I do remember being made to solve problems. Perhaps she is the one who taught me chess too. Also, I do faintly remember playing against my mother.
Now obviously even my brother played this game. So most of the time we played each other. Now during those earlier days, since we weren’t taught properly how to think in chess, Thus our games against each other used to be too boring. We had the exact same opening, which we always stuck to. And later found the middle game too repetitive and boring. After a time there was a tacit understanding between us that we would better not play chess.
One of my first motivators was my uncle, chote mama we call him. He is one of the best chess players in our family, and our family is huge. I remember a game against him. I had managed to trap his queen, and there was no hope for him to be able to save it. And since his queen had been playing an active role, its removal would have given me a huge advantage. Instead of giving up on the queen, he used his knight and bishop to attack my king, and I was forced to remove my pieces attacking his queen and defend my king. And it goes without saying that he went on to win that game.
Yet, since my learning had not been proper, my flaws always remained. I did not learn any thing from his brilliance. I continued playing the same way. In fact, those days when calculating my opponents move, I used to assume that he will not play the best move. And when I think back to how I played in those days, I realize myself to be very lucky indeed to have won a few games.
My dad settled in Hyderabad, and one of his colleagues, Dr. S. B. Gupta, enjoyed the game too. He would come over to our house and play chess with me. It took him just a few games to understand my weakness and the cause for it. He was the first person to really educate me on the intricacies of this game. He was the first person to tell me what my motives should be during the opening and the end games. He used to frankly express his opinion about my game. This was the first time in all these years that I started thinking.
Things were looking up. Alas! My studies got in the way. I had completed my schooling, and was preparing for the JEE exams. My parents felt, and they were right in doing so, that studies and career came before chess. I played fewer and fewer games in my first year of preparation, and it became almost 0 the next year.
The two years of preparation took their toll on my game. I felt distanced from the game I once loved. Also there was no one to play with. Saddened, I went to the university for another 4 years of engineering studies. Luckily, my neighbors played chess too. Ketan, Ritej, Akshit, Saurav all were good chess players. Excited, we went to the market and bought a chess set. We were like the crazy guys sitting around the chess board all day long. At first I thought I was good. But pretty soon, the truth was before me. I wasn’t able to think. My game was in disarray, and my confidence crushed. With a heavy heart, I bid adieu to the game.
I never thought I would play a game of chess again in my whole life. I just did not want to face my worst fears. I did not like losing.
But then I met Malli and Theja. Joining FICO after my graduation, my team mates were chess enthusiasts. They would talk about it all the time discussing theories and games of former greats. They would argue the merits of each move and were fanatics, well almost. Amidst them, I found myself wanting to play chess again.
But this time, it was different. I was prepared to face the truth which is that I do not know how to play chess, that my education had been stopped at a very beginners level. I needed to learn properly this time. I was ready to give up my old habits and to learn the subtleties of it from the beginning. It was the Chessmaster game I turned to for help.
And I was surprised to learn many basic things that I had often neglected. I learnt the importance of my pawns, of their structure, of the relative importance of Bishop and Knight, of the importance of activating the King in the end game, and lots more. Now when I play chess, I try to incorporate most of these teachings in my game. Thinking is an element added into my game now, Also, I am not afraid of losing any more. Only by analyzing my losses can I discover the fallacies in my game.
Well, all I can say is that once again I am enjoying chess and this makes me happy, very happy.
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