The joys of Chess

People like to tell me that time flies quickly, making its way across the bright blue sky as if pushing the sun towards the horizon from the East to the West. Well, the great philosophers of the post-modern era have probably never been made to wait to go home from the office even though you have nothing much left to do for the day. Given a computer to do research and work on, I find myself instead exploring the possibilities of openings and plays in chess. After learning some of the openings in chess, and the statistical chances of me winning based on an opening, I find myself getting a lot better at the game. I start to see the game differently, and start to notice patterns in the game. How exhilarating it is to see a game so esoteric in my past to be so understandable in my present!

As such I have spent a lot of time trying to learn, understand and memorize openings and the best way to counter them. Of course, this has diverted my concentration quite a bit, and it becomes easier to see that I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do based on my facial expressions from one of dread to one of intense concentration. I am currently at a very low level of chess, but I am sure I am above the standard of a beginner. I hope to get better in the future, at least to a good rating that I can be proud of, like 1600. Should I be bored in my adulthood, perhaps it may be possible to become a grandmaster, although that thought should remain only a dream if I do not learn quickly and put in more time than there could be in my lifetime.

Cheers,
Matthew Tan