>> One would be surprised to learn just how bad some really good Chess players are about other things in life.
Really? Is Chess somehow different from any other activity? My teacher escaped from Kazakhstan simply because he could play Chess really well. Does the fact he chose an activity you have decided you don't like have any bearing on what type of person he is? Of course not.
>>In other words, you need to turn a fun game into a job.
To excel at something, you need to work at it; what is your point?
>> What they have to become in order to play at these levels is, to me, the absolute opposite of what the game felt like when I was a kid.
How would you know? Have you ever played at a high level or known a world champion?
>>In order to become truly competitive in Chess you have to become a human database.
This is demonstratebly false, rote memorization is meaningless in chess. Openings are the LEAST productive element of the game you can spend time on. Only ideas and concepts matter at all. A chess master does not automatically have a greater capacity to memorize than an amateur.
I have never seen a comment of such amazing paternalism directed at any other activity. How does studying music help one in politics or business or even as a lawyer? The answer: Just as much as chess. Simply the self-discipline required to play on such a high level must have some benefit. Even if everything you said was true, so what? Why does one take up activities except to interest herself personally? At least with Chess you are guaranteed to see moves or games of spectacular beauty. It does take time to develop a level of intution where one can recognize such beauty.
You're being a little harsh. I can relate to the frustration a player feels when progress seems to stall, unless you put some effort studying openings and endings.
Anyway, I agree with you. "To be a human database" is like saying that a musician is a "human sequencer". The joy of playing a good game or a difficult song has nothing to do with feeling like a machine. And you don't need to be a master to enjoy. In FICS there are enough players of my level so I can win... sometimes.
As for the discipline thing, there is something very important that chess teachs: the discipline of what works. It's following the rules that you win, not doing just what you would like. The frustration usually disappears when you accept that.
The sequential forced way of combinations is in particular a habit that helps me with my work.
Really? Is Chess somehow different from any other activity? My teacher escaped from Kazakhstan simply because he could play Chess really well. Does the fact he chose an activity you have decided you don't like have any bearing on what type of person he is? Of course not.
>>In other words, you need to turn a fun game into a job.
To excel at something, you need to work at it; what is your point?
>> What they have to become in order to play at these levels is, to me, the absolute opposite of what the game felt like when I was a kid.
How would you know? Have you ever played at a high level or known a world champion?
>>In order to become truly competitive in Chess you have to become a human database.
This is demonstratebly false, rote memorization is meaningless in chess. Openings are the LEAST productive element of the game you can spend time on. Only ideas and concepts matter at all. A chess master does not automatically have a greater capacity to memorize than an amateur.
I have never seen a comment of such amazing paternalism directed at any other activity. How does studying music help one in politics or business or even as a lawyer? The answer: Just as much as chess. Simply the self-discipline required to play on such a high level must have some benefit. Even if everything you said was true, so what? Why does one take up activities except to interest herself personally? At least with Chess you are guaranteed to see moves or games of spectacular beauty. It does take time to develop a level of intution where one can recognize such beauty.