Chess

64 Squares, Countless Memories

This isn't going to be an introduction to chess, its history, or famous games. I thought my own experience with chess might be worth sharing.

My elder brother had some experience with chess during his school days, but the only thing I remember about chess before COVID is building a very silly-looking chessboard using an old square wooden board that was lying around and some chalk for no reason (credits to my elder sister — maybe she helped, but I forgot how).

Right after watching The Queen's Gambit, the miniseries, I was hooked. Chess rules are pretty easy to understand, but the number of possible games (the Shannon number, roughly 10¹²⁰) far exceeds the estimated number of atoms in the observable universe (roughly 10⁸⁰). That's a big number! The number of unique legal board positions, though, is much smaller.

Like most people, I stayed inside during COVID like a good law-abiding citizen and played chess day and night. It's fair to say I was pretty much addicted. Yes, chess can be harmful, just like anything else done too much.

I'd recommend chess streamers and YouTubers like GothamChess, agadmator's chess channel, Eric Rosen, Hikaru, and Ben Finegold (if you prefer some serious humour). These people basically taught me chess, its beauty, and its mysterious nature.

Let me tell you a silly story from a post-COVID chess tournament. I participated in my first rated tournament at a Colombo school, where I was paired against some kids. Man, those kids were ruthless! I managed to win a few games, but I wouldn't dare to play any rematches against them ever.

In my second game, I think, I was paired with another kiddo, and things were going well. When I captured a piece, I decided to add some style, inspired by online videos of players, and hit the chess clock with the captured piece.

The kiddo stopped the clock and complained to the arbiter. I only recently found out that this isn't necessarily an illegal move, but the arbiter advised me not to do it and awarded some extra time to the kid.

The game continued, and during the endgame, the kid made an illegal move. I was ecstatic, but kept a poker face as I stopped the clock and complained to the arbiter, just as he had done earlier. I felt like I'd just pulled off an Uno reverse, although I still feel a little bad about it.

I still play online chess, but not as much as I used to. My chess pieces are now being used by my niece to build castles, and that's fine too.

Chess has brought me so many good memories, new experiences, and friends. My message is simple: play chess and encourage your friends and family to give it a try. And if you don't like chess, that's fine too!