One of my 2025 goals is to get better at chess. For some reason to get some โmotivationโ and โinspirationโ, I decided to watch The Queen's Gambit (A mini-series based on the novel by โWalter Tevisโ). I won't talk about the series thoughโthat's a post for another day. I will talk about chess.
Not only was it entertaining and thrilling, the series has taught me one or two things that I didn't know about chess. Here is what I learned from The Queen's Gambit:
1. ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ:
Yes, there are hundreds if not thousands of books on chess. To some extent it sort of makes it seem like it can be memorized and then you are good to go but no, of course, just like most things, in-born talent does play a role to make someone great at what they do.
Studying the game sort of balances things out. And since I know that I have no natural talent for chess, I can at least study it and improve. In the series, Beth Harmon happens to frequently study most of her games. Since every move is recorded, it is easy to study previous matches to see how things could have been improved or worsened.
2. ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ, ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ:
To quote Nas from his song โI Canโ: โNothing comes easy, it takes much practiceโ. I couldn't agree more. Any skill requires practice whether it can be studied or is influenced by natural talent, at the end of the day they who have patience and discipline to practice will eventually have an advantage.
In the series, it's hard to miss how Beth was dedicated to the game. She even practiced in her head, visualizing the board on ceilings lol. I'm not sure if that actually happens to most chess players or it was just the fictional aspect of the series.
3. ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐:
Three stages to be precise: Openings, Mid-games, and End-games. A chess player can be great at openings but perform poorly during End-games. Not saying that I was good at any of these stages but I find End-games to be the hardest.
I'm guessing the best chess players need to be equally good at all of these. In the series though, Beth was great and aggressive during openings but wasn't as good when it came to end-games.
4. ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ ๐๐๐๐น๐ฒ๐:
Lol, I am guessing this is similar to the play styles in football such as โtiki-takaโ and also the team's formation, these affect how a team plays. As I mentioned in the third point, chess has stages. And there are different ways to play in each stage, each play style such as the most mentioned in the series, โThe Sicilian Defenseโ is a play styles that makes players be aggressive during the opening stage of a match.
I know, I know that it won't be easyโjust like most things worth learningโbut I know I will love and enjoy the journey. And just like most skill-based strategy games, it's not about winning or losing, it is about how well you played and did your best ๐ค .