The most destructive thing a human being can do to themselves is

.. comparing ourselves to others. It's hard to disagree with this wisdom, yet chess is mostly about comparison ourselves to others. That's how rating is formed.

Everyone wants to improve, right? But your opponents also improve. This is an endless battle in which everyone loses in the end. By losing I mean tons of wasted hours of "improvement" for nothing except frustration. The older you get the less abilities you possess, and eventually you get beaten by young. Or by your smartwatch.

The only way to enjoy the game is to love the game for itself, without playing others, without ratings.

@nextlevel89 said in #1:
> Everyone wants to improve, right?

wrong

Well then. Listen, don’t compare yourself to Sarg0n, it‘s frustrating for you!

@nextlevel89 said in #1:
> .. comparing ourselves to others. It's hard to disagree with this wisdom, yet chess is mostly about comparison ourselves to others. That's how rating is formed.

Rating is a means of ensuring that players are well matched with each other so that the game is hard-fought and therefore enjoyable. If I were to play Ding Liren I wouldn't last long and he wouldn't get a good game.

>
> Everyone wants to improve, right? But your opponents also improve.

Yes. and yes. Because when we improve our ability, we understand the game in greater depth and therefore appreciate it more. If we become really strong we also enable other people to appreciate our play more thanks to our games being recorded.

> This is an endless battle in which everyone loses in the end. By losing I mean tons of wasted hours of "improvement" for nothing except frustration. The older you get the less abilities you possess, and eventually you get beaten by young. Or by your smartwatch.
>
> The only way to enjoy the game is to love the game for itself, without playing others, without ratings.

Do you think music is an "endless battle in which everyone loses in the end" because musicians are constantly trying to improve their performances? Of course not: musicians who succeed in improving their performances give greater pleasure to their audiences and to themselves with the music they make. It's also often true that the older musicians get, the less able they are to perform their music to perfection (their joints and muscles don't work so well, their stamina too, perhaps even their hearing as well), and their performances may be outdone by younger musicians (or, yes, even by their smartwatches). However, the beautiful music they have made in their lifetime will remain recorded for posterity to enjoy.

Chess is an art form like any other. Players who see it only for its competitive value are really missing out.

@Brian-E said in #4:
> Chess is an art form like any other.

Music is an art, chess is more closer to sport then it is to art. It's a competition. It's a mental d1ck flexing. All these nonsense bullet and blitz tournaments are they about beautiful chess? Why do they gain so much popularity then?

@nextlevel89 said in #1:
> chess is mostly about comparison ourselves to others.

I disagree. Playing chess means comparing our ability to play chess with other's ability to play chess, nothing else. So, it doesn't mean comparing yourself to others, unless playing chess is the only thing you can do.
The secret to not getting hurt by playing chess is to give it the right importance: if you are not a professional of a certain level, there are much more important things that determine how much you are worth as a person.

It's true, however, that if you love the game for itself, you definitely enjoy it.

@nextlevel89 said in #5:
> Music is an art, chess is more closer to sport then it is to art. It's a competition. It's a mental d1ck flexing. All these nonsense bullet and blitz tournaments are they about beautiful chess? Why do they gain so much popularity then?

I didn't say that everyone who plays chess is practising it for its art form. (No, bullet isn't beautiful.)

I was trying to encourage you to appreciate the game when played seriously. Especially when played by master players, which for you and me means observing, like when we listen to music, but everyone can take part too.

... posting clickbait titles

On LiChess they have functions to manage that. I always use Zen Mode, and in prefences I select HIde Ratings. And will, uh... hide rstings. Your games will still be rated and you can check on them now and then if you want. With the Zen mode it hides player info, including name. I only play correspondance, usually two day games, for my own reasons.

Sometimes I have played some 10 or 15 minute games. I usually lose on time but I honestly don't let it bother me. But I think people struggling chess anxiety, as I see on here, are people playing God only knows how many games a day. I think playing fewer games, and spending time with what ever your study method is, is better. I Chess X to study a database I created from PGN Mentor, and I have a Puzzle/Tactics APP I fiddle with. But I also let my games run out and do other things in life.

In the end, one has to ask himself, is my chess hooby adding to, or taking away from, the quality of my life?

@h2b2 said in #2:
> wrong
That's the first time I've seen someone NOT want to improve... wait... oh.

I just realized I fit into that factor as well O_O