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Learning Chess at 40 (2016)

nautil.us

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Re: Learning Chess at 40 (2016)

#71

Post by pstuart »

thom wrote: post #38
pstuart wrote: post #10

I highly recommend lichess. Create an account and bookmark it and play endgames when you need a "distraction": https://lichess.org/training

Worth noting that lichess and all of the code behind it (some of which is algorithmically very interesting) is developed in the open[0], and Thibault Duplessis even regularly livecodes on Twitch[1]. 0: https://github.com/ornicar 1: https://www.twitch.tv/ornicar2

I discovered lichess when I was looking for JS framework for a project and found mithril.js, where they referenced it as a successful user of the project.

Re: Learning Chess at 40 (2016)

#72

Post by Art9681 »

WalterBright wrote: post #45
danielbarla wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chess is just about the most highly refined competitive intellectual task / "sport" you can ask for (by sheer weight of the number of serious players, and the level of play, though a similar argument can be made for Go). In and of itself, that could be an interesting concept to explore. And if we reject it, I suspect we'd also have to reject other competitive endaevours, like soccer, tennis, etc. To be honest, I some…

I long ago lost the remotest interest in who wins a baseball/tennis/football/olympic game, as it's meaningless. I know people get all wrapped around the axle on who wins, and the ludicrous propaganda of "medal counts" in the Olympics. But it's not for me. I have found it interesting to write software to play chess for me. The last few times I tried to play chess, my mind would just drift off designing a program to do…

Time enjoyed is not time wasted. Dedicating one's entire free time to solving the mysteries of the universe will likely lead to failure. You have to step away from the task every now and then and enjoy mindless entertainment. You have to reset every now and then. I have spent countless hours on difficult programming problems only for the solution to "come to me" while mindlessly gaming, or taking a shower, or smoking a cig. The solution becomes clear when you're not thinking of the problem sometimes. There is research that indicates this is a real phenomenon.

Re: Learning Chess at 40 (2016)

#73

Post by blacksmythe »

WalterBright wrote: post #45
danielbarla wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chess is just about the most highly refined competitive intellectual task / "sport" you can ask for (by sheer weight of the number of serious players, and the level of play, though a similar argument can be made for Go). In and of itself, that could be an interesting concept to explore. And if we reject it, I suspect we'd also have to reject other competitive endaevours, like soccer, tennis, etc. To be honest, I some…

I long ago lost the remotest interest in who wins a baseball/tennis/football/olympic game, as it's meaningless. I know people get all wrapped around the axle on who wins, and the ludicrous propaganda of "medal counts" in the Olympics. But it's not for me. I have found it interesting to write software to play chess for me. The last few times I tried to play chess, my mind would just drift off designing a program to do…

  >>  last few times I tried to play chess, my mind would just drift off designing a program to do it so I wouldn't have to bother.
That describes exactly how I feel about Sudoku.

I do find a good game of chess to be enjoyable, though.

Re: Learning Chess at 40 (2016)

#74

Post by jammygit »

I played chess constantly from 5 until 25. I don’t feel like I have time for it these days and I miss it. I can promise that my concentration and ability to visualize has decreased since I stopped playing

Edit: I never played online which might be a problem. Not having a physical board and another human present really throws me off, or else I wonder if I would still play

Re: Learning Chess at 40 (2016)

#75

Post by jammygit »

patrickdavey wrote: post #34

I played a little as a child (enough to beat my dad, who was a complete beginner). I've become quite addicted in the last couple of years (and yes, I'm 40 now). While I agree with the sentiments that "it's a total waste of time and I should learn something useful", it's still fun to have a challenging distraction. One thing I've found it quite good for is _learning to lose_. I _hate_ losing at games, even now, but, t…

I never played against good chess players really I once went 8 years without losing while playing every chance I got. Now that I’ve found good players to play against, I'm honestly scared to play because I’m sure to be worse than somebody. I would honestly appreciate some elaboration on how you learned to lose.

I’m not an amazing player at all, just sheltered.

Re: Learning Chess at 40 (2016)

#76

Post by WalterBright »

Art9681 wrote: post #72
WalterBright wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I long ago lost the remotest interest in who wins a baseball/tennis/football/olympic game, as it's meaningless. I know people get all wrapped around the axle on who wins, and the ludicrous propaganda of "medal counts" in the Olympics. But it's not for me. I have found it interesting to write software to play chess for me. The last few times I tried to play chess, my mind would just drift off designing a program to do…

Time enjoyed is not time wasted. Dedicating one's entire free time to solving the mysteries of the universe will likely lead to failure. You have to step away from the task every now and then and enjoy mindless entertainment. You have to reset every now and then. I have spent countless hours on difficult programming problems only for the solution to "come to me" while mindlessly gaming, or taking a shower, or smoking…

Oh, I agree that after working a long time on difficult problems, I need a rest with mindless entertainment. For example, after finals week in college I'd go home, and just veg in front of the TV for a few days. Then I'd get bored and was ready to start the next semester.

It's just like doing hard physical work. Ya need a rest afterwards.

Chess isn't mindless entertainment. I don't see it as rest.

Solutions to difficult problems often come to me while I'm jogging. Something something about increased blood flow to brain? Yesterday I went out for a long walk, and thought of a much simpler solution than one I was going to implement. A very worthwhile walk!

Re: Learning Chess at 40 (2016)

#77

Post by WalterBright »

projektir wrote: post #66
WalterBright wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I long ago lost the remotest interest in who wins a baseball/tennis/football/olympic game, as it's meaningless. I know people get all wrapped around the axle on who wins, and the ludicrous propaganda of "medal counts" in the Olympics. But it's not for me. I have found it interesting to write software to play chess for me. The last few times I tried to play chess, my mind would just drift off designing a program to do…

> The universe is full of puzzles that mean something to solve. Why not work on those instead? Why would those be less interesting than a contrived set of rules? Can you give some examples? Most things I'm aware of that could be classified as puzzles require, at the very least, enormous time investment, if not specialization, and there's often lots of drudgery along the way.

> Can you give some examples?

Sure.

How can I get the D programming language to generate even faster code?

How can I take this piece of existing, working, kludgy code, and make it simple and elegant?

How do I distill the advantages of D into an elevator pitch?

What is the right combination of aftermarket parts that will make the engine in my Dodge deliver the characteristics I want?

How do I salvage a relationship with a valued colleague that has gone awry?

How do I optimize my investments to maximize returns?

I could go on forever.

Re: Learning Chess at 40 (2016)

#78

Post by WalterBright »

_carl_jung wrote: post #48
WalterBright wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find joy in programming, and it's useful, too! For example, the other day I was pretty excited to figure out a solution to a long standing programming problem.

You'd do well to consider that variety of interests in our culture is what enriches it.

I'd bore you with a book on everything that's interesting to me. I mentioned programming because that's what I'm known for.

Re: Learning Chess at 40 (2016)

#79

Post by pstuart »

arunix wrote: post #37
pstuart wrote: post #10

I highly recommend lichess. Create an account and bookmark it and play endgames when you need a "distraction": https://lichess.org/training

Do you know if there's a similar resource for Go?

Sorry, no. But for Golang there's always https://play.golang.org/.

(sorry, couldn't resist).

Re: Learning Chess at 40 (2016)

#80

Post by patrickdavey »

jammygit wrote: post #75
patrickdavey wrote: post #34

I played a little as a child (enough to beat my dad, who was a complete beginner). I've become quite addicted in the last couple of years (and yes, I'm 40 now). While I agree with the sentiments that "it's a total waste of time and I should learn something useful", it's still fun to have a challenging distraction. One thing I've found it quite good for is _learning to lose_. I _hate_ losing at games, even now, but, t…

I never played against good chess players really I once went 8 years without losing while playing every chance I got. Now that I’ve found good players to play against, I'm honestly scared to play because I’m sure to be worse than somebody. I would honestly appreciate some elaboration on how you learned to lose. I’m not an amazing player at all, just sheltered.

Somewhat tongue in cheek, but, learning to lose is easy, just play online and you'll get plenty of practice ;)

I think just losing regularly helps to make it easier? Maybe. I still don't like it very much! Good luck :)

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