Random Ramblings of a Reluctant Blogger

 Big time chess, the Olympiad, is here!

The exclamation mark in no way denotes the excitement, but the fact that it hasn’t quite caught the imagination of many. On the other hand the exclamation mark would have made more sense had it. Not that the game doesn’t have a sizable fan base, it is just that some sports gather more eyeballs than others. And unless you know the game well, all action you see will be two players sitting across each other, deeply immersed in thoughts, challenging time and moving some figurines on a black and white patterned board. No doubt some argue that “it is not a sport if it does not involve running at some time.”

Lest you think it is one of those tirades against chess as a sport, be assured it is not. I do play some chess. That does not mean ‘some’ in the great sense but just that I know the basic moves. But if you ask me about the Caro-kan defence, the Luy Ropez opening or the King’s gambit, you will be checkmating me.

I sought the help of a friend to learn chess because I wanted to make a move on my crush, who I learnt was a damn good player. A few lessons later, in one of the games with my friend, I decided, in what I thought was a brilliant strategy, to mirror’s my opponent’s moves. Four or five moves was how long I lasted. I very soon realised I was better off not wading into a queen’s gambit and just stick to my strengths.

What further pushed me away was the ‘academising’ that went with it. One of my teachers told me to play chess as it would help improve my concentration and thus make me a better student.

I am no mug when it comes to concentration. I could spend hours losing myself in the intrigues of a whodunit thriller, or a Woodhousian comedy, without a break. (Thank god no one told me reading more will be beneficial in my studies!). But strategizing over a board for hours together is certainly not my kind of fun.

And that chess in some way will improve my skills at math, put the game on par with the subject I least had the least affinity to. Maybe they should have sold me on how exciting and violent the game is. Yes, violent. There are the kings and queens on the move, the bishops, the knights, the rooks, the pawns, the capture, the castling, the sacrifices and the mate. The kind of things which would get youngsters hooked, but no, they chose a sheer killjoy of academics.  

It is a personality thing I guess. I would rather be on the ground playing hockey, cricket, football with rudimentary equipments that resemble the original and at times just run around and get all dirty and messy. I am in no way belittling those who love to immerse themselves in this very brainy pursuit, it is just that you will find it tough to get me on board with this one.

And if you do happen to catch me in Mahabs, there are more chances that you will spot me on the shores gazing into the infinity of the wide ocean or just building castles, or maybe even a chess board, on the sand.