So, will I ever be any good at chess?
Greetings fellow players of all levels. Thank you for taking time to read this post. First of all take a moment, breath deeply and acknowledge that if your looking for games, analysis, or somekind of theory this is not the place, and I offer an apology for this, probably you have better things to do than wasting your precious chess studying/playing time here, but I felt like writing this and see if anyone has something to say about it.
Let me tell you a little bit about me. It is now about 10 months that I decided to take on chess, Im a 29 yo MD, living in an isolated area of southern Mexico, which you all probably heard about and may sometime want to visit: Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, this is important because theres not to much chess activity going on here, though were about 3 and a half hour drive from Yucatán, which is now the best state in mexico to practice Chess.
My whole life,short by the way I see it now, I practiced violent sports, from Football to Martial Arts, after a series of injuries decided to take a rest (permanently), and went into a searching spree to find another exciting and full of adrenaline hobby/occupation. Now as I can state here, Ive been somewhat of competitive in all aspects of life, and developed a very low tolerance to frustration and loss throuought life difficulties.
Nowadays, I cant complaint at all, a beautiful wife and a 7 mo baby boy to raise, a steady not so demanding job and lifestyle, that not full of economic achievements, but I can say I have everything a free man needs to enjoy life.
I do not have the impulse to travel, or see the world, though I would like to have my own bussiness someday, maybe an ol´Bohemian Cafe, near the coast of Baja California (where I grew up and hope to return one day). But my main goal in life is to raise my boy, and let me confess I have made a lot of bad choices in life, but ir seems that after all, choices than lead me to the point where I am now, and thats a good thing, a very good thing.
So cut, the chit chat and now, what this has to do with chess at all? Chess for me, has come in time, where in trouble with somekind of religious/spiritual struggle, I found in the game/sport place to let things just be, a place to let things happen and enjoy, have fun and grow. As I told you its not much since I began to play chess, just returned this saturday from a 4 hour drive in a town called Felipe Carrillo Puerto, to play a mini-swiss 4 round tourney with a couple of players from Cancun and also some locals, got a bye in the 3rd round and just won my last game, placed 6ht out of 8 players, and my spirit was low, why not say it so, but then I remembered this was my only 2nd tournament I participated since I started on chess; and maybe just maybe, chess is that place where I go to grow, to learn from the game and see through it as life itself (Kasparov is right, when not when its about chess may I ask?) just got beaten by a 9yo girl and a 18yo boy, and maybe I was thinking to myself the same question I ask in this post´s title.
My final thoughts after a weekend rapid tourney and my first fathers day (it was sunday here in mexico): Life as chess, is not a speed race, rather is based on small achievements, but sustancial ones, on making the right decisions at the proper time, it is a path of constant learning, winning and loosing but to get the best out of both results, is a path of humbleness and positivity even in your darkest hour.
Ill keep playing chess, and wether I do or dont become a good player, may just enjoy the process of trying.
