why are we chess fans so apathetic?

 no, I am not trying to insult anybody with this question, what I am trying to do is to find out the reason for the fact of us chess fans being so apathetic (show not interest)

we are the biggest online game playing community in the world, yet we don't show interest for many of the resources that are continously being made available to us, let's take this website for example and name some of the resources that we don't show interest for

1) the video section (there are hundreds of very interesting videos in this site's video section, yet everytime I visite that section I find that most of these videos are practically not being watched)

2) there are very interesting and intructive online groups in this site, yet only a few of us join this groups and even when we join we don't actively participate in the forums or contribute to them

3) for this number three let's talk about youtube: there are millions of chess players all over the world yet chess videos posters in youtube struggle to get subscribers and viewers to the very interesting chess related videos they post almost everyday

4)coming back to this site: why are there so few paid members to this site after such hardwork the developers of this site has put into it

5)why are the training features in this site being so ignored?

6) why are the chess players albums all over this site being so ignored?

7) lets talk about chess blogs over the internet: why are these chess blogs lacking from readers-interest

you know what!?, I will stop naming things that show that we are an apathetic bunch, you are welcome to continue discussing on this issue  

I don't agree with your conclusion. If you join vote chess, you will find many comments and discussions about what moves to make, game analysis posts are almost always answered, the daily puzzle gets at least 60 posts each (granted a lot of the comments are "Nice" or "Cool" but some are "Why not...")

 

I think the reason why chess videos are not as popular, is because they are not 

as interactive as the boards you can create here on chess.com, where you can jumb between moves, see alternative moves etc.

 

The same goes for blogs, blogs talk to you they do not discuss with you.

 

Chess is a really old game, and a lot of good teaching material is available in 

book form. What I look for at chess.com is the discussions, the interaction with 

other players and so on.

 

 

 'We' are so apathetic that 'we' don't even want to discuss how apathetic 'we' are

DeepNf3> 1) the video section

DeepNf3> 3) this number three let's talk about youtube:
 

I find studying CBV and PGN files, especially annotated ones, to be a more efficient form of study than watching videos of random quality, often even more efficient than watching videos of high-quality, because they encourage me to do more thinking.

DeepNf3> 5) why are the training features in this site being so ignored?
 

I use them sometimes, but I already have a chess library and Chessbase, so I don't necessarily need more study material to go through. If I could 'simply' master all the material on my bookshelf and in Chessbase I would already be a master.

sighhhhhhhh ok.

i'll be honest - i'm so busy working on this site that i don't have enough time to train. i generally "study" chess in bursts - i study hard for a few months, then am off for a while. :(

i think alot of folks on here are casual chess players. I would love to spend more time studying the great info and tools on this site but I really dont have the time and I suspect many others feel the same. It would be interesting to see what the ratio is on this site of casual to serious players.

As likesforests said, the things you mentioned that chess players ignore aren't the best ways to study the game. I use forums like this one and the forums on other sites to have conversations, rather than just reading blogs where people talk to you and it's not interactive. Also, videos aren't as good for study as reading articles, books, and pgn files where you stop and think before moving on to the next move.

 

As long as people are here, playing and using the forums, I can't see how you can call them apathetic. Different people just prefer different tools, and the ones you named happen to not be the best around for chess. 

 

--Fromper 

thats wrong. who says that a lot of us dont practice OUTSIDE of this site? i spend time on ICC every day (1-3 hrs at least), 1 chess lesson from an FM a week, 2 chess clubs, and tons of books to study from whenever.

Maybe you're looking at it the wrong way. Maybe we're so passionate about chess that we can't stop from playing it long enough to study it. Haha.

Rael wrote: Maybe you're looking at it the wrong way. Maybe we're so passionate about chess that we can't stop from playing it long enough to study it. Haha.

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 Rael, it's hard to argue with your point. At one point or another, Ive studied chess in nearly every way possible. Ive used videos, annotated pgns, databases, books, tactics trainer, chess mentor... all of it. I find a lot of that to be dreadfully boring (good videos are ok, but sometimes its hard to find a lot of high quality ones). I would much rather play a game, and my time for chess is limited, so, Im usually going to spend what time I do have for chess on that which I enjoy more.

I think that it is a question of how best to use one's time and one's priorities. Chess is a great game, but other things take precedence.

There's a difference between apathy and disinterest.  Many people love playing chess here and actively do so.  To state that a chess player must study and watch videos is absurd.  Only those who devote a large part of their time to chess need to do so, and for them better resources are available.  Videos, training, blogs, and the like are not part of playing chess; they're part of studying chess.  Most people don't care enough about what is, ultimately, a board game, to spend their time on these fringe resources.

I do not think that players are apathetic as you claim. You have to remember that not every player that is here at this site is a hard core player out to dominate the world of chess. Some people come here to discuss topics in the forums or to be able to play the occasional game since they lead active lives in other areas and can not devote as much time to study as they might wish.

 In terms of which I prefer to use - a video or book - it all depends on the quality of both. I bought the Roman series of videos and found them to be quite good and he seems to do a good job of explaining themes for specific areas but given the wealth of information, I would probably have to watch each one at least a dozen times and then try to repeat what I saw in the videos. This is the part that I struggle with. Finding the time to watch them enough to where I can absorb the ideas.

 The drawback to watching such a video is that there are times when I would have liked to have asked a "what if" question since while he discusses variations in the videos, there are times when I know I would have used a different move and no doubt there is a good reason why it should not be played. This is where having a chess coach could help. You can ask them why a certain move was not used since you thought it should and the coach can then tell you why that move was not chosen. 

I think that I would do everything I could to increase my chess skill if I were a Pro chess player. But since I am not I just play and have fun. Of course I want my rating to increase so look out for the noob!

part of it's because i like to spend a long time doing one thing.  The problem is when you're limited to 3 tactic trainer problems and 10 chess mentors and you don't have the money to get a membership (sorry! I'm going to buy the diamond once I'm all done with school), you try to find something you can spend time on instead of short spurts everywhere else.  

For me, that's game analysis.  I get to help someone out, and learn for myself. 

I also like to analyze the vote chess games.

When we get an opening explorer (assuming the free members get a reasonable number of whatever is limited) I'll definitely use that. 

What does apathetic mean?

I'm too apathetic to tell you.

DeepNf3 wrote:

 

 'We' are so apathetic that 'we' don't even want to discuss how apathetic 'we' are

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I agree, I don't even know why I'm reading this blog...

Maybe our brains are just hardwired to not be patient when we are hooked up to broadband. I myself like to hit the forums and try to be helpful to upcoming players, then I like to start a scrum with the Bongcloud Attack. My own problem with chess is that I'm still the test rat hitting the pedal for the pellet, I want instant gratification. When I'm online, I want stuff now now now. It's easier to study when you are off of a computer and at the chess table thumbing through some books and moving the good old wood set. Once I get on the computer I want to gab and scrap.