Three Years of Toil and Some Lessons

I received a trophy from chess.com for being here for 3 years. I wanted to tell you what I have learned.

1) That it seems unlikely you will improve at chess if you only play blitz, and only study once every 3-4 months

2) That despite the fact that I know lesson number 1 is true, I still expect and am frustrated that I am not better at chess despite the fact that I only play blitz and study at random intervals

3) That chess players (including me) are just as dumb as all the other parts of society.

4) I know when to resign, but sometimes I still don't do it because I am a small petty man

5) Gregory Serper has consistently written the best articles on the site since I've been here.

6) A real chessboard is hard to get used to after playing 2-D chess. But the real chessboard is infinitely better

7) I think that by this point in the list people will grow weary of reading this list

8) It is unclear why a boardgame has consumed so much of my time. I hope that it is more beneficial than watching television, but I can't be too sure. If I spent the time that I play chess, reading instead, then perhaps I might have a slightly better grasp of what humans are supposed to do on earth and how they might become excellent at that purpose. I don't think the purpose of human beings is to become skilled at beating other humans at shoving wood across a board.

9) Since I believe number 8 is probably true, maybe I shouldn't play chess anymore.

10) If you have got to the bottom of this list, please tell about a non-chess related book that has changed your life or altered the way that you think in a serious way. It doesn't have to be your favorite book, you could even hate the book, but if affected you, tell me about it.