Questioning Chess Beginners

Hey there, and welcome back to the Astro's Supercluster! Today, I decided to keep my typical posts aside, as I came up with something different. 

For anyone who plays chess, it is certain that they either have already gone through the "Beginner" phase, or are currently in that phase. The online rating range for absolute beginners is somewhere between 100-500. This is the phase where you are still learning a tactic or two, and believe it or not, this is the most exciting phase of someone's chess career, according to me. You have to admit that if you are rated somewhere between 100-500, even around 600, you have definitely tried the scholar's mate, for at least once.  

And for this post, I questioned some chess beginners out there on this site, with a rating of 100-500, to know more about their chess career, and how much they know about this game. Those people are @werstik, @Martux09, @nate36604, and @yoperooooo. Huge thanks to these people from my side, for agreeing to take part in this interview. 

But, before tuning in, shoutout to @Lightning's Questioning NCPs blog series, which inspired me to start this idea! If you haven't checked out his series yet, what are you waiting for? 

Right then, before any further adieu, let's get into the main thing! 

                     Question One 

Me: "How and when did you start playing chess?" 

@werstik: "9 or 8 years ago"  

(Wow, nice. I mean, what more to say.)

@nate36604: "4 years ago, I taught my sister" 

(Nice. People who teach their siblings chess are cool. Congratulations, you have officially earned yourself the title of a "cool" person. Quite an achievement.) 

@yoperooooo: "I started playing playing chess at the age of 7 and started to play chess.com at the age of 10." 

(Umm...ok, nice. You are also the highest rated player among the four btw. Good going) 

@Martux09: "9 years ago or smth, in school" 

(I wish my school would someday promote chess as well.) 

                     Question Two

Me: "Who is your favorite chess player and why?" 

@werstik: "i don't have one" 

(Uh. Sadge.) 

@nate36604: "@JosephReidNZ Because he is just awesome." 

(Yes, he is definitely the GOAT. Excellent choice.)

@yoperooooo: "Magnus Carlsen. Bcz He defeated our country's chess champion." 

(For those who are wondering, from "our country's chess champion", he is referring to Vishy Anand. I was expecting somebody to say the name of Magnus, but I wasn't expecting that reason lol.) 

@Martux09: "I am not a fanatic of chess so I don't have one" 

(Okay, understandable.) 

                    Question Three 

Me: "Have you ever analyzed your games? If yes, what are the average no. of blunders that you have found in them?" 

@werstik: "no"

(I hope you will start doing so.)

@nate36604: "3-6" 

(Nice, that's decent for the 300-400 level.)

@yoperooooo: "Yes, totally in all the games I have analyzed The average no. of blunders are 2"

(Very confident answer.)

@Martux09: "Yes but I don't remember" 

(I seriously have no idea if I should praise you for your "Yes" or shall I roast you for your "but I don't remember".) 

                    Question Four

Me: "What time control do you normally play and why?" 

@werstik: "idk" 

(Bruh) 

@nate36604: 30 min rapid

(Wow, that's a long time control. I haven't really seen people play 30 min rapid in online chess.) 

@yoperooooo: "I play normally bullet and blitz because i move every fast." 

(Umm...cool, I guess?) 

@Martux09: 10 mins

(You play the most normal time control among the four. Congratulations.) 

                   Question Five 

Me: "Do you play chess just for fun and in your leisure time? Or do you have some future goals in the game?" 

@werstik: "fun"

(I was expecting that answer.) 

@nate36604: "goal being a Titled player" 

(Good Luck with that.)

@yoperooooo: "I play chess for fun and My future goal is to BECOME GM and have 100k members in my club." 

(........No Comment)

@Martux09: "Just or fun ig"

(Yes, Yes. I knew that.)

                    Question Six

Me: "What is your highest rated win on Chess.com?' 

@werstik: "idk. me dont pay attention"

(Bro just check your stats. Btw so far, you have given the best answers among the four. Keep going.) 

@nate36604: "uh. 800 ik it says 1200 but that was a guy helping me complete book awards." 

(It is always a nice feeling to beat a player who is 400 points higher rated than you. Good job.) 

@yoperooooo: "My highest rated win on Chess.com is 1560"

(Wow, nice. Btw, was that win against me in our training game? For those who do not know, yes I gave some blitz training to him once.)

@Martux09: "Idk and idc" 

(Okay, fine. Currently, you are competing pretty nicely with @werstik in giving the best answers. This is what the readers need, keep it up.) 

                 Question Seven 

Me: "How many chess openings do you know? And what is your favorite opening?" 

@werstik: "nothing" 

(Seriously?) 

@nate36604: "English, Reti, Vienna game, kings pawn opening, queens pawn opening, London system, Sicilian, Caro can, Alekhine defense, Scandinavian defense, Pirc defense, saragoosa opening, Italian Game, Indian game, Center game, Modern Defense, Slav defense, scotch opening and many more. My fav is Reti opening for white and Slav defense and Scotch game for black" 

(Bro, I didn't say to tell the names of all the openings you know. And wait, can we really play the Scotch game with black? I need to learn it then.) 

@Yoperooooo: "I know up to 6 major opening and my favorite is Indian Game." 

(Nice, so you play Nf6 against d4. Did you learn it by seeing me play that? I am proud of my teachings, then.) 

@Martux09: "idk the names but I have learnt some openings by playing chess"

(Fantastic, as you should.)

                   Question Eight 

Me: "What is your favorite chess piece and why?" 

@werstik: "queen because yes" 

(I knew it)

@nate36604: "Knight because I love forking people" 

(Agreed, the knight is a very tricky piece.) 

@Yoperooooo: "King Bcz It's the main piece of the Game."

(Woah, I didn't see that coming lol. Nigel Short agrees, btw.) 

@Martux09: "Queen bc she can move a lot" 

(Fair, it is always fun to destroy your opponent's territory with a lone queen.)

                   Question Nine

Me: "What has been your biggest success in the game of chess until now?"

@werstik: "me don't pay attention" 

(Excellent) 

@nate36604: "Getting to Learn openings" 

(Hmm...I am not sure if that comes under "success" but whatever, good answer lol.) 

@Yoperooooo: "800 rating in bullet" 

(Good job.) 

@Martux09: "Idk" 

(Uh. Couldn't you have at least made something up?) 

                   Question Ten 

Me: "Are you the only chess player in your family? Or some of your other family members play this game as well?" 

@werstik: "me and my brother" 

(Nice, chess battle between siblings is a treat to watch😏)

@nate36604: Only one. My sister was taught by me but plays checkers. 

(My reaction to Nate's answer....)

@Yoperooooo: "Only I and my mom" 

(I wonder if it was your mom who taught you how to play this game?)

@Martux09: "I am the only one."

(Sadge) 

THE "Wow, Did You Really Make It To The End?" PART OF THE BLOG

Wow, did you really make it to the end? Congrats, if you did, and thank you for viewing this blog! I hope you enjoyed the interview, my questions, and their answers! 

This is will be an end to this blog, but you will be seeing from me soon, as the BlogChamps knockouts begin next week! Again, thank you for reading this blog, and stay tuned for my upcoming works! 

Regards, 

@AstroTheoretical_Physics