Fixing the cogs: My jump to 1183

How Chess Moved My Cogs

How my 900 ELO plateau became my mental health wake-up call

They say chess is a game of logic, but to me chess is a mirror to my soul. When I make moves to thwart my opponent's attacks, when I make undefendable attacks to break through the opponent's defense, when I get outplayed... I feel the game very deeply. 

The Plateau

For the longest time... I was suffering below the 900 elo range. I tried for many days, weeks, months and even years but improvement hit a complete stop. It felt as if my engine had burned out..... It felt like the end.

I learned different openings, I learned tactics and I practiced drills. But, It did not change anything. There was a deeper problem. I knew that something was wrong but, what I did not know was that it was completely unrelated to chess. 

It was the mental mess that I kept with myself. Constant anxiety of living in a harmful environment made my decision making very sluggish. Constantly distracted with other thoughts I would make frequent blunders. I couldn't move forwards, I was... Stuck. The gears in my mind were jammed by anxiety and a harmful environment. It was only when I tended to my mental health from a respected person's counseling that the cogs started moving again. 

Chess as a Mirror

As I got better, my chess got better. Chess literally became a reflection of my state of mind. I could literally see my rating climb as my mental health improved. 

This showed me that EQ is just as important as IQ. So to me chess is not only my favorite game but, also my mirror. I wonder what else chess will show me as I climb up.

Takeaway: Sound mental health is just as important as chess practice for improving in chess. 

Thank you so much for reading my article. Hope my article helped you with something on your own journey.