Questioning Non-Chess Players Part 2
Hello there, and welcome to the Lightning Reports. Back in January, I introduced a new blog idea when I questioned several non-chess players about chess for the first time. 4 months later, I've brought you a part 2 to my Questioning NCPs series! Yep. I have found 3 new non-chess players to question. But. Unlike last time, they are not my friends. They are friends of my lil sister who kindly agreed to answer 21 chess-related questions for our entertainment. I don't really know these people, so I have no idea what to expect from their answers. Should be fun, yeah? Aight let's get to it. I hope you enjoy the NCPs answering 21 chess-related questions, and I hope you enjoy my totally unnecessary commentary on their answers!
Me: "If you want to remain anonymous, please say so below. Otherwise, enter a name, whether it be yours or not."
NCP 1: "Mark"
(Ok good for you I guess)
NCP 2: "Chairs"
(What? Your name is Chairs? Yeah, ok, and my name is tables)
NCP 3: "John Hendrix"
(Wow, congratulations, John Hendrix, you are the first NCP I have questioned who has two names. We had Grant, Anonymous, and Sibling in the first NCP post, all with one name. And here we have Mark and Chairs also with one name. But you... you have two names, John Hendrix. Good for you!)
QUESTION ONE
Me: "How did you first come to know the existence of chess?"
Mark: "Friends"
(Nice. You have good friends. That must be nice.)
Chairs: "Ummm tbh idk I just have kinda heard bout it since I was young"
(Seems legit)
John Hendrix: "Through my family showing me. Or just thinking this is a cool game, I wanna try this."
(Nice. Your family must be cool then. Actually tho it was family, my cousins, who introduced me to chess. Fun stuff.)
QUESTION TWO
Me: "Have you ever even played chess before?"
Mark: "Ye"
(Good for you, ye? Ye.)
Chairs: "Uhhh if you count pretending like the pieces are a horse army then yes but if that doesn’t count then no I have never played chess before"
(Huh. What do y'all think? Does this count...? Probably not, but that sounds like an epic way to play chess. I'm totally gonna try pretending the pieces are a horse army now just for the heck of it. Totally.)
John Hendrix: "Yup"
(Excellent, good for you)
QUESTION THREE
Me: "Why don't you play chess?
Mark: "I am bad"
(Ok, well, there are three options. One, just get good bro. Or two, stop caring about whether or not you are good or bad. I was once "bad" at chess. That never stopped me from playing. In fact, it made me want to learn more so my cousins would stop beating me. Oh, and option three would be to continue not playing, but I would hate to advise you to do that. What kind of person would I be then? Huh?)
Chairs: "Cause I just don't know how and whenever someone tries to teach me I just get confused"
(Ah, well, fair enough I guess. You can't have had any good teachers then...)
John Hendrix: "Don't have time or don't think about playing it"
(Fair enough. You should totally make time to play. Instead of focusing on your busy life, you should totally make a chess.com account and play blitz/bullet each night until 4 am. It's absolutely good for you and very healthy!)
QUESTION FOUR
Me: "What do you think about chess in general?
Mark: "It's fun to play with family"
(That's great. Unless you lose to someone in your family. Cause that's not so great.)
Chairs: "It's for smart people and it's complicated but looks fun"
(Nah it's not for smart people, it's for anyone who wants to play. Sure, being smart does help, but it's not required. And yes, it is complicated, and it does look fun.)
John Hendrix: "It is fun"
(Good answer. Very good.)
QUESTION FIVE
Me: Do you think chess is just some old game for nerds?
Mark: "No"
(Smart answer)
Chairs: "Nah it's just for whoever knows how to play it"
(This is true. It'd be tough to play without knowing how to play, huh. Oh gosh, I can't even imagine that. Guys, imagine not knowing how to play chess. I mean, can you even imagine?)
John Hendrix: "Nope"
(Good answer)
QUESTION SIX
Me: "Do you think people who play chess have a higher IQ?"
Mark: "Sometimes"
(Hmm ok, sure. Sometimes. Yeah.)
Chairs: "Yuhhh probably"
(Yuhhh. But nahhh. Trust me, we chess players do not necessarily have higher IQs than you non-chess players. Well. Generally speaking, we don't... but I've met some truly extraordinarily dumb chess players before. We're all human. It's just that some of us play chess while others don't. Idk. What do you guys think about this? Lmk in the comments!)
John Hendrix: "They have a Higher IQ than those who don't play it because it takes skill and strategy to win"
(Huh ok. In terms of chess, sure, we have a higher IQ cause of those things. But in general? I mean, does having that skill and strategy on the chess board really mean chess players have a higher IQ than non-chess players? Sure, some of that skill and strategy on the board can translate to life, and for me it has, but that's not necessarily true. Anyway, it's an interesting topic worth debating. Again, what do you guys reading this think? Tell me in the comments!)
QUESTION SEVEN
Me: "Do you think chess is an esport, sport, both, or none of these things?"
Mark: "Sport"
(Heck yeah)
Chairs: "What’s an esport? But nah chess ain’t a sport. It could be an esport if I knew what that was"
(Sad. Chess ain't a sport, huh? Aight then. Another topic worth debating. Oh, and what is an esport? So basically, an esport is a competitive video game, from what I understand. So competitive online chess could be considered an esport and is by many.)
John Hendrix: "I don't even know"
(....Lol ok. I mean, it's not like anyone else actually knows.)
QUESTION EIGHT
Me: "What well-known chess players can you think of?"
Mark: "My friends brother Issac"
(I am assuming you are talking about me. Yeahhh no, no, I don't count as well-known. And that's not my name. It's Isaac. This man legit tryna say I am well-known and he doesn't even know how to spell my name 😅)
Chairs: "Uhhhhh……. yeah I can’t think of anyone"
(Not surprising. At least you tried. Trying is half the battle.)
John Hendrix: "If Isaac Snow counts. Then him."
(No... no I do not count. But thanks for saying "if" instead of just saying my name. Oh, and thanks for spelling my name properly.)
QUESTION NINE
Me: "What would it take for you to properly learn how to play chess?"
Mark: "Classes"
(Fair enough)
Chairs: "Someone to teach me that knows how to play"
(Also fair enough)
John Hendrix: "If a lot of my friends were playing it. Or it was the only game around you play"
(Seems legit. I totally get that.)
QUESTION TEN
Me: "What is your favorite chess piece and why?"
Mark: "Queen, because it can move farther and in different ways"
(True that. Seems like most people say the queen.)
Chairs: "The horse piece thing cause when I was younger I would pretend like they were a heard of horses moving across the board"
(..... OK, wow. Ya know what, that sounds awesome. Totally not crazy. Imma try that sometime, pretend that the horse piece thing is a heard of horses moving across the board. Oh, and by the way, I'm like 90% sure that it's herd* and not heard, but I could be wrong.)
John Hendrix: "Knight (the horse one). I just like how it moves."
(Aight cool. But I have one question... how does the knight move?
QUESTION ELEVEN
Me: "This next question is about the "Chess Boom." If you don't know what that is, then 1), You've possibly been living under a rock, you might wanna look into that, and 2), it's the stunning surge of interest in chess in 2020 due to the coronapocalypse keeping ppl locked up and bored at home, all online chess content like chess streaming, and chess YouTubing, and the Queen's Gambit on Netflix, all helping spark interest in chess. The Chess Boom continued in 2021 with more online chess content, and the World Chess Championship. So now that you sort of know what the chess boom is, tell me, what do you think about it?"
Mark: "It's like ads for chess and supports it"
(Huh, that's an interesting way of putting it. You're not wrong tho. Very nice.)
Chairs: "I think it's cool"
(Good answer)
John Hendrix: "Nice 😂"
(...agreed 😂)
QUESTION TWELVE
Me: "What are your thoughts about chess streaming, YouTubing, blogging, and any other form of chess content there is?"
Mark: "Positive"
(Well that's nice. Positive > negative... right? Yeah, let's go with that.)
Chairs: "It's cool and you do you I just ain't gonna watch it cause my brain does not compute"
(Cool, cool. And I mean, let's be honest, most of our brains do not compute. Chess is hard.)
John Hendrix: "I think it's cool. Good way to spread popularity and interest of the game"
(Very nice. I agree. In fact, it has been a good way to do those things. Yep.)
QUESTION THIRTEEN
Viewer question from @ricorat, who asks: "How do you view people who play chess?"
Mark: "Strategic"
(Sure, yeah. Some chess players are, yeah. But then you've got people like me who sometimes say screw strategy and play either by instinct or just do whatever I feel like doing, cause why the heck not. But yeah sure, chess players are generally strategic. My favorite strategy is the Botez Gambit. I'm very good at it. Always shocks my opponents.)
Chairs: "They are mostly the smart people"
(Huh ok. Mostly tho...? I dunno. I wouldn't say that. Interesting to debate about tho.)
John Hendrix: "Just how I view other human beings."
(This is a good thing.... right? Yeah, yeah it is. I think.)
QUESTION FOURTEEN
Viewer Question from @angryspacevoid, who asks: "What are your thoughts on the World Chess Championship Match being broadcasted on NBC Sports?"
Mark: "Very positive"
(Wow. Very positive is way more positive than regular positive!)
Chairs: "Seems cool, but I ain't understand so I ain't gonna watch it and also that sounds kinda boring"
(Aight fair, fair. Not gonna lie, it actually was pretty boring imo... I remember being extremely disappointed in the coverage on NBC, but I've never really found chess content entertaining so what do I know)
John Hendrix: "Didn't know that happen but sounds cool!"
(Nice! Yeah, I thought it sounded cool, too. Too bad the coverage on NBC was released so late at night. And too bad they didn't do the greatest job getting the word out. And too bad it wasn't really that entertaining anyway. But the idea of it was cool at least!)
QUESTION FIFTEEN
Viewer Question from @assassin3572, who asks: "How do you view cheating in chess?"
Mark: "Very negative because it's unfair"
(Agreed, agreed. I like your answer here)
Chairs: "Well if I knew the rules I could answer that for ya"
(Ok well now I've gotta ask... what rules would make cheating not bad? I mean, I guess if cheating is part of the rules then - oh, wait, chess has en passant. And that is most definitely cheating. And yet it's awesome.
John Hendrix: "Stupid. Cheating in any game ruins it."
(Heck yeah, man. Great answer.)
QUESTION SIXTEEN
Viewer Question from @kowarenai, who asks: "Have you heard about any of the top chess streamers and YouTubers?"
Mark: "No"
Chairs: "Nope"
John Hendrix: "Nope"
(These answers were all expected. So far, 6 out of 6 NCPs have all given the same answers to this question. Interesting, huh.)
QUESTION SEVENTEEN
Viewer Question from @DonRajesh, who asks: "Would you have added chess in the Olympics?"
Mark: "Possibly"
(Aight cool, cool)
Chairs: "Ehhh maybe, I mean they have ping pong in the Olympics so nothin is impossible"
(Ok then. Sure. Yeah, nothin is impossible, except impossibility of course. But I mean, I'm not even gonna lie, watching ping pong sounds more entertaining than watching a long chess game to me. Now, bullet chess, that's a different discussion.)
John Hendrix: "Oooooo that would be interesting to add. I think it would be cool."
(Lol aight cool, I love this answer. Now, as much as I would love to see chess added to the Olympics... how could we do that in such a way that would be entertaining to anyone watching? cause let's be honest, the average person probably won't want to watch a 6-hour game with 0 moves that aren't good. What do you guys who are reading this think? Lemme know in the comments!)
QUESTION EIGHTEEN
Viewer Question from @Rodgy, who asks: "If you had a lesson with the greatest chess player of all time, Magnus Carlsen, how much would you be willing to pay for a one hour session?"
Mark: "$100"
(Aight nice, nice)
Chairs: "Hmm like around 20-30$ cause then I could beat all my friends and look smart"
(*me who charges $30 per lesson* mkay, interesting... oh and the $ sign goes in front of the numbers... right? Pretty sure it does. Then again, it's 2 am at the time I am writing this, so maybe I'm losing it. Lack of sleeps does that sometimes.)
John Hendrix: "$30-$50"
(Hmm alright interesting)
QUESTION NINETEEN
Me: "Any interest in playing a game of chess with me? Think you could beat me?"
Mark: "Nope."
(Lol ok fair enough)
Chairs: "Yeahhh it would be fun, and no I could not beat u in a million years"
(Oh really? I'm down if you are. Then we can both pretend the horse piece thing is a herd of horses moving around the board! That would be epic. Oh, and in a million years? That's a bit much, don't ya think? I mean, if you spend enough time learning and training and getting better at chess, surely you could beat me. I mean, it's not like I'm that good... lol)
John Hendrix: "I would play a game of chess with you. But I would get destroyed"
(Ooh aight cool. And hey ya never know. You might not get destroyed. Again, it's not like I'm that good. In fact, I'm actually really bad. Anyone who has ever watched me streaming chess on twitch can confirm. I actually suck at chess. Really. No doubt. Totally.
QUESTION TWENTY
Me: "How many views do you think a chess blog, written by a chess player and posted on a chess website, will get?"
Mark: "10,000"
(..... R E S P E C T)
Chairs: "Hmm depends, maybe like 100"
(Hmm aight then, aight. At least Chairs didn't say 15 views as a certain someone did in the first NCP's post!)
John Hendrix: "Couple hundred to couple thousand"
(Heck yeah. Lol this might be the most accurate answer of the 3)
QUESTION TWENTY-ONE
Me: "Summarize your thoughts about chess in one final statement."
Mark: "A fun game for competition and family"
(Aight nice, nice, seems legit, I'm inclined to agree)
Chairs: "Seems kinda complicated, the pieces fun too play army with, would love to learn so then I could look smart."
(Lol ok nice. Yep, it's complicated, agreed. I dunno if the pieces are fun to play army with but I'm totally gonna find out now. And if you want to learn chess to look smart... I mean, honestly, it does work like that. People think I'm wayyy smarter than I really am just because I play chess.)
John Hendrix: "Honest opinions"
(I assume this means everything you have said thus far has been your honest opinions? I never doubted. Seems legit.)
QUICK SHOUTOUTS
Shoutouts to @Rodgy and @DonRajesh whose suggested questions made it into the blog! And shoutouts to @ricorat, @angryspacevoid, @assassin3752, and @kowarenai, whose suggested questions made it into the original NCPs blog and returned for this one! We had a friendly competition in my club to see whose suggested questions would be featured in this blog, and their questions made it on. Thank you guys for your suggestions!
Oh and also a quick shoutout to @N30N100 for very kindly gifting me a gold membership for a month. Thanks for much, Neon! I'll use it well.)
THE "GOOD JOB, YOU MADE IT TO THE END" PART OF THE BLOG
Good job, you made it to the end. I must confess I am surprised to still see you here. Good for you! Anyways. That's that for the post. Very interesting. I thought these answers were more positive overall than the answers we saw from the first 3 NCPs last time. Good stuff, yeah? I thought this was fun. But what did you guys think? What are your thoughts on their answers to the questions? And how would you compare this to the original NCPs blog I posted in January? Let me know in the comments, please.
Also, before ending this, I would just like to say that I would love to see any of you bloggers out there use this idea for your blogs! It is my original idea, but I really want to see more people try it! The more funny blogs out there, the better. And the more NCPs we interrogate, the better.
My next post will probably be on May 21st. I'm playing otb this weekend, hoping for the best, and I'll share how I did on the 21st. But for now, that's all I've got. Thank y'all so much for reading, I truly hope you enjoyed this post. If you want a part 3 of my Questioning NCPs series, just let me know and I'll see what I can do. Thanks again. Cya in the comments!
