My Chess Journey
Being a mildly known chess streamer, people often ask me, "How did you get into chess?" "Who taught you?" "How did you get better?" Well, it all began when I was a kid in kindergarten. Back then, I'd come home for lunch, and while my mom made food for me, I'd play games on the computer. Two games were available to me: "chess" and "solitaire." I didn't know how to play either of them. In Solitaire, I had absolutely no clue, and in chess, I just moved the pieces around and clicked randomly without really understanding what I was doing. But doing that, I managed to figure out how the pieces moved.
My mom talked to my dad, who knew how to play chess and asked him to teach me. At first, he thought he would waste his time, but eventually, he sat me down and explained the basics, like how to win by checkmating. After a while, my dad got me a coach who taught me more about the game, like openings and simple tactics. Quickly after, I played my first chess tournament.
That tournament had five rounds, and I ended up with 3 points out of 5. The following week, I joined another tournament, also with five rounds. After losing the first four games, I felt like withdrawing, but my dad and the tournament organizer convinced me to play the last round. Guess what? I lost that one, too. So, in that tournament, I went scoreless. It was tough, but it made me want to work even harder for the next one.
From then on, I reached a 1000 rated CFC (Canadian Rating System) over a few tournaments. I kept practicing and entering more contests, winning some and losing. After reaching 1700 CFC, I got stuck there and became tired of chess. I became interested in hockey and started focusing more on that, leaving chess behind. I played a few chess tournaments occasionally, but I was consistently losing.
Everything changed with COVID-19. The pandemic gave me a lot of time, and I found myself coming back to chess. During this time, chess became the main thing I did. I want to tell everyone that there will be good times and challenging times, whether you're good at something or not. Without the pandemic, I might not have played chess again. Before COVID-19, I had an online blitz rating of around 1800 and a CFC rating of 1700. But after the pandemic, my CFC rating shot up past 2000, and my online blitz rating reached 2400, which actually just happened very recently.
Looking back, there's one thing I'd change if I could: I wish I hadn't taken a break from chess for those few years. Who knows how much better I could have been now. But you know what? The tough times and losses I went through were critical. They frustrated me, sure, but they also helped me improve. Even now, losing a game makes me sad and angry, but I've realized that I wouldn't have gotten better without those tough times.
So, here's the takeaway: My journey in chess has been a mix of ups and downs. If someone asks me how I got into chess or got better, I tell them it's a story of becoming relentless, learning from losses, and finding my way back to something I love.