Chess Is Hard

     Chess is hard. Most people think winning games by moving pieces around strategically is easy. But it is way more than that.

     I have a passion for chess, and I spend time dedicated to becoming a professional player in my future. When I first logged into chess, I got hooked and played every day, and my Elo shot up. For some people like me, I like to improve fast, but sometimes things are NEVER that simple.

     After a whole year of playing chess, I was satisfied with my progress. In rapid, I went up around 800-900 elo in one year! And I also went up 900-1000 in blitz, and 100 in bullet. ( I was not good at bullet). And here I am now writing this blog, Nov 19, 2025. In the previous paragraph, I said I loved to improve FAST. But today I have been struggling to get past 1100 in blitz and 1400 in rapid. And now more often than ever, I have felt like my passion and love for chess were slipping out of my grasp. 

     Today, I was feeling let down, overwhelmed, and angry. Knowing the fact that I am still in school, I want to play more chess, and homework is breathing down my neck all the time, making me feel occupied, and disappointed that I might never become what I want to be. But I told a close relative about my struggles, and now you know why I wrote this blog. " Sometimes things don't go our way, and we might struggle, but there is this thing called natural talent. For example, if you play a sport like soccer, your natural talent is how far you can go without being taught. " Now you might say, well, I do puzzles and lessons and learn openings. But that is a thing called self-taught talent. Where you teach yourself how to do it. 

     Right now, I have reached my self-taught talent peak, which some people like me would normally think that is their ABSOLUTE peak. But when you reach that self-taught talent peak, you can only go higher, and most of the time that is when you need to be taught by someone else who i good at chess.

       Now, some of you might be where I am at right now. However, I encourage you not to give up, not to lose hope, and to stride forward with confidence as you embark on your chess journey. Chess is challenging, but that doesn't mean you can't be good at it. Never give up, try hard, and dedicate your time to the things you love. And that goes for other sports and passions people love.

                                      And trust me, if you do this, you will get better.