LouStule wrote:
Sometimes after a really intense game, win or lose, I notice that my armpits have developed that stress sweat smell. Not the physical exertion sweat smell but the stress sweat smell. Perhaps the stress is part of the appeal?
Are we really playing for fun? Or is this mostly a form of escapism?
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That’s me!
breakingbad12 wrote:
I'm in the same spot, honestly. You said you have 2 main hobbies: tennis and chess, and I also have 2 main hobbies: math and chess. I suck at math and it gives me anxiety and frustration not to be good at math, but I suck less at chess, therefore I use chess as a superficial way to fill this void. You said your true passion is tennis (not chess), and, well, my true passion is math (not chess); and yet I practice chess instead of practicing math.
I understand well what you are talking about. Chess is an easy way to deal with frustration. Since years I am not able to put my energy to write a book, and I deal with this playing or training chess.
torrubirubi wrote:
breakingbad12 wrote:
I'm in the same spot, honestly. You said you have 2 main hobbies: tennis and chess, and I also have 2 main hobbies: math and chess. I suck at math and it gives me anxiety and frustration not to be good at math, but I suck less at chess, therefore I use chess as a superficial way to fill this void. You said your true passion is tennis (not chess), and, well, my true passion is math (not chess); and yet I practice chess instead of practicing math.
I understand well what you are talking about. Chess is an easy way to deal with frustration. , and I deal with this playing or training chess.
"Since years I am not able to put my energy to write a book"
Why not?
scaring the opponent away.
Escapism? I think in all my 62 years that's the first time I have heard of chess referred to as "escapism". No it's not. Chess has been around thousands of years longer than the term escapism. It is the greatest thinking game the world has ever known. Escapism has a negative connotation which implies a person cannot seek entertainment, without having a mental disorder. All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy! Virtually anything outside work needed to survive can be labeled escapism. Psychologists use the term to explain addictive behavior. So if your therapist tells you chess is an escape for you. Then obviously you have some personal problems you would rather not address and instead play chess. It isn't the activity that determines if it's an escape. It's the person's behavior surrounding the activity which determines if the activity is an escape for that person.
Excalibr4 wrote:
Escapism? I think in all my 62 years that's the first time I have heard of chess referred to as "escapism". No it's not. Chess has been around thousands of years longer than the term escapism. It is the greatest thinking game the world has ever known. Escapism has a negative connotation which implies a person cannot seek entertainment, without having a mental disorder. All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy! Virtually anything outside work needed to survive can be labeled escapism. Psychologists use the term to explain addictive behavior. So if your therapist tells you chess is an escape for you. Then obviously you have some personal problems you would rather not address and instead play chess. It isn't the activity that determines if it's an escape. It's the person's behavior surrounding the activity which determines if the activity is an escape for that person.
This is the best bait post I've ever seen. Anyway, How can I utilize this skill into my pick pocketing career??
LouStule wrote:
Sometimes after a really intense game, win or lose, I notice that my armpits have developed that stress sweat smell. Not the physical exertion sweat smell but the stress sweat smell. Perhaps the stress is part of the appeal?
We are having huge fights without moving much. Different from for example tennis or box.
Excalibr4 wrote:
Escapism? I think in all my 62 years that's the first time I have heard of chess referred to as "escapism". No it's not. Chess has been around thousands of years longer than the term escapism. It is the greatest thinking game the world has ever known. Escapism has a negative connotation which implies a person cannot seek entertainment, without having a mental disorder. All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy! Virtually anything outside work needed to survive can be labeled escapism. Psychologists use the term to explain addictive behavior. So if your therapist tells you chess is an escape for you. Then obviously you have some personal problems you would rather not address and instead play chess. It isn't the activity that determines if it's an escape. It's the person's behavior surrounding the activity which determines if the activity is an escape for that person.
I think chess can be regarded as escapism for a lot of people playing online. I have to think on some people playing excessively blitz without taking time between the games to analyze. I know from people playing during hours, sometimes the whole night.
Unless you're playing in OTB tournaments it's the cheapest thing there is to an addiction, having the added advantage of playing at home makes one useful for any chores or errands. You can even add the proverbial excuse of exercising the brain to avoid Alzheimer’s disease and other brain degenerative diseases. However nobody can deny the "high" we get from a win whether in an insignificant blitz game or a more serious standard game.
torrubirubi hat geschrieben:
We all need a hobby, something that will motivate us to stand up in the morning.
My main hobbies are tennis and chess, although I also like to paint and play guitar.
Tennis give me a lot of pleasure, especially if I am playing well. After a close match I will usually be happy for the time I spent playing. I also like to train.
With chess is a little bit different. Of course it is funny to toast a weak player from time to time, but the huge amount of emotional stress I have when facing a stronger player is not always pleasant for me.
Okay, I am usually not playing against stronger players. I am not playing in a chess club, probably because I have the impression that I will perceive the stress of a playing against a stronger player as something negative. This would be probably different if I would be talented, but I am not. (And I don't like much the idea of sitting for long periods of time).
Why am I then playing and studying chess? There are some superficial reasons that I can mention. I give chess lessons for beginners, so I thing my students will of course profit from chess knowledge (and they will of course respect me more if I am regularly toasting them). I think that chess is also a great think for my brain. I like also to understand what stronger players are doing.
But one very specific reason is perhaps related to escapism. Let's see a Wiki-definition of this word:
"Escapism is the avoidance of unpleasant, boring, arduous, scary, or banal aspects of daily life. It can also be used as a term to define the actions people take to help relieve persisting feelings of depression or general sadness."
I had a kind of burnout when I finish my PhD in 2015, and around this time I began to train regularly chess. I didn't get much better. But I had the impression I was doing "something": training my English (a lot of great chess books and chess websites are in English) and other languages, using my brain, etc etc. And at least doing something to improve my chess. But I think that the main reason to invest more time in chess was to postpone the decisions about my other projects in life (I was planning to publish a book on popular science). Escapism is perhaps also the reason why I spend a lot of time with training instead of playing - I have definitively less stress when I am training than when I am playing chess.
Do you have similar experiences with chess as escapism?
torrubirubi hat geschrieben:
We all need a hobby, something that will motivate us to stand up in the morning.
My main hobbies are tennis and chess, although I also like to paint and play guitar.
Tennis give me a lot of pleasure, especially if I am playing well. After a close match I will usually be happy for the time I spent playing. I also like to train.
With chess is a little bit different. Of course it is funny to toast a weak player from time to time, but the huge amount of emotional stress I have when facing a stronger player is not always pleasant for me.
Okay, I am usually not playing against stronger players. I am not playing in a chess club, probably because I have the impression that I will perceive the stress of a playing against a stronger player as something negative. This would be probably different if I would be talented, but I am not. (And I don't like much the idea of sitting for long periods of time).
Why am I then playing and studying chess? There are some superficial reasons that I can mention. I give chess lessons for beginners, so I thing my students will of course profit from chess knowledge (and they will of course respect me more if I am regularly toasting them). I think that chess is also a great think for my brain. I like also to understand what stronger players are doing.
But one very specific reason is perhaps related to escapism. Let's see a Wiki-definition of this word:
"Escapism is the avoidance of unpleasant, boring, arduous, scary, or banal aspects of daily life. It can also be used as a term to define the actions people take to help relieve persisting feelings of depression or general sadness."
I had a kind of burnout when I finish my PhD in 2015, and around this time I began to train regularly chess. I didn't get much better. But I had the impression I was doing "something": training my English (a lot of great chess books and chess websites are in English) and other languages, using my brain, etc etc. And at least doing something to improve my chess. But I think that the main reason to invest more time in chess was to postpone the decisions about my other projects in life (I was planning to publish a book on popular science). Escapism is perhaps also the reason why I spend a lot of time with training instead of playing - I have definitively less stress when I am training than when I am playing chess.
Do you have similar experiences with chess as escapism?
to me Chess has become far more than just a brilliant game that i like to play from time to time. Soon after having decided to play, i find myself captured 'in the tunnel'! ...whether i'm playing quite good or not at all, it's not relevant anymore, all that matters at that moment is the board, the pieces and the battle going on between me and my advisor. At that moment, the whole world around me including everyone and everything begins to fade away further and further... and i can just say that i'm just lovin' that state of mind so much!!! Chess is one of my addictions and i need my dose of it every day!!
So, as far as i'm concerned, Chess is clearly a kind of escapism and dare i say, a very beautiful and brilliant and important one. whether i'm studying chess books and playing by myself, or if i challenging a perfect stranger on chess.com, that awesome game with all its complexity represents to me the MOTHER OF ALL GAMES, a wonderful and tempting experience. Chess is a brilliant escape from reality and a very close friend to me... still, it can be very tempting to dig too deep in that rabbit hole, so take care!! ;-))
Best. M.L.C.
At least we can say that chess is helping us to use the brain. This cannot be bad, right?
Der richtige Standpunkt ist es, zu seinem VERGNüGEN zu spielen, und man glaube ja nicht, dass der Genuss proportional dem Können sei. Der eigentliche, feinste Reiz des Schachspiels liegt darin, dass man dabei geistig produktiv tätig ist. Das Schach hat wie die Liebe, wie die Musik die Fähigkeit, den Menschen glücklich zu machen. (- Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch ) ... ich könnte meine Leidenschaft zum Schachspiel nicht treffender zum Ausdruck bringen, MLC
MonsieurLaCouronne wrote:
Der richtige Standpunkt ist es, zu seinem VERGNüGEN zu spielen, und man glaube ja nicht, dass der Genuss proportional dem Können sei. Der eigentliche, feinste Reiz des Schachspiels liegt darin, dass man dabei geistig produktiv tätig ist. Das Schach hat wie die Liebe, wie die Musik die Fähigkeit, den Menschen glücklich zu machen. (- Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch ) ... ich könnte meine Leidenschaft zum Schachspiel nicht treffender zum Ausdruck bringen, MLC
You are right. On the other hand, I have sometimes the impression that chess is taken so much space in my life that I almost don't have the time to do other things that I like, as for instance playing guitar or paint watercolors. It would be probably simpler if once I would say: "Okay, let's forget any ambition in chess, opening theory, endgames, tacticstacticstactics, and let's play for fun". I can imagine this day will come, and I will play and train less and have more time for other things.
torrubirubi: Escapism is something that i has been thinking about lately. Why do i really do the stuff that i do? Do i play & practice chess because i enjoy the game or to escape boredom or other unpleasantness? The same thing with sports and most other activities. Is there any clear answer, and does it really matter? Perhaps it is better to ask myself these questions:
Does doing this gives me something positive in return? Does doing this have negative consequences for me or someone around me? If the answer to the first question is yes and to the second no, then is there a need to contemplate if there is any escapism or not?
I love chess and I take it very seriously I practice about 2-4 hours a day (I am young enough to do that) and I have been doing that for a little over a year now. I believe that you have to really love the game to improve a lot. I have two friends who started chess at the same time and are about my same age but they are about 200 points below me in rating points because they don't train or take it that seriously. I enjoy taking chess seriously but that's not for everyone one. I don't like stress that comes with playing rated games so I play unrated games mostly tho.
fgsjd wrote:
I love chess and I take it very seriously I practice about 2-4 hours a day (I am young enough to do that) and I have been doing that for a little over a year now. I believe that you have to really love the game to improve a lot. I have two friends who started chess at the same time and are about my same age but they are about 200 points below me in rating points because they don't train or take it that seriously. I enjoy taking chess seriously but that's not for everyone one. I don't like stress that comes with playing rated games so I play unrated games mostly tho.
I am trained rather a lot in the last months / years. I didn't improve that much though, probably because I play almost only online chess and not over the board in a club. I don't have talent for the game, and I think once I will reduce the amount of time I invest in the study. However, I like the idea to improve. It is just that I have other things to do in my life.