How has playing chess changed your life: Is it helpful or has it hurt you

you made a choice to give me the game so early any reason? if not gg,

the only way chess has hurt me is when I make blunders!!

Last year I moved to a new city, to move in with my girlfriend. Knew nobody living there. The place has two thriving chess clubs, the one I joined has over a hundred members who play more or less regularly (internal club competition on thursdays). Most of them are very friendly. Some of them are friends now, that I see now and then outside of chess.

So, good way to feel at home in a strange city :-)

ahhh, and apart from blunders, chess also hurts my ass when Im sit!!

Chess taught me how to calculate.  I haven't applied it to other games too much, but sometimes when I am playing subspace, I think ahead to what's going to happen just like I would in a chess game.  I never did that before, so it's a direct result of chess imo.

 i live  in an appartment by myself, and i have to say i'm someone that enjoys being alone I used to be stuck into world of warcraft(badgame, stay out of this) for 3 years, i totally tought my life would end and i'd still be playing this, i was so good i did not see anywhere i could go, everything in life was a downside to world of warcraft, so my life was a total mess only cause of this game. i've lost friends, girlfriend, i've broke important relationships in my family. I did not know what else to do of my life outside of working.

I have really poor social skills, and i'm really shy generally, my bad character often comes out as soon as i feel attacked by anyone...

This summer, my cousin came at my appartment , and asked me if i wanted to play a game of chess with my him, i said why not and lost. i had no knowledge toward chess openings, middlegame tactics, endgame mates, oppositions, pawngrabs, knightsight, i knew NOTHING. i have a huge ego, and i did not accept he beat me at that kind of game. so 1 night, instead of playing at world of warcraft, i've been on chess.com(first website that came in my mind) and started to play against the computer,took 10-15 matches before i finally beat him at medium, and at this instant, i fell in love with the game. I've bought chessmaster, and played online as much as i played wow( 8hours a day) Into the process, i started to buy books, to get out of my house to gather informations, club subcriptions.

And little by little, i got out of world of warcraft and chess got in my life. The advantages of this is, that anything i do about my own life is benefic to chess. and i'm as much addicted to chess i was to world of warcraft. i sold my account 800$us in october and paid off all my debts. I've been studying it for 6 months so far,i'm now able to CRUSH my cousin and most of all my friends,I subscribed to the chess clubs around where i live,and i play each friday, saturday and thursday all evening, get to know new people and learn a lot about myself.

Chess definitly made my sad and poor virtual life better. I'm starting to connect with other people, and i feel way more confident talking about chess instead of world of warcaft. i am now subscribed for my first tournament in january 2009 - i can't wait, and i'm real exited about it.

hope it was interesting to read.

I just realised this text would fit good in about me
in my profile.

Playing chess is very helpful to me. I became more focus  evrything I do and made me patient( not in a hospital).

My chess experience has its positives and negatives.  The positive side definately is definately greater though.  Chess provides me with something to do when I am bored and is my favorite hobby.  Also, chess helps me with daily decision making as I consider all ofthe options just as I would on a chess board.  The only negative that I can think of is stress!  Chess is weird in a way where it can do that to someone, provide stress, but at the same time something relaxing.  I guess it depends on how much I play a day and how complex the positions are.  All in all chess is great and is a part of my life that I will keep forever.