@1
"books on theory that are hundreds of pages long"
++ There are more books on chess than on all other games combined.
Do not worry, it is not necessary to study theory.
"every good player I've seen/heard about has been playing since they were SUPER young"
++ Like with most activities: the younger you start, the better you can get.
"they memorize sets of moves for who knows how many different openings"
++ That is not important.
"I'm really competitive, so is it worth getting into?" ++ If you have fun, then it is worth.
"you just need to have knowledge of how cubing works so you can achieve something"
++ Yes, chess is similar.
Chess Fundamentals by Capablanca explains in 60 pages all you need to know.
I really want to get into chess. I've been watching a lot of YT videos about it (not to study, just for entertainment), and I've gotten to a rating of ~500 (600 peek) in a couple weeks of playing on my laptop while at school. Though, I've seen books on theory that are hundreds of pages long and every good player I've seen/heard about has been playing since they were SUPER young, and that's a little discouraging. Also, they memorize sets of moves for who knows how many different openings, and that seems really daunting. I'm really competitive, so is it worth getting into?
Also, side question that might help me learn. I used to be super into Rubik's cubes and even went to a few competitions. Essentially, that involves memorizing algorithms (or sets of moves) to execute depending on what colors are where. However, for some of it, you just need to have knowledge of how cubing works so you can achieve something intuitively. Is chess similar to that?