White album, Sgt Pepper, or Abbey road only. or a very few other songs.
What do you do to unwind after chess study?
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TheAOD wrote:
Go deep into debt. Go bankrupt. Sell everything you own. get a crappy job doing manual labor. Then after chess games you'll think about how tough life is instead of how tough chess is. It's not really a solution but it will get your mind off chess.
I realize that this is sarcastic. suffice it to say there are more important things and chess should be there to get your mind off those things. Not the other way arround. I long for the day when all I can think about is how to force a player into a carefully laid trap of forks and pins.
Doesnt apply to everyone. eg I go on months of chess binge to recharge me after months of 24x7 political activism. And while i am typing this i have zcommunications.org open in another tab [firefox] where i am postng something. And other political tabs that i will not talk about.
Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Wow!
TheAOD wrote:
Go deep into debt. Go bankrupt. Sell everything you own. get a crappy job doing manual labor. Then after chess games you'll think about how tough life is instead of how tough chess is. It's not really a solution but it will get your mind off chess.
I realize that this is sarcastic. suffice it to say there are more important things and chess should be there to get your mind off those things. Not the other way arround. I long for the day when all I can think about is how to force a player into a carefully laid trap of forks and pins.
Well I'm sorry that you have such worries preoccupying your life right now. You seem to assume that I don't though, which is rather judgmental having never met me. Chess is my escapism from my life's difficulties (which are relative, I realize I'm better off than a great portion of the world), so I'm anxious to get rid of this mental tic that takes the enjoyment out of learning chess from me. Perhaps your point though is I just should not study the game so seriously, which may be a valid piece of advice.
normajeanyates wrote:
For most pure mathematicians at least, occasional tranquillisers are a must. And we sleep with pen and writing pad at hand (even years after retirement) because often ideas come and suddenly interrupt sleep, and if you dont write them down they are lost.. this is the only aspect btw that the film Proof doesnt mention - otherwise it covers all the upsides and downsides of good puremath depts.
So after chess study also I sometimes need tranqs to sleep - but not clonazepam (rivotril) because it interferes with material sinking in while you sleep. Nitrazepam, diazepam, lorazepam, zopiclone are all okay; so are the almost-universally-illegal flunitrazepam [rohypnol] and methaqualone [quaalude].
I dont advice any cannabis-related substance -- they do worse than interfering with the info sinking in - they distort the information in 'aethetic' ways, so later all you may be convinced of a line because your memory says so - but the line had been amended before it reaches long-term memory!
In short, chess and grass do not mix. I keep them separate.
This is interesting. I never had any real inclination for math, and never imagined the possibility of it being obsessive and obtrusive in ones thoughts. I guess anything that is very abstract has the chance of bearing this quality? I've always admired people who were skilled at math, and I suppose chess too, although the latter you probably get the stigma of "So what? you're good at a game, not anything useful to me or society". I'll probably avoid the sleep tranquilizers as I'm very leery of drugs, but I'll remember that about cannabis. Thankful to have gotten all the replies, I'll probably give them all a try and see if it helps (couldn't sleep last night just as I was dreading).
Play with my children!!!
tikkaboy wrote: My lady friend and I make love after a good game of chess...only the ones SHE wins of course.
u must let her win EVERYTIME
mercytononeZ wrote: tikkaboy wrote: My lady friend and I make love after a good game of chess...only the ones SHE wins of course.
u must let her win EVERYTIME
...exhausting
I like to destroy all brain cells I've used with a tasty beverage
ps. youre lucky to have a girl who plays chess. I've only had one girlfriend who knew how to play, luckily not better than me:)
Jul 6, 2008
0
#30
yoshtodd wrote:
Well I'm sorry that you have such worries preoccupying your life right now. You seem to assume that I don't though, which is rather judgmental having never met me. Chess is my escapism from my life's difficulties (which are relative, I realize I'm better off than a great portion of the world), so I'm anxious to get rid of this mental tic that takes the enjoyment out of learning chess from me. Perhaps your point though is I just should not study the game so seriously, which may be a valid piece of advice.
This is just an opinion but it's also possible you need to slow it down a bit. I have books and I generally "work" on one chapter at a time. Spend more than a week on each chapter. Put it down occasionally and let it soak in. It is complicated that's why we enjoy it.
I haven't played regularly for over five years. I just started playing again in June. I've been playing at least 5-6 hours a day. I border on obsession as well. I'm getting better really fast right now. I'm afraid I'm going to hit a wall soon, but that's okay.
I have noticed that if I read chess books before bed it messes me up. Maybe read early and play some blitz as the night goes on to get your brain away from specifics.
Don't be in too big of a hurry to get good. It will come with time.
TheAOD wrote:
This is just an opinion but it's also possible you need to slow it down a bit. I have books and I generally "work" on one chapter at a time. Spend more than a week on each chapter. Put it down occasionally and let it soak in. It is complicated that's why we enjoy it.
I haven't played regularly for over five years. I just started playing again in June. I've been playing at least 5-6 hours a day. I border on obsession as well. I'm getting better really fast right now. I'm afraid I'm going to hit a wall soon, but that's okay.
I have noticed that if I read chess books before bed it messes me up. Maybe read early and play some blitz as the night goes on to get your brain away from specifics.
Don't be in too big of a hurry to get good. It will come with time.
Thanks, you're probably right I should take it slower and not be in such a rush to try and learn everything.
yoshtodd wrote:
I'm facing a problem when I try and study chess books that are real involved, with lots of diagrams and lines of notation (so basically every book that is more advanced than beginner). I find that that night, and sometimes even for days afterward my mind is so preoccupied with chess that I can't sleep at all even though I'm exhausted. Even throughout the day my mind feels hazy and continually conjures a board and pieces in various positions.
Tonight I'm looking for some simple, browser based arcade game or something, hoping to distract my mind so I can sleep. What methods do you use to get your mind back to normal when it starts obsessing over chess? I mean to the point that it interferes with sleep and concentration.
I used to feel like what you're describing, but not as badly. My intense chess study lead me to the age-old practice of RATIONING TIME. Now, whenever I study chess, I give it no more than 1 hour (please don't try to one-up me and go for 2-hours, I've been there, done that). Right before I begin I set my Timex Ironman alarm for the next hour; I get one hour and that's it (no more of that 3-hour chess study mess). AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANT!!! STOP STUDYING CHESS LATE AT NIGHT!! At night, let your body WIND DOWN to get ready for sleep. When you study chess you're reving up you're brain. Your brain and your sleep hormones don't take kindly to late-night mental activities, such as chess study, playing chess, planning your budget, planning your bill payments, etc. You must wind down for sleep at least 90 minutes to an hour before you actually plan to sleep (this is actually a big problem in the U.S. these days).Among my last tips, be sure to drink enough water as you study chess and as you play many chess games. And after studying chess, don't play chess for at least 2 hours. It's just like doing a physical work out (really, it is). I've known some people who do this, but no one should play physical activities like basketball, soccer, etc. after a grueling hour work out with weights, nor right after a long aerobics workout. REST is as necessary as the activity you're doing to strengthen yourself. I wish you many checkmates, my friend (just not against ME).
diskamyl> could you tell more about this interval training please? How do you do it? Isn't it harmful to your heart?
Interval training should not be harmful to your heart if done correctly, and it's a training method utilized by many professional athletes.
*** Disclaimer *** Consult a doctor and a personal trainer before beginning a new training regiment--really! Not only is that safer, but a little help in the beginning will go a long way towards making your training regimen efficient.
Step 1: Determine your max safe heartrate, and recovery heartrate. A VO2 test by someone who knows what they're doing should cost $50-$75.
Step 2: Buy a heart rate monitor ($50-$75) and exercise intensely until you reach your max safe heartrate and hold it for a bit.
Step 3: Then begin active recovery (low-intensity exercise).
Step 4: Once your heart rate reaches your recovery heartrate, begin exercising more intensely to get back to your max safe heartrate.
Step 5: Repeat!
At first, people often take 5-7 minutes to fully recover, but soon the body learns to recover fully in under a minute. You can imagine how useful a quick recovery can be in sports (tennis, basketball, running, rowing, etc). It's also great for weight loss.
Go deep into debt. Go bankrupt. Sell everything you own. get a crappy job doing manual labor. Then after chess games you'll think about how tough life is instead of how tough chess is. It's not really a solution but it will get your mind off chess.
I realize that this is sarcastic. suffice it to say there are more important things and chess should be there to get your mind off those things. Not the other way arround. I long for the day when all I can think about is how to force a player into a carefully laid trap of forks and pins.