Dojo Talks: Chess Addiction

In this episode of Dojo Talks, the sensei discuss addiction in chess.
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Podcast: chessdojotalks.podbean.com/

[@alfredofavati9870]

I'm addicted to dojotalks.

[@juhonieminen4219]

22:30 Jesse goes wild with amazing stuff about individualization and failing traditional narratives that no longer can give us life-long goals in modern society. Wow.

[@lp4969]

The type of addiction Kraai mentioned is the one I most resonate with, I wouldn't say I'm addicted because it's not affecting my personal life but it's pretty close

[@nomoreblitz]

May I ask if most of your time goes to blitz? Or Chessable? or something else?

[@michaelflaherty3202]

I like Jesse's idea that having a quest helps with finding meaning. Definitely matches with my experience.

[@nomoreblitz]

Some semantics... Perhaps distinguish "addiction" and "passion" based on the effects: a "passion" causes mostly enjoyment and a sense of improvement/satisfaction in life, while an "addiction" causes too much regret. The Blitz-tilt reminds me of gambling. (I stay way from both.) But studying and playing slower time-controls seem to be outside of a reasonable meaning for "addiction." 50:05 Yes. Some of us are "addicted" to the honesty, fairness, and beauty of Chess.

[@lucybrown1929]

I love to play bullet and blitz; but for the most part, both have probably been detrimental to my life, let alone to my chess. The only exception is when I'm trying to master a new opening and I use bullet and blitz to get a feel for the types of positions that arise. If I had the discipline to use b&b for that alone, then I might be able to justify it a little bit more. Unfortunately, that has not been the case.

[@zwebzz9685]

One thing I learned over time with online blitz is you need to just resign instantly if you have real life interjection. Your friends and family don’t want to wait for your attention and your rating will be right back where it belongs after 2 games. Easier said than done though. I have played probably 25k+ blitz games. It didn’t help my rating at all. It did probably help in my youth though to play on icc because my scholastic competition was all so weak. As far as repeating the same mistakes I have gotten mated in the pirc in probably 7000 blitz games

[@ChessGainz]

I love how as soon as Kostya leaves it just becomes story time with Jesse 🤣

[@mouselipschanneltyrinprice7130]

Isn't there a difference between being so in love with something that you devote as much time as possible to it and being "addicted" to it? I got "bit by the chess bug" when I was about 17 around 1977 and I ate, breathed and dreamed chess. When I could not find many opponents I turned to every book I could find on chess in the library. Are all passions addiction? Maybe I could answer my own question through word definitions... passion has a connotation of affliction! Maybe that's why I say I got "bit by the chess bug."

[@Trynottoblink]

Love this DojoTalks stuff, keep them coming

[@Diffusion8]

Great topic! I stayed up once till 0650hrs playing blitz all night like a rabid lunatic and all I did was lose rating points and play like an idiot. That was the last straw for me. I basically stay away from blitz/bullet now. As Jesse said, it's bad for your chess!

[@ImmortalWazir]

I really liked how you guys discussed different types of chess addictions and went deep because just like any other addiction it also has many layers to it.

[@kdas7590]

I don't have a problem, not at all. I have a solution!

[@mitchellfabian7694]

I appreciate that Kostya spoke on how this is different from an actual addiction. I'm sure there are people who are truly addicted to chess, but I really dislike throwing the word around. A lot of people throw mental health terms around when they aren't true, and it lessens the meaning of the word. If people say they're addicted to chess but have no real consequence from it, they will not be as understanding of someone with a real addiction.

[@executivelifehacks6747]

Hmmm. Addiction to chess has consequences too. "The ability to play chess is the sign of a gentleman. The ability to play chess well is the sign of a wasted life".- Morphy

[@lockdowndb4863]

Imagine Jesse going to an addicts' anonymous meeting and after everyone else starts talking about their substance abuse Jesse confesses he is addicted to blitz chess and tries to explain to them that it is an addiction and how it is possible and very common😂😂😂

[@kwhd559]

Addiction carries a very negative connotation, but the thing is everybody is addicted or passionate (It's a very fine line) about something, some things or someone. If I didn't have an outlet to be passionate about something like chess, I would go crazy from the pure drudgery of everyday life. It dawned on me recently that the main seduction of the TV Series 'The Queen's Gambit' for so many of the uninitiated was that finally here was a show that didn't perpetuate the stereotype of all chess players as emotionless nerds or brainiacs but as real people with flaws, insecurities and addictions like everybody else. Also for women and men to a lesser extent, the confidence, sexiness and power exuded by lead actress Anya Taylor Joy when she dominated men over the chessboard was a real revelation for many who viewed the chess world as a boring, uncompetitive and bloodless place. How do you know if you are addicted to chess? Well when a young Bobby Fischer was asked what other interests he had outside of chess, he answered by saying that the world could be divided into two groups, those that played chess and those that didn't and he was only interested in the former. How extreme are you? Very cathartic show guys, loving the sharing and caring.

[@floridaman6982]

I agree but the way I see it addiction has no long term benefits like the rat that wont eat to push the brain zapper. When you do something that takes time and you can be proud of it doesn’t give you that instant gratification. Like eating fast food vs cooking a nice dinner. I bet you can guess which one is a common addiction haha. I play chess literally non stop because its on my phone. Maybe the move is to delete the app because this is actually terrible I can’t get anything done and by the end of the week I’m stunned where my time went. Since bobby Fischer was a world champion, he put in the work to achieve that outcome vs people like me who just play and play and play for nothing with no goals no new ideas etc

[@althompson3085]

Like the structure analogy. Enjoy the conversation between you thtee.

[@mikem668]

Kahneman is in the building!!! It's an interesting question whether learning is primarily about the slow. There are many tasks where the goal is to increase speed without losing accuracy. Playing the guitar, I ran into a recommendation to practice scales at a speed where you can play them perfectly, then increase the speed gradually. In chess you can't avoid mistakes, but I see a similarity between the pattern recognition on the fretboard and the chess board. I don't disagree with Jesse that you need to know slow before you know fast. But at some level the slow is transferred to the fast.

[@JStack]

2:17 breaking bad alternate timeline "JESSE, WE NEED TO PLAY BLITZ!"

[@marinadelawareusa2390]

very helpful

[@iancunningham2440]

Another good way to use blitz chess is to practice fundamentals, as shown on the Building Better Habits show on the channel called "chessbrah extra". (Admittedly, this can still lead to addiction if you don't establish & maintain the right boundaries (as discussed at the end of this podcast))

[@Cant_find_good_Handle]

17:32 saying chess is not technically an addiction but is like an addiction means you haven’t completed step one of the recovery process. 😂

[@Markwaltonn5860]

I've been playing chess since 72 and I'm not addicted😂

[@bchain6416]

I am a a clear chess addict, I play 4 hours of online chess every day at least.

[@darinbrown6791]

A lot of what is considered "addictive" is based on societal perception. Getting an advanced degree (esp. a ph.d. in a scientific, mathematical, or philosophical subject) requires immersion and dedication that in any other "normal" situation would be considered addiction. For example, if you're a graduate student in math or physics, you pretty much eat, breathe, and dream math 24 hours a day. But because these are respected subjects whose degrees can lead to high-paying careers, this is not considered "addiction", it's just making use of your talents. But a similar level of immersion in an activity that is not as respected, or does not pay well, is treated as suspect or unhealthy behavior.

[@nate.t1739]

Being relatively new to chess I work a bit slower given the opening prep and continuations are not 'theory' yet. I've worked countless hours in the 15/10 time interval and it seems more classical. If you're hooked and want to develop those long think muscles I would encourage the transition over with settings geared to curate opponents within a 50 point rating range so you can learn little by little. We're all drinking out of a fire hose from time to time but this really levels the playing field and sets the foundation for growth. Careful though, my strategy is addicting.

[@jairuskersey8311]

I also suffer chess addition. All my free time is taken by chess which is just too debilitating for my personal life.

[@slowslav6653]

love it

[@Heroball299]

I like blitz and rapid and I used to play compulsively but I hated losing so much it took away a lot of the fun. I just don't think I've got the right temperament for the game, I can't stand losing.

[@TheGoat7463]

I love chess!

[@Yornek1]

50TH comment here.... hey Jesse I like how you put the Chess book by Lazslo Polgar prominently in your background. BTW.... In the Bible King's David's father's name is Jesse!!!

[@curtisw0234]

You don't reach National Master or above without having some sort of addiction to chess

[@KFPRENEGADE]

Sounds like you are talking more about an obsession rather than addiction in most instances of chess players. Though that is not to say that there aren’t chess players who are addicted to the game.

[@peepshow1035]

I was sitting in my car in between rounds at a tournament this last weekend and watched the KZbin video of Jesse hitting 2700. It was the best tournament I've ever had, drawing a 2168 player and defeating a 2106 player. My studying has paid off.

[@blazsovdat8677]

congrats

[@zwebzz9685]

Good job

[@ChessLifestyle]

I'm definitely in agreement that Blitz is not the best form of training, but to play devil's advocate, couldn't I argue playing blitz helps my pattern recognition by exposing me to lots of tactical patterns in quick succession? Or is there reason to believe these patterns don't properly sink in during a game? I bring this up because there seemed to be a consensus between you guys, especially from what Jesse said, that there's nothing you can get from Blitz (without analysis).

[@lockdowndb4863]

Jesse at the beginning really made my boy Kostya sound like a drug addict😂😂😂

[@orwbarcelona01]

Don´t you guys thinking that "long chess" is also mainly reproducing existing knowledge and experience, i.e. that the gap between blitz and long is not really that huge?

[@ChessDojo]

Could be! Most of the best blitz players also happen to be the best classical players

[@Raudavatn]

42:00 my name is Giovanni Giorgio but everybody calls me Giorgio

[@cedrics7374]

Nope.. it’s not kind of an addiction, it IS (or at least can be) an addiction. Since you can’t stop with it and it interferes with important tasks like sleeping and working.

[@slowslav6653]

my kind of chess addictions that I should study for school but I am really lazy and I would prefer to watch chess all day on You Tube.

[@slowslav6653]

@KingZlatan :)

[@lockdowndb4863]

Jesse the same thing happened to me with my eyes back in September and I'm only 18. My eye balls literally got soar from being on screens all day, especially because I had online school to the point where I couldn't look at any screens or do anything related to chess online and I had to wear sunglasses indoors because of how sensitive my eyes were to bright lights. I wasn't even what I would consider super addicted to chess at that point(I was only studying/playing it for 6-8 hours a day total)

[@trlspann]

Kostya, if you could cut down on the excessive use of “like” the flow of your contributions would be elevated greatly.

[@ChessDojo]

Easier said than done 😂

[@ilanpi]

You don't mention playing speed chess for money. I believe that this is very constructive, because losing becomes much more of a big deal.

[@kirkd1631]

Among women chess is nowadays sexy. Trust me. Imagine three mid thirties having a girls out evening and talking what their spouses do. Two of them mention some kind of fortnite or assassins creed gaming and the third one says, well my boyfriend plays chess - with a triumphant smile ...

[@cedrics7374]

No.. that’s just your imagination 😂

[@user-dc6sb9dn7w]

probably a bit off-topic question but here I come anyway: i want to reach FM level of playing strength in 5 years from 2070ish, how many coaching sessions would it take to assess where my weaknesses lie and what i need to work on the most?

[@JS-zb9vx]

16th

[@danielguel1897]

Second

[@E-uj5jb]

First