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 Post subject: Truth, beauty and annihilation: my quest for chess mastery
Post #1 Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2016 8:08 pm 
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/14/truth-beauty-and-annihilation-a-life-in-chess

Touches on a lot of issues I wrestle with when playing Go. Here is a small excerpt:

Quote:
...Desjarlais, though, doesn’t stop there. He examines this peculiar passion, the reasons we become addicted. “For some, chess is a hobby picked up along the way,” he writes, “while for others it’s a cathedral of truth and beauty. The attractions often relate to the drama that each game promises, the competitive challenge in pitting one’s skills against another’s, the intricate complexity that comes with any chess position, the rewarding intellectual conversation that takes place between two minds during a game, how focused concentration can take a person into a domain of pure thought removed from the hassles of everyday life, the way chess enables people to know their mind better, the pleasures of learning and participating in the conceptual history of modern chess, the camaraderie to be found at chess clubs, the thrill of accomplishing something creative at the board, and the way in which truth and beauty – and perhaps a measure of wisdom – can be found in chess.”


This post by belikewater was liked by 2 people: Bonobo, swannod
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 Post subject: Re: Truth, beauty and annihilation: my quest for chess maste
Post #2 Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2016 8:30 pm 
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I saw this article earlier today and intended to post it here. I agree that there are significant parallels for anyone who wishes to imbue meaning in playing the game of go.


This post by jeromie was liked by: Bonobo
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 Post subject: Re: Truth, beauty and annihilation: my quest for chess maste
Post #3 Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 5:08 am 
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The book he's advertising is described in the Guardian online bookshop as "A doomed-to-fail attempt to become a grandmaster offers a wry take on both chess and midlife identity." :)

Maybe one for the Christmas list. btw the book he quotes, "Counterplay: an Athropologist at the Chessboard" is pretty good.

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 Post subject: Re: Truth, beauty and annihilation: my quest for chess maste
Post #4 Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 5:56 am 
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This article was also shared in the German DGoB forum and I was also about to post it here … I often feel the same, like “why am I doing this to myself?”

And now off to the pending moves in my correspondence games which I’ve been procrastinating with …

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