Chess Used To Scare The Crap Out Of Me
Dear Worlds, I am 34, and last week I played chess for the first time. It was a slow day at the store, my colleague had brought a board and suggested we played. I was terrified. I remember my dad trying to teach me when I was a kid. I was under the impression that if I could play, I would be validated as pa rt of the smartest people in the room. The ones that were superior because they were very good at math. In fact they were so good that, to them, it was play. I wasn't bad at math, but I was just good enough to pass as smart. Which I had a feeling wasn't the real thing. My dad tried to teach me the basic rules of chess. Once. Twice. But my brain refused to engage. My brain said, it's not safe to take the time to think three steps ahead. If my attention is focused on this for too long, I might miss the signs of an immediate danger elsewhere. And what if playing chess is not a tool I can use to go through life safely? And what if... I lose? That sounded risky. I
