The Toxic Pursuit of Greatness in Chess
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chrisw
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- Full name: Christopher Whittington
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Stephen Ham
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The Toxic Pursuit of Greatness in Chess
Thanks, Chris.
This was an interesting video, although their cited evidence is a bit extreme. The focus is on some well-known "outliers" e.g. Fischer. But statistical outliers are exactly that - they don't represent the majority.
Indeed, chess can easily be an addiction - a single-minded obsession. I was addicted to chess. Fortunately I knew I had to break that addiction if I was to ever have a meaningful life. Still, I was able to return to competitive chess later and become USA's top-rated ICCF player for decades.
Throughout the video they cite the example of Peter Winston. I knew Peter Winston well due to playing correspondence chess with him in the 1970s and sharing analyses, which he used in his World Junior Ch. event. After he disappeared, I was called by several investigators who tried to locate him...or his body. My address and phone number were found among Winston's saved notes.
Butler said, "Winston was destroyed by chess." I think that's false, although his chess addiction didn't help his preexisting instability and deteriorating mental health. Surely his LSD addiction was a major actor.
One must also be obsessive to reach the top in all competitive sports. But sports are healthier - a built-in physical outlet exists for one's mental stress. Unfortunately, chess has no physical outlet for stress. So, mentally unstable people can deteriorate when addicted to chess.
That said, not all top chess players are neurotic/psychotic. I don't think chess makes one neurotic. Instead it can be a magnet that draws neurotics to it. Chess can then be harmful, but only to those who already have a mental problem(s). I know several OTB GMs - one is almost a neighbor, and he's a very healthy gentleman - regarding mental health.
This was an interesting video, although their cited evidence is a bit extreme. The focus is on some well-known "outliers" e.g. Fischer. But statistical outliers are exactly that - they don't represent the majority.
Indeed, chess can easily be an addiction - a single-minded obsession. I was addicted to chess. Fortunately I knew I had to break that addiction if I was to ever have a meaningful life. Still, I was able to return to competitive chess later and become USA's top-rated ICCF player for decades.
Throughout the video they cite the example of Peter Winston. I knew Peter Winston well due to playing correspondence chess with him in the 1970s and sharing analyses, which he used in his World Junior Ch. event. After he disappeared, I was called by several investigators who tried to locate him...or his body. My address and phone number were found among Winston's saved notes.
Butler said, "Winston was destroyed by chess." I think that's false, although his chess addiction didn't help his preexisting instability and deteriorating mental health. Surely his LSD addiction was a major actor.
One must also be obsessive to reach the top in all competitive sports. But sports are healthier - a built-in physical outlet exists for one's mental stress. Unfortunately, chess has no physical outlet for stress. So, mentally unstable people can deteriorate when addicted to chess.
That said, not all top chess players are neurotic/psychotic. I don't think chess makes one neurotic. Instead it can be a magnet that draws neurotics to it. Chess can then be harmful, but only to those who already have a mental problem(s). I know several OTB GMs - one is almost a neighbor, and he's a very healthy gentleman - regarding mental health.
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towforce
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Re: The Toxic Pursuit of Greatness in Chess
Gifted people (3:30):
Human chess is partly about tactics and strategy, but mostly about memory