Isn’t chess kind of a ridiculous thing to be spending 7 hours a day on? It’s a freaking board game.
I guess it’s just as ridiculous as golf, fishing, poker or any other recreation people are able to play professionally. Unfortunately, now that computers have become virtually unbeatable, I believe it will either lose a lot of it’s appeal or it will evolve into something such as Bobby Fischer’s random chess. In random chess the pieces on the back rank are randomly placed so it becomes a little more dynamic, and less dependent on memorizations of opening lines and theories. There are some very strong women players, such as the polgar sisters. I just think that it’s encouraged enough for females to pick up the game early, more than any inherent female deficiencies. I would estimate there are at least twenty times the number of male chess players as female, and think it’s more of a societal thing. If ya get bored, look up the pay outs for some of the larger tournaments, you’ll see why they “waste” their time. If you are a world class player, there is quite a bit of money in it. Having said all this, I am afraid it might make people go insane ala Bobby Fischer. Gesh what a nut job he turned out to be.
Do you find it ridiculous to spend 7-8 hours a day at your job, cause for these people that is what it is. A job.
It's a creative pursuit requiring visualization, imagination, analysis and courage. It is a struggle of wills. But most of all it is beautiful.
I had roommates in college who played poker and blackjack probably 20 - 30 hours a week, bunched into 8 - 10 hour sessions. At the start of the year they would often play until 4 AM, until they knew who to play and who not to play.
I had some great friendships within the chess community, and we watched the situation in Iran become very dangerous in the late 70s. Played with Iranians, Indians, Chinese, Vietnamese and lots of Europeans.
For some reason I didn’t date a lot. Wonder why.