Reasons for Living: Chess

my youtube history is full of chess games

Lisa Lane, US Women’s Chess Champion, playing at the Marshall Chess Club, NYC in 1960

As with so many neurodivergent people out there, I tend to latch onto a particular interest and immerse myself in its swampy waters. Past special interests have included pop stars, actors, books, authors, and most recently, the great game of cerebral people the world over: chess.

I watch hours of chess games on YouTube per day. I can tell you that Levy Rozman, an International Master (but not yet a Grandmaster), loves the Caro-Kann Defense and that upper-level players and Grandmasters use the Catalan, which turns to meaningless goo in the hands of players 1000 ELO and below. (And, honestly, probably of 2000 ELO and below as well.) I know the controversies about cheating, mostly whipped up by legendary Grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik, which may or may not have affected Stanford graduate and all-around nice guy Grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky to the point of death. I could tell you about Anna Cramlin’s family; Anna is a Master in chess, and her parents are both Grandmasters, which is made all the more exciting by Pia Cramlin’s groundbreaking achievements as a woman in chess.

In other words? I can tell you a lot about chess. You know what I can’t tell you?