What Happens if You Play Chess Everyday? (An Experiment)
Chess is a complicated game, there are many pieces with their own unique movements and when everything is active the field is a complete battle royale.
This is why some people wonder what happens if you play chess everyday? After all, effort is needed in order to excel at something. This is a question that I’m going to answer in this article, I think that this is an interesting query.
As someone who used to play chess everyday, here is what I’ve learned:
Playing chess every day will result in two main outcomes: the player will be significantly better and they are likely to attain their competency level without any decline. If they play on faster time formats they will be better in tactics, however, chess addiction is an issue that may arise.
I have tried this when I was just starting and the findings were eye-opening, playing chess everyday has its upside and downside depending on how you regulate it. I will share my findings throughout this article.
Without further ado, let’s get started.
Beginners will improve dramatically if they play chess everyday
Beginners will find the most value in playing chess everyday more than any other competency level out there, this is because people in this league don’t have any prior knowledge to build on.
Any supplementary practice will bring a lot of improvement since they are still beginners.
There is no such thing as a plateau with beginners, even learning the rules of the game will significantly improve their chances of winning (such as promotion, castling, and en passant).
They are so weak that playing chess everyday will bring them results even without guidance, practice without direction will still make them stronger.
If you are a beginner playing chess everyday will definitely bring up your competency level significantly, however there will be a plateau to this.
People won’t improve solely by continuous practice, players have to digest complementary materials at some point in order to get better.
Reading a chess book will give the best results if you are a beginner. Playing on your own can still give some result, but just not as good if you have read an actual chess book.
Eventually a plateau will emerge somewhere as you learn the fundamentals of the game, this is the time when you need additional materials.
However if you are truly a beginner by heart then just by sitting down and playing everyday will give you good results.
Playing chess everyday can give different results depending on the time control
Moving on from the initial point, what if you are not necessarily a beginner? What does playing chess everyday give you?
I primarily believe that the time control you frequently play the most will determine what you can get from playing everyday, whether it is in short format or long format.
Slower time controls will form different skill sets than what a faster time control can help you develop (and vice versa).
If you play the majority of your games on faster time controls (blitz/bullet) you are likely to excel in time management, tactics, and flagging nuances (useful in time scrambles).
Attacking is probably the thing that you look for the most in any chess game, you can spot any attacking opportunity when it is possible over the board.
This attacking mentality can be an advantage even in slower time formats, although arguably can be toxic if not managed properly. Blitz addiction is a thing after all and is bad for improvement, however with discipline, it can become a good asset.
On the other hand if you are used to playing in slower time formats (rapid/classical) then playing chess everyday will make you excel in calculation, opening, and endgames.
You are also likely to play positional (strategic) rather than aggressive (tactical), the time control will determine the habits that you will develop as a player.
Depending on the time control on which most of your games are played the result will be quite different, if you play everyday at faster time controls then you would be better at tactics.
On the other hand if you play in longer time formats you will be better at calculation/strategy.
People who play chess everyday will hardly face any decline in performance
This is another benefit that playing chess everyday can give you, you are very unlikely to lose your touch since your skills are getting used frequently. A player’s skill usually “rust” if they haven’t been touched for a long time, this can help in preventing that.
After all it is not only about developing your skills as a player, it is also about maintaining them for a long time. Playing chess everyday will ensure that your competency level will remain the same even with the passing of time, it is great.
If you play chess everyday there is a lower chance that you will ever face a decline, people who have taken a break from the game have seen a slight decline in their games.
If an individual plays continuously it would ensure that they will be up-to-date with their rising competence. They are able to put the pencil on the sharpener per se, many of the skills won’t be forgotten since it is being used at all times.
Playing chess everyday can put a person at risk of chess addiction
Earlier in this article all I have talked about are the benefits of playing chess everyday, however, there is a side effect that should be discussed as much. It is not all about rainbows, there are risks taken when one plays chess everyday.
First let’s talk about improvement, almost no strong player reached the level that they have without having additional resources to build their knowledge on.
They obviously have the experience, but they have also studied away from the board in order to get better.
This also applies to you, if you want to get better then taking some time off from the chessboard and looking at complementary materials may do a lot more respect to your improvement.
You do not want to be a robot that continuously plays and never learns, spend some time to actually study.
Second, unless you are trying to be a chess professional, I do not want you to spend the majority of your time tucking within your basement playing chess. If you are a hobbyist, you want to improve but also not get addicted to this game.
There is a danger that is present when one plays chess everyday, and this is the possibility of addiction that will negatively affect other areas of one’s life.
Almost everybody has personal responsibilities, there is a risk that chess addiction will get in the way of those. Just make sure that you do not obsess over this, almost everybody wants to improve and I get it, but don’t sacrifice your life for it.
Conclusion
To summarize, if you are a beginner then playing chess everyday might be a good challenge to tackle since it will bring results quickly. Also, make sure that you only play on time controls that give the skills that you are looking for (fast or slow).
Lastly, be sure to not get addicted to chess since it is bad for improvement and your life in general (obsession is always bad, people have to look at the bigger picture). That is all, thank you for reading.
