Helloooooo!
Chess Chapters is back! And there’s another player now.
Yup, that’s me! I’m Sreekar, the new co-author. I've been playing chess on and off for about 17 years, and I’m so excited to be here.
I bumped into Akanksha on Twitter, and got to know about her newsletter. I read her first issue and loved it!
I texted her, we had a good conversation, and even played some games. It was fun!
Then, I pitched an idea: let's run this newsletter together. She agreed, and here we are now.
To kick things off, I want to tell you a bit about my chess story.
Chess—My First Love
I was in third grade when I first learned how to move chess pieces. For the next two years, I lost every game I played against my dad.
However, with every loss, my desire to win grew stronger!
It was on February 27, 2007, that I finally drew a game with my dad. Although it was a tie, it felt like a huge win for me. I was on cloud nine that day.
Then, it didn't take long for me to beat my dad. And once I tasted victory, I went on to win more games.
As I started winning against my dad, I looked for other opponents. I found them in school—my friends.
But there was a problem: We couldn't take chessboards to school because of obvious reasons (teachers, classes, blah blah).
So, my friends and I came up with paper chess. It's simple:
On a piece of paper, draw one large square that contains 64 small squares
Put a dot in alternate squares to indicate the dark squares
Use capital letters for white pieces (for example, "K" for King and "B" for Bishop)
Use lowercase letters for black pieces (for example, "k" for King and "b" for Bishop)
To move a piece, erase the symbol from one square and write it on a new square
That's it—a simple yet effective way to play chess during class without a chessboard. 😂
With this crazy invention, we played numerous chess games and had so much fun! I had the most fun because I used to win against all my friends. 😎
When I was 13, I played my first tournament and won it. I still have that trophy, and whenever I look at it, I feel so happy and proud.
The more I played chess, the more obsessed I became with the game. At 17, I even considered ditching academics to pursue chess full-time, but you know that's not how things work in Indian households.
During my undergraduate years, I played chess on and off. I couldn't find many people in my college who were interested in chess (or maybe I just didn't look for them).
After graduation, I was busy building my career and didn't play much chess. I only played online occasionally.
Though I didn’t play regularly, my love for chess continues to this day.
And now, teaming up with
for Chess Chapters feels like a great way to reconnect with my first love—Chess. It’s a new chapter in my chess story.Now, I want to hear your story.
When did you start playing chess? What’s your journey with the game?
Hit reply and let me know.
This is an inspiring story, Sreekar. I also learned chess with my father. The first draw after many losses would definitely feel like a huge win. (Though I don’t think I ever drew with my dad.)
Paper chess is straightforward yet so clever. I like the dot for each dark square, although it’s technically not necessary. I’m guessing you had to pencil in the pieces pretty lightly or else the paper would quickly become hard to read. A 30 move miniature would already require around 60 erasures!