Unforgettable Chess Memories

Having played chess for a while, I have had many experiences with the game. In the fight to become a better player, I have also had my fair share of experiences that I feel my chess career would not be complete without. There is a famous saying about how the utmost importance should be placed more on the journey than on the destination. Don't get me wrong, the destination is an excellent motivating factor, but the journey should not be forgotten.

Everyone has their own experiences that shape the way they go about developing their chess careers. However, I feel that anyone who undergoes these 10 experiences should feel very lucky to have developed a more intimate relationship with the game of chess. I encourage all of you to share your own chess experiences in the comments below to look back to the times when this game changed your life. Here are some things everyone should experience:

1. Upsetting a very strong player.

2. Losing a completely winning position because of time.

3. Traveling outside your hometown to play in a big tournament.

4. Deciding to try out a new opening seconds before your next tournament game.

5. Watching 30 people discuss chess at the same time in a tournament hall.

6. Doing last second opening preparation for a game against a good friend or rival.

7. Discovering in post-game analysis of a game you lost that you could have won, if you had found a simple combination.

8. Discussing chess with a friend over a slice of pizza or a warm sandwich.

9. Walking around a chess store, taking a look at the wide variety of books and chess items there.

10. Watching a smile come over someone's face as you teach them something about the game that they didn't know before.

Many people say chess is just a game. But the journey you have with this game can transform your life in ways you didn't even think possible. I have won and lost my fair share of tournament games. But at the end of the day, the experiences I have had with the game are what make a lasting impression on my mind.

Feel free to share your experiences in the comments!

you forgot to mention when your are crushing someone that massively outgrades you and then you make a stupid mistake.

Agreed, the enjoyment of playing chess tournaments and the experiences that come with it have drawn me into chess more deeply. I always enjoyed chess, but not much more beyond that, I played at club level and some youth tournaments here and there when I was younger, but when I was 14 and traveled with my father to the Czech Republic to play in a 9-rounded big tournament, that really captivated and motivated me to really get into chess.

What I enjoy most with chess tournaments is when you are with more people, I have played my best tournaments when I was with a good group of people who enjoy chess, and my worst when I was on my own. I have a lot of fond memories and hope to add on those as I go. As far as your list goes, I have yet to beat a very strong player, but the rest are definitely recognizable.

Point #2 happened to me on a blitz tourney today where I finished 4/5.

http://en.lichess.org/WnC3olIY/black
(Play continued for about 15 moves and then I lost on time)

I am glad to see you all have had your own experiences with the game as well.

My favorite Experience from a real world tournament is a game with white where i found an untypical defending move with the king to the center, with quite a few pieces including queens still on board. It was the only winning move. I found it directly after offering draw to my much stronger opponent (i was in extreme time trouble) which he declined. And despite the horrifying time trouble i could win the game in a clean and beautiful way, mating him. A well known phenomena, the player in time trouble is fully concentrated.

In this tourn bulletins were made and printed out, and the most beautiful game (of ~ 150 games) of the round got a diagram on the cover. When next day i entered the tournament room i found that the final position of my game was the diagram for the bulletin for that round :-)

I also learned another lesson in connection with that game. I was inexperienced and had not analyzed the game very deep after. I thought, when i win, it must probably be a good line. As a result my next Opponent who played this variation against me a few months later completely outplayed me. My "beautiful" game was part of his preparation and being a pro he had analyzed it carefully and improved blacks play. Since then i dont let the joy about the win fool me. I analyze all my games carefully, independent of the result.

1. Yes, but yet only in blitz. I was elevated for the whole day when I first beat a GM in a 3 0. Here's the game if anyone interested.
http://en.lichess.org/qetAX106#0

5. I love when a lot of people gather around one board and discuss some complicated position with tons of tactics and variations.

X. Going up the rating ladder is very motivating. On one of the sites that I first played chess, there are still records of me playing like a patzer (a new player gets rating of 1600, I dropped down to 1300 back then, now I've recently reached 2600 there).

Another nice experience were the table tennis matches in another tourn. The tourn was held in summer, sun was shining, warm weather. It was played in a school and two rounds per day were played. In the break between the rounds a lot of chess players joined the table tennis matches.

It was only one table, and in the beginning only two boys were playing, everyone having a racket. In the end like 50 people or so, from 5 to 70 years stood enqueued around the table. Everyone used things like chess books etc because no one had a racket.

Each player played the ball once, then he walked around the board to the queue of players on the other side of the board waiting to play the ball. Then the next player after him played the ball and so on. If one made an error he was out. The last two players then got the holy rackets from the boys and played a short match to figure out the winner. Very fun, especially the comments during the game, when someone did not catch the ball. And if one of the loudmouths had to leave, everyone was like "oooooh!", Very funny :-)