I am in awe of great chess players.

Recently I’ve been playing a bit of chess online on chess.com. I do the daily puzzles, and occasionally I play a game or two against the AI at a level I can sometimes beat. I also play a long slow game against my daughter’s boyfriend. We make a few moves a day, and right now he’s kicking my butt in a game.

I’m not very good, but I am getting a bit better. However, I get fixated on making aggressive moves and end up leaving myself vulnerable to attacks. I can’t see too many moves ahead, and when I try my opponent seems to find moves that I just didn’t see.

On the other end of the spectrum is Hikaru Nakamura. He moves so fast and sees the game so far ahead that I can’t even follow his play. For example, when I watch clips like this I have no idea how he can see so far ahead?

I’d love to be able to see the game like this, to understand so clearly not just what I plan to do but what my opponent will do as well. But I’m not a grandmaster and never will be one. I just hope that I can improve my play a bit and enjoy some competition that’s just slightly better than me. My limitations and lack of years of practice won’t stop me from marvelling at the strategy of incredible players, or at how people can play speed chess and see so many implications of so many moving pieces simultaneously. It’s simply amazing to watch!