To play for fun or to play to improve rating?
Humans are competitive. I'm not going to pay to get better, but I do as many free puzzles as I can each day on Chess.com. My lowest ranking came when I had Covid and I played anyway because I was bored. I thought I was heading to 700, 800, 900. I have to admit, my rating has dipped. I've gone on spurts of playing and if my rating goes up I get quite excited, but the habit of playing often takes over and I enjoy the game and I keep playing even if my rating goes down. I think I have this idea that if I play a few games and really concentrate and put pressure on myself to win, then my rating will go up. Sometimes I like to play instinctually and there are unseen consequences to it. I like blitz games, 5 minutes each, because there's not too much thinking. 11/22/24 Ding Liren is the world champion. I thought it was Magnus Carlsen, who I learned relinquished his title in 2022. Didn't know it was Ding Liren who took the crown in 2023. Gukesh Dommaraju is coming up be
