Growing up, my parents weren’t wealthy, but they loved me deeply and always did their best to provide the essentials for a growing child. My dad often left his laptop for me to use, and that was my gateway into the digital world. I quickly got the hang of using a computer, and I spent hours exploring online games and watching cartoons.
I was around 10 years old then. Most of my time, I spent my leisure solving math problems, watching TV, or playing video games. But after a while, I got bored of the same routine. One day, I wandered to our games closet—where we stored board games—and spotted the chessboard pack. I’d always noticed it sitting there, but I never bothered to open it because I didn’t understand the game or how it worked.
That day, curiosity won. I unpacked the box and flipped through the instruction manual. I found it fascinating how the game assigned names to each piece—knight, pawn, queen—as if you were in charge of your own little kingdom 🏰, fighting to protect it at all costs. At first, I thought pawns were weak and unimportant, but that misconception changed quickly. I learned about each piece and their unique moves—the rook, the queen, the bishop, and the knight. It made me laugh how the king, who must be protected at all costs, barely does anything on the board 😂.
Reading the rules was the easy part. Testing my knowledge was next. I turned on the computer and opened a chess app, making sure to set the difficulty level to easy (LOL 😅). I kept losing to the engine, but every loss taught me something. I started noticing patterns, traps, and favorable openings. I played again and again until I became more confident and flexible with my moves.
At the time, I didn’t know many people who played chess, so most of my games were against the engine. Eventually, I got to play with a teacher at school—and that made me fall even deeper in love with the game.
Fast forward to my first year at university—I had roommates who were really good at chess. I told them I could play... and then proceeded to lose repeatedly 😅. That’s when I realized something important: fundamentals matter. Up until then, I had been playing based mostly on vibes. My intuition was decent—especially during the middle game—but I lacked the core knowledge needed to truly grow.
I decided to take it seriously. I got chess books and started studying. I learned how to avoid weak squares, coordinate my pieces better, and ensure every piece had room to function. I stopped making moves that blocked my own strategy. I picked up a ton of helpful tips, including solid openings.
One powerful lesson chess has taught me is: never give up. Even when you're down and your opponent has more material, with grit and finesse, you can still turn the game around. Just like in life.
Studying the fundamentals changed everything. I became a much stronger player. I wouldn’t call myself a master just yet, because I still have a long way to go, but I’m definitely much better than I used to be 💪🏽.
The recently concluded Hive Chess Tournament S20 inspired this post. It made me reflect on how far I’ve come. I received my reward yesterday, and I just want to say thank you to the chess community ♟️, 
I hope this post encourages someone out there who’s been curious about chess but keeps procrastinating learning it. Just start. Pick up the board or open an app—get in the game.
Chess players, how did your journey begin? I’d love to read your stories too! 📖
See you all in Season 21 of the Hive Chess Competition! 🏁✨
All images used in this post is mine.