At what rating was chess the most fun for you?

The more you know about the game, the more you can appreciate its beauty.
That's why I never understood those players who don't want to study who say "I just want to have fun playing".
They would have more fun if they realised they just played an deep endgame with all its finess.

GM Eric Hansen, creator of Chessbrah, says he never studied nor read books or had a coach before achieving his title. Play he did, bullet and blitz games to no end. Just the opposite of what is considered the correct approach. He just loves to play. A natural talent.

lolz @ #12

@Strategymaster thanks. So, you mean not to know is a bless?

A lot of strong players say things like this. eg. Short said: in his early days he didnt knew much about the Sicilian but slaughtered his opponents, now when he knows more about it, he has more and more draws.

Some players actively jump into the unknown, to be inspired:

Nisipeanu said he seeks for positions which he doesnt know (and if it doesnt work he tries to do it in the endgame).

Kramnik said, its good to be a bit too optimistic.

Ivanchuk plays different openings in every game.

Variation seems to be good.

Edit: to the patzers reading this: Still, learning the standards in first place is necessary. So open that endgame book and read through it ;-)

I don't think Eric Hansen is not telling the truth about the way he learned to play chess. It is counter-intuitive but I can see a few rare people learn completely by their own experiences. In analysis with Yassar for the World Cup, he'll often say he has not a clue about this or that ending or theory on the next best move. He has to "look at it" and decide. Has an incredible memory for games he's observed. Plays by instinct. He's incredibly fast in hyper bullet although he got squished today by Naka for quite a few games he reported.

@Strategymaster, off topic question...

I wanted to look at the examples of openings you gave but then I realized that in your line (a), after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 b6(?!) 6.c3 c5 , you have 7.0-0 which is illegal for White because the kingside knight hasn't moved.

What should be White's 7th move here instead that would best demonstrate your point? Nf3 maybe?

@mdinnerspace IM Greg Shahade more or less said Hansen is lying about never doing any sort of studying.

And I don't believe a word from Greg Shahade. Do a little research of his background. A "member" of the privileged class, saying he's never worked a day in his life. Look up his resume. Simple enough and make your own conclusions about whatever Greg has to say.
He has an opinion about everything. Way off base most of the time. He is making accusations right and left regarding topics he has no direct knowledge of. Shahade has made statements that are borderline liable in his accusations.
Why would Hansen "lie" about his background?" Eric is dedicated to promoting chess. He is one of the lucky few who has a natural talent.
Certainly, everyone looks at books. But as far as "study" goes and spending time engrossed in books varies with everyone. Some learn by playing, others by study.

Watch the broadcast tomorrow of the World Cup with Yasser and Eric. Entertaining stuff.

@trickynick #10

7.Nge2 is the most played move

@mdinnerspace @BigGreenShrek @CafeMorphy

No one learns by just playing. Or by just reading. Learning is done by finding concepts and recreating them in the own world, connecting them to other concepts in the own world.

There are different ways to do so. Listen about it, read about it, are passive methods. Talk about it, write about it, think about it are active methods. Choose your best method, but dont fool yourself, see these five videos:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH95h36NChI

Also learn to make breaks and learn to properly define things.

@mdinnerspace I'm familiar with Shahade's background. What part of it makes you think he's untrustworthy?