Chess and languages - a strange combination?

Hello people,

I would like to introduce myself to you: I am a 30 year-old guy with Polish parents, who grew up in Germany and lives in Vietnam. My native langauge is German, I am fluent in English and Spanish, intermediate in Polish and French and a beginner in Russian. Furthermore, due to the similarity of languages, I usually understand everything when other chess players write comments in Italian and Portuguese in the chat room, though I do not speak these languages at all. Apart from knowing some languages, I have a Master degree in linguistics and I work as a language teacher (surprise surprise lol...).

I am not writing this in order to brag about myself, but just because I am curious. I have two passions, which seem to have very little in common: Languages and chess.

I am really curious whether these two hobbies really have nothing in common, or if there are other chess players in this community who are surprisingly good language learners or even polyglots or linguists just like me.

By the way: If you want to test my language skills, feel free to add me and challenge me to join a game with you, I am a very talkative user (but I only play classical games 20+0 because I think that it is really hard to evaluate one's real chess skill if you have a different time limit in each game).

I love chess and linguistics, too.
I'm not relatively good at chess, but I can get through the opening blindfolded. I love how language works, and I feel great finding patterns. I have been studying Esperanto for about two weeks, and I have had lots of fun.
I don't think you're too weird. :)

Since you already mentioned Esperanto... I used to be a very passionate conlanger too (conlang = constructed language, conlanger = person who constructs languages), but at some point in my life I decided that I should spend more time with natlangs (= natural languages). However, from time to time, especially when I am very bored while sitting on the bus, I still spend time with conlanging.

In both cases you have to learn some tens of thousands chunks which enable you to master it. The more chunks the better, learning as a kid helps as well as a good memory generally. And you find quite a lot of logical schemes and patterns in it. We all talk chess, don't we? :)

PS: I learned Latin for a long time which is blessing for learning lots of European languages (wie auch unsere Muttersprache deutsch, gell? ;-) )

Mi ne kredas ke la Latino lingvo estas la solvajo. Gi estas tro malnova kaj la lingvoj ŝanĝis multe. Mi pensas ke gi estas pli grava rekoni sablonoj inter malsamaj lingvoj

I'm probably more interested in conlanging, and it is cool that you brought that up. The problem with my interests is that I have haven't really found anyone to talk with about them. At least I have this thread!

If I had to learn a conlang, it would be Interlingua.
Esperanto is a Frankenstein monster. But Interlingua is a sexy woman dancing salsa with you. Yeah baby! [/ austin powers]

Just had a look at your profile
"I am from Germany, but I love in Vietnam."
You love or you live or both??
I don't know if chess and languages have so much in common, but if you learn Russian, there is really a lot to analyze! You have this advantage with Polish parents, for me Russian is my first slavistic language and my absolute favourite. Korean will be my first Asian language. Erzähl doch ein wenig über deine Zeit in Deutschland und wie du nach Vietnam gekommen bist.

Combinatorics is common to both, especially semantic and temporal order.

Many math prodigies are attracted to linguistics too, for the same reason I reckon. Gauss being a prime example.

With the increasing strength of AI, the future holds greater confluence between human and computer languages, so there's another avenue opening up. Imagine running and programming a chess engine with natural human language. ("Stockfish, is a rook lift viable for this line in the Ruy?", "Try playing this line with Tal as white and Giri as black", etc... )

Just had a look at your profile
"I am from Germany, but I love in Vietnam."
You love or you live or both??

• Oops, that was a typo... it should be "I LIVE in Vietnam", but actually both is true, my girlfriend is Vietnamese. ;)