Verb Noun Enter

Really Bad Chess is actually really good chess. It’s the obvious joke, but it’s true.

I never liked chess because openings are arbitrary. If everyone played optimally, wouldn’t every match play out identically?

Well, Really Bad Chess randomizes your starting pieces based on your skill.

So every match is different, and immediately interesting. And it clicked.

Computer chess is a mental workout. It’ll push you as hard as you push yourself, so there’s no excuse for not trying my best.

And like exercise, it counterintuitively gives me more energy afterward, not less. Everything else feels easy in comparison: “oof, I tried my best and still lost. Might as well do some chores now.”

This has even improved my mental health. Zach Gage, if you’re reading this: I doubt you intended this game to treat depression, but it treats mine.

Anyway, while it’s true to say “computers beat humans at chess”, it’s both more complete and more interesting to say “humans built computers that beat humans at chess.”