Short story: The old Chessmaster died doing what he loved to do, playing chess

We can be smart at chess but dumb at life
@innertalks (23744)
Australia
November 22, 2023 9:24pm CST
The old Chessmaster, Artove Breskevski, was approaching 80 now, but he remained a formidably strong chess player. And so, he was playing a match in his latest tournament, and he was ahead in the game, with a nice attacking position, favouring him on the board. He subsequently pushed this advantage home, and so he won the game, rather easily, in the end. He got up out of his chair, having been sitting there for a long time, and he stretched, but then he fell back down again. He had had a massive brain stroke, and he died. Chess is a good game for people who have had a stroke to get their brains functioning well again, but here, there was no getting Artove's brain to function again, as he was dead, stone dead. Chess gives your brain a workout, but here it gave Artove a brainout, his brain was taxed too much by his intense concentration in winning his game of chess. Chess had kept Artove's brain active, and working optimally up to now, but perhaps, he should have had a health checkup, before his other bad habits led him to having a stroke. He was a lifelong smoker, and he hardly got much other exercise in his life other than his pushing the pieces on a chessboard. "Chess is mental torture." The former Chess World Champion, Garry Kasparov, said this, but for Artove, it was never torture, it was always pleasure, so he died not in torture, but in pleasure, from his just winning his last chess game, but losing the game of life. We can be smart at chess, but dumb at life. Here bad health habits destroyed the Chessmaster's life in the end, even though he was able to keep his chess ability, right up until when he died. Was it worth it? Only Artove could answer that, but not anymore, because he is dead. Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
6 people like this
3 responses
@Shavkat (141905)
• Philippines
23 Nov 23
I think he was happy to do his passion in life before passing.
2 people like this
@Shavkat (141905)
• Philippines
25 Nov 23
@innertalks I do think that humans are so adaptive to changes. However, some people are not open to this.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
25 Nov 23
@Shavkat Yes, some people are rather one directed, closed off to anything, but to their passion. It is good to broaden our interests a bit, as it makes us a more interesting, and balanced person.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
23 Nov 23
Yes, it is good to be able to live our passion, but if we are too one-sided in following only one thing like that, we do risk missing out on so many other aspects of life. Perhaps, he had very little spiritual life, for example. And yet, such passion can sometimes develop us in many other areas of our lives too.
2 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (91297)
• United States
23 Nov 23
Cute photo Steve. I love it Yes one is blessed to be doing what one likes.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
23 Nov 23
Thanks. Yes, it is far better to be able to do what we like, rather than not being able to do it. Sometimes, we also need to stretch ourselves by our doing some things that we do not like to do though, to become well-rounded in ourself, or to do things otherwise than from our just only pleasing our own desires. We might think about doing something to serve the greater good, or God, in our lives too.
2 people like this
• United States
23 Nov 23
@innertalks I am a natural born giver but not a fool. I was blessed in life to have had a career where it was not like work at all also. I am thankful to God. I was also blessed with immense struggle to survive.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
23 Nov 23
@RebeccasFarm I am retired now, but I never did find any work that I liked to do, except for one job that I had for a while, in running my own second-hand bookshop. I liked doing that, but I got caught out, as I was a bit naive around business, and I had to close the business, when the owner of the shop took it back from under my feet, one Christmas, as he wanted it for his own tax business, that he was now starting up. I was not smart enough to have a better lease agreement. It was good that you could enjoy your work. Something that does not feel like work, would be good to work in.
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (122293)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
23 Nov 23
I play video games on the Nintendo Wii machine for exercise as well as learning how to bowl and play home run derby. In the case of Artov he enjoyed playing the game he loved.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
23 Nov 23
Yes, I also play chess against the computer sometimes, but l try to get a walk in every day too. We need exercise for both the body, and the mind. The latest video games incorporate some exercise in them too.
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (122293)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
23 Nov 23
@innertalks That is very true.
2 people like this