How I Used the “Battleship" Method to Meet More Girls and Improve My Chess
They thought I was strange and crazy.
I thought there was a virus in their souls.
I didn’t have friends in school, and I didn’t care.
But what is true is true.
I wanted to spend time with girls.
It took me time to hack the code.
When you hit, you attack around!
Have you played Battleship?
The goal is to locate and sink all of the opponent's ships before they find yours.
Two players take turns guessing coordinates. Each player marks a hit if they correctly guess a coordinate containing an opponent's ship.
(More you can find here.)
The strategy is simple.
Initially, you just guess where the opponent's ships are placed. So, you say something like “F6.” The opponent says, “Miss.” On your next try, you say “B4,” and the opponent says “Miss.” Then you finally say “D5,” and the opponent says “Hit.”
Now you have the approximate location of one of the opponent’s ships!
In this case, what’s the logical next step? You attack the very next coordinates!
“D6,” or “D4,” or “E5,” or “E4.”
If you find all the right coordinates, you get their ship!
The exact same method I used with girls.
Delay your attack
I was 15 when I finally met a “non-infected” girl. Maybe her beauty deceived me. But I stayed on my feet and didn’t start a romantic relationship.
We became good friends. Then… guess my next move?
I started to attack the coordinates around her — her girlfriends!
She was a really nice person, and I realized there was a better chance I’d find nice people like her in her circle.
Then I “attacked” the friends of her friends and so on…
Hehe 😊
I guess playing chess helped 😊
Attack in life, too
I used this method in life, too, and I use it to this day.
Every time I meet a nice person, there is a greater chance there are nice people in his/her life.
If they invite me somewhere, I leave all my tasks and to-dos and go.
If I meet someone cool, and he/she invites me to their home for dinner, I resign the game I’m playing on Lichess and run there. There is a great chance his/her family members will be cool people!
I hold this quote close to my heart:
To improve your chess, attack where you hit
The same method I used in every area of life, including chess.
And you can, too.
Here’s how:
You found a great chess course? You watched it and liked it? Don’t jump to other sources.
Explore more courses by that person!
You found a great book about strategy, and the same author has a book on dynamic play too? There is a huge chance the other book is great as well!
You found a good coach? Don’t seek other sources to improve your chess. If your coach is good, explore there. Ask your coach.
Sort out smartly
Once I posted on Twitter.
This method will help you sort things out smartly and save lots of time.
Don’t guess randomly. Attack the nearby coordinates.
With best wishes and love,
For your growth and fun journey,
GM Avetik (or Avo, as my friends call me)
***
P.S.
The article was originally published on https://chessmood.com/blog, where you’ll find over 100 other articles written by Grandmasters, who share tips from their professional journeys and how to adopt the right mindset for this beautiful game, in order to have fun and grow at the same time.
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