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The War on Attention

Greg Shahade suggests that shortening time controls makes the game more exciting for viewers. But I can't stand commentaries where "clock" or the word "chess" is mentioned more than the game itself.

Greg Shahade suggests that shortening time controls makes the game more exciting for viewers. But I can't stand commentaries where "clock" or the word "chess" is mentioned more than the game itself.

Wonderful blog post. Highly doubt that phones will be regulated now but you never know. At least being aware that the problem exists is a good start.

Wonderful blog post. Highly doubt that phones will be regulated now but you never know. At least being aware that the problem exists is a good start.

thanks for your blog man. its amazing that lichess.org has some of the most interesting independent blogs

thanks for your blog man. its amazing that lichess.org has some of the most interesting independent blogs

Great article, thanks!
It is a great question how to approach aspects of the chess world such as Levy's thumbnails, since they increase engagement in the game and can bring more players to chess.
Unfortunately, I think we can already see chess players highly regarding their privacy, although some such as Magnus or Hikaru will be less private about it, players such as Levon or Fabi will never talk about their personal lives. Even outspoken players such as Hans Niemann will refrain from it. It is indeed very annoying that chess drama is everywhere in the chess world, but people will and have always been more interested when "something bad happens" rather than "everything is going normally."
That's the basis around which news and media operate.
The special thing about Lichess is that as you mentioned clickbait titles and AI generated articles, Lichess will not put them on the homepage--and as a blogger, I can tell you (and I'm sure you know as well) that if an article of yours goes on the homepage it will probably get thousands or even tens of thousands of views, while if not then even with a following you will struggle to get over a couple grand.
Thanks again for the article, was clearly a high-effort blog! (And not AI generated lol)

Great article, thanks! It is a great question how to approach aspects of the chess world such as Levy's thumbnails, since they increase engagement in the game and can bring more players to chess. Unfortunately, I think we can already see chess players highly regarding their privacy, although some such as Magnus or Hikaru will be less private about it, players such as Levon or Fabi will never talk about their personal lives. Even outspoken players such as Hans Niemann will refrain from it. It is indeed very annoying that chess drama is everywhere in the chess world, but people will and have always been more interested when "something bad happens" rather than "everything is going normally." That's the basis around which news and media operate. The special thing about Lichess is that as you mentioned clickbait titles and AI generated articles, Lichess will not put them on the homepage--and as a blogger, I can tell you (and I'm sure you know as well) that if an article of yours goes on the homepage it will probably get thousands or even tens of thousands of views, while if not then even with a following you will struggle to get over a couple grand. Thanks again for the article, was clearly a high-effort blog! (And not AI generated lol)

Excellent article.
The attention issue truly a huge problem. I have personally stopped using phone almost completely, unless I have an actual need to use it. This just makes things simple. The big issue is that so many are just not even aware how bad this scrolling is.

Regarding so-called "chess drama", I have always hated it. It's like a made up concept quite often, to make chess look more "interesting". Of course when big portion of the population has their dopamine system fried, they can't focus on anything really, so they just need drama and flashy videos. No wonder I see people commenting under longer chess videos that "it's too long game to watch" - mostly the question isn't that this person doesn't have time but they can't just focus on one thing.

Excellent article. The attention issue truly a huge problem. I have personally stopped using phone almost completely, unless I have an actual need to use it. This just makes things simple. The big issue is that so many are just not even aware how bad this scrolling is. Regarding so-called "chess drama", I have always hated it. It's like a made up concept quite often, to make chess look more "interesting". Of course when big portion of the population has their dopamine system fried, they can't focus on anything really, so they just need drama and flashy videos. No wonder I see people commenting under longer chess videos that "it's too long game to watch" - mostly the question isn't that this person doesn't have time but they can't just focus on one thing.

I still find it shameful that GothamChess does not even include Vincent in the final thumbnail even though he had just won the Freestyle Championship. All the while Levy had been using chess to earn money and claims to be the ambassador of chess...

I still find it shameful that GothamChess does not even include Vincent in the final thumbnail even though he had just won the Freestyle Championship. All the while Levy had been using chess to earn money and claims to be the ambassador of chess...

The Zen aspect goes further than folk think. I hit 'full enlightenment' about 9 years ago and life just fell away. (No, I'm not enlightened. Nobody is. 'You' are that which is awoken from. Paradoxical, but the truthiest thing I can say about it.)

Since then I went from being an author struggling to get two novels out in 5 years, to writing one every 3 months. My 'addictions' were seen through as just ego nonsense, and I slowed right down, but somehow worked faster. Illness last year left me with brain fog, but learning chess is digging me out of the hole, rewiring burnt out pathways.

There's just 'This'. "What Is". In the absence of an ego to complain about them, there are no problems, simply 'situations'.

A retreat is a great idea, but be ready to not exist afterwards. :)

The Zen aspect goes further than folk think. I hit 'full enlightenment' about 9 years ago and life just fell away. (No, I'm not enlightened. Nobody is. 'You' are that which is awoken from. Paradoxical, but the truthiest thing I can say about it.) Since then I went from being an author struggling to get two novels out in 5 years, to writing one every 3 months. My 'addictions' were seen through as just ego nonsense, and I slowed right down, but somehow worked faster. Illness last year left me with brain fog, but learning chess is digging me out of the hole, rewiring burnt out pathways. There's just 'This'. "What Is". In the absence of an ego to complain about them, there are no problems, simply 'situations'. A retreat is a great idea, but be ready to not exist afterwards. :)