Surviving the Chaos: My Round 3 Experience in the Hive Chess Tournament

They say chess is a game of strategy, patience, and deep calculation. But what happens when all your carefully memorized openings get tossed out the window and the chess gods decide to shuffle the pieces like a deck of cards? Well, that’s exactly what happened in Round 3 of the Hive Chess Tournament—because this time, we played Chess960.

For those unfamiliar with Chess960 (also called Fischer Random Chess), it’s a variant where the starting positions of the back-rank pieces are completely randomized. That means no more trusty openings, no more book lines to rely on—just pure, chaotic chess from move one. Now, as someone who thrives on the comfort of familiar patterns, let’s just say this format did not bring out my inner grandmaster. 😅

From the very first move, I knew I was in trouble. My rooks were misplaced, my knights looked lost, and my bishops... well, let’s just say they weren’t exactly working in harmony. Every game felt like trying to assemble IKEA furniture without the manual. And the results? Yeah, let’s not sugarcoat it—I got my ass handed to me. A lot. 🤣

But hey, it wasn’t all bad! Chess is about learning, adapting, and, most importantly, having fun (even if that fun includes watching my rating drop like a rock). More importantly, it was amazing to see some of the true warriors of the board shine. Huge congratulations to the top performers of the round:

🥇 ZGM_Samostically - Dominating with a perfect score of 24! Absolute beast mode. 🔥
🥈 Odnoobraz_bcm - A close second with an impressive 23 points! 💪
🥉 rosmarly - Securing third with 17 points and fantastic play! 👏

And, of course, shoutout to everyone who fought valiantly across the board! Whether you won, lost, or (like me) just tried to survive, we all had a blast. The Hive Chess community keeps growing, and it’s always great to compete with such an awesome group of players. 💙♟️

Next round, I promise to bring my A-game! (Or at least, not my F-game.) Until then, keep those kings safe and may your blunders be few. 😆

#HiveChess #Chess960 #LearnFromLosses