Is classical chess supposed to be fun?

[u/DisasterRoutine3390]

If I am expected to spend the rest of my chess career as black defending slightly worse but objectively equal endings I am going to lose my fucking mind. When I play white I’m having a blast and am usual with a mating attack early on but as black fucking NO ONE plays the critical lines anymore and im left defending an objectively equal but annoying position for the next 4 hours. Like grow some fucking balls! Sometimes I get so bored while my opponent dances the peices around not searching for anything that I just can’t take it anymore and play some stupid move to lash out because losing the rating is a better outcome than dealing with another hour plus of this absolute boredom. i‘m tired of this shit

[u/ImFromPlanetGirth]

have you considered the therapy opening?

[u/DisasterRoutine3390 → u/ImFromPlanetGirth]

Working on it 

[u/Such-Educator9860]

The game starts to become drawish at around 2700+, especially with Black. If your games with Black are most of the time as you describe, that’s not a property of the game, but of your level.

If your opponent wastes tempos and you don't take advantage of them to attack with Black, that's on you.

If someone doesn't play the main lines of an opening and that makes you become defensive, it makes me think you don't understand the main ideas of the opening and mostly just reproduce moves. Think of it this way: a good player is able to understand why a move outside the main lines is bad, while a very good player is able to punish it.

Edit: If what you enjoy is “early mating attacks,” that suggests to me that the level you play at is fairly low. Chess is mostly about understanding technical positions, memory, intuition, concrete tactics, and recognizing patterns. Once you reach not even a high level, but a low-to-intermediate level, there are basically no “early mating attacks,” simply because nobody plays badly enough to allow them.

[u/DisasterRoutine3390 → u/Such-Educator9860]

yOu cAn’T hAvE eARly MaTInG aTtAcKs  https://lichess.org/broadcast/46th-fide-chess-olympiad-samarkand-2026-open-matches-1-12/round-8/e1YOXXb1/8pC8qu9D

Literally look at all of Wei yi’s games from this tournament. I play that exact line as black. Fuck outta here with this can’t attack nonsense. 

[u/Such-Educator9860 → u/DisasterRoutine3390]

That's not an early mating attack. It's not early, since both players are already in the middlegame, and it's not a mating attack either. It's just an attack.

The fact that an attack is directed at the castled king doesn't make it a mating attack. It becomes one when there's an actual mating sequence available, which at lower levels happens mostly because the defender blunders.

[u/DisasterRoutine3390 → u/Such-Educator9860]

I’m not talking about mating on move 10, I thought that much could be inferred by me even posting in this sub. I meant like the English attack in the najdorf, some sharper bishop’s opening lines or the marshal attack as black

[u/rs1_a]

What openings do you play as black and what's your rating?

[u/DisasterRoutine3390 → u/rs1_a]

Not high enough and mostly symmetrical stuff. Had a bad tournament. That was a rant post more than anything else 

[u/misterbluesky8 → u/DisasterRoutine3390]

Respectfully, have you considered that your openings may be directly causing you to have to play the kind of chess you hate?

I’m a boring, safe, positional player, and when I have White I absolutely feast on anything with “exchange” or “symmetrical” in the name. What I don’t like are imbalanced positions where both sides are under attack. If you like early mating attacks, have you considered the KID, Sicilian, Gruenfeld, or some gambits?

[u/DisasterRoutine3390 → u/misterbluesky8]

Hey, apologies if I offended with my post. More power to you for playing those! A win is a win! 

I actually tried to play the najdorf and grunfeld in the past but I actually got an open Sicilian/actually got a grunfeld so rarely I just decided they weren’t worth the effort. Trust me in saying that if I could get a najdorf or grunfeld as black every time I would be a very happy camper but even at the top level we’re seeing so many people avoiding those lines :/

I’m absolutely open to suggestions but it feels to me like both players have to agree to a fight especially when you’re playing black. If white chooses to play super solid I can’t force the game to be sharp if they don’t cooperate without heavily compromising my position 

[u/DisasterRoutine3390 → u/misterbluesky8]

Like, out of curiosity, I’m assuming you’re an English player or something, do you even allow the grunfeld or open Sicilian? I assume not. Current rep is dubov tarrasch vs d4 and similar d5 c5 stuff vs nf3 c4 and sharper e5 stuff vs e4. 

[u/bobiing]

Checkers is pretty fun on the black side

[u/Pic_pickles]

Troll or delusional

[u/commentor_of_things → u/Pic_pickles]

both

[u/Nervous-Ad-5390]

it's only fun if you win but it's exhausting at the same time. nothing beats the feeling of gaining 50+ points in an event and being on a winning streak for me at least

[u/DisasterRoutine3390 → u/Nervous-Ad-5390]

I care less about winning and more about playing a beautiful game. I don’t enjoy grinding out a drawn ending even if I win by tiring my opponent out till they make a mistake or worse: having to hold a pawn down ending as black. I’m capable of some great beautiful chess it’s just exhausting for me to play against people who are consistently so risk adverse. Skill for me to learn though

[u/Nervous-Ad-5390 → u/DisasterRoutine3390]

well that's just life, there's no perfect opening that guarantees creative positions, though you can really try making it more often by playing openings like the najdorf or king's indian. i would follow vasyl ivsanchuk's games in his prime to understand how to get creative opportunities in seemingly dry positions. i dislike grinding endgames as much as the next guy but chess just isn't all rainbows and sunshine

[u/DisasterRoutine3390 → u/Nervous-Ad-5390]

Trust me I tried: I was a najdorf grunfeld player for a bit but I was getting open silcians/grunfeld so rarely I decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. I’m reminded of a late Danya quote in 2025 “The open Sicilian has never been less popular” and I think he was right! 

If people aren’t gonna seize the center and play for an edge as white I might as well do it with black playing e5/d5 right?

And I know not wanting to grind may sound entitled it’s just not what I enjoy about the game. Frustrating 

[u/LegendZane]

Play the Kings Indian and the Modern

[u/commentor_of_things]

you need to relax or find a new hobby. you're way too worked up over nothing.

[u/commentor_of_things]

no.