Lichess4545 League interview: Meet the player who returned after 38 seasons

Ledger is happy to bring you another 4545 interview conducted by @fork2020.

This week, we have another interview to present! The player being interviewed first played in the league all the way back in season three, and hasn’t played since... until this season. Can you guess who it is?

If you guessed @scarff, you are wrong on many counts. First, scarff joined in season two, and second, scarff has also played in every single season since. No, the player we are interviewing today is @Forkerofqueens. Let’s answer the question that you all are probably asking: why would somebody play in two lone seasons with 38 seasons between them?

Tell us a bit about yourself and/or your chess play.

I’m a young professional from Canada returning to chess after a few years away. I came to the game later than average, in my early 20s, stepped away for education, and returned just this year. I got into chess a few years before the chess boom/Queen’s Gambit, missed the whole boom, and returned to see a different online chess world. My dad is a chess fanatic so the game was always in my atmosphere growing up, but I was never motivated to learn how to play until I sat down with my dad in my early 20s. Listening to him explain his thoughts uncovered how rich chess can be; it’s full of motifs, ideas, arguments, with nothing more than squares and pieces. I’m thrilled to have returned this year now that I have a bit more time. My favorite chess opening for white is the Jobava London and my favorite as black is the Pirc, though I’m interested in learning the classical sicilian.

Like many other players in the 4545 league, you’re participating in your second season. However, your first season was season 3. Why did you decide to return to the league?

I got into a bad habit of playing mostly blitz and bullet which allowed me to “play chess,” without actually improving or learning. The experience wasn’t as enriching as long time control games. It’s akin to scrolling through reddit posts versus reading a novel. You’re still interpreting text, but a novel asks more of your attention, and rewards you more for it at the end. Same goes with longer time control chess games - it feels as if there is a narrative you can trace back through your moves that is difficult to do with the thoughtless bullet games I was playing. I also wanted to improve my chess and I believe longer time controls are important for that! It’s hard to find classical games regularly online, and I wanted a reliable regular source. I also missed the teamspirit from when I was in the league before. Chess is a great game for bringing people together. I wanted to join a group of likeminded players who want to learn from one another. I also enjoy watching my teammates’ games.

What differences have you noticed between the league back in season 3 and the league today?

That was so long ago it’s actually hard to recall! There are far more players now. I think for better or for worse, the system for organizing/coordinating games is more sophisticated. I don’t know if we had chesster back then, but it's very handy now.

Which of your games this season is your favorite?

This game was fun to play as from move 2-3 I was familiar with the theory, but played simple reasonable moves. I conceded my king’s safety in the middle game, losing castling rights, though that advantage ended up a paper tiger. I had good queenside development and a strong brewing attack on white’s king. Unfortunately, my opponent blundered a piece, but I think despite this, a solid advantage was being built.

Which league member would you most like to see interviewed in a later edition of the ledger?

I would like my teammate Feet_Barbie to be interviewed. He is always engaged in our team chat, encourages prep during the week, provides feedback, and I’d love to know more about him.

How would you react if your opponent suddenly turned into a pumpkin mid-game?

I would do a pulse check. If there is no pulse, it doesn’t matter, they’re a pumpkin, and I’ll accept my win on time.

Lichess4545 is an online chess league for people who like playing long time control games online. Players are assigned to teams and play one game per week with a 45+45 time control. For more information visit our league home page.
LoneWolf is a side league of the Lichess4545 league. It is an 11-round Swiss tournament where players play one game per week with a 30+30 time control. For more information about the LoneWolf tournament visit the LoneWolf homepage.

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA).
Interview conducted by @fork2020