End-of-academic-year reflections. Chess context.
I’m now in the midst of my end-of-academic-year reflections.
My 2026/27 academic year ended yesterday (15.06.), with the final exam taking place here, in the long aisle of the language department of the Université de Strasbourg.
However, one of the most memorable learnings of this year happened not on the pages of the books, but at the chessboard.
I became a part of the team again. This year it happened that I resumed playing for the team.
It’s an honour for someone who is far from competitive chess and a valuable learning experience for a person who studies how language shapes the worldview.
“Limits of my language are the limits of my world”
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Of course, as a student in the faculty of linguistics I see chess also as a language.
A language that has significantly improved the flexibility of my thinking and broadened the limits of my world.
It’s very hard to find words and structures for a precise and concise expression of one’s feelings and thoughts.
It’s even harder to strive for the precision for many hours that a game lasts, 11 days in a row.
For me, champions are those who show mastery in precision when putting their ideas into moves and prove the mastery of mental (psychological) resilience.
I’ve noticed that in the C’Chartres chess club all efforts towards the goal and team cooperation are truly valued. Personally, for me it’s even more impressive than victories measured in points… and probably it’s one of the key elements that makes a sports achievement possible.
Thank you for the example of the power of joint, consistent efforts.
Thanks to everyone involved in the process of organisation, preparation, management and, of course for the play itself,
for the example of the power of the joint, consequent efforts.
Congratulations!
On this note, I’ll go on with my attempt to understand better and to improve my own game… in life.