Deliver_me
Iron
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2026
- Posts
- 8
- Reputation
- 14
Learning chess has great social ROI.
Having a high Elo in chess is a niche trick with a great return. It is social proof that you are smart without sounding pretentious. Whether there is any real correlation between intelligence and a high chess Elo is completely irrelevant, because everyone already associates the two.
This works on both young adults and older people, especially older men. Even people who know almost nothing about chess understand what a high Elo means.
The best part is that it comes up naturally and makes a great icebreaker. People almost always ask whether you play a sport or what your hobbies are, and answering “chess” instantly gives you that link to intelligence. If they ask about your rating, you can reply humbly (this works best at 1600+).
That is it. Once you have planted that seed, any mistake or dumb comment you make comes off as charming or humble, because they cannot help but think of you as smart. Even if you are not. Bonus points if you are attractive, but the trick still works if you are not.
Young adults tend to start seeing you as a social authority. Older people try to have deeper conversations with you, or at least respect you a little more.
And it is not that hard. Most people can reach 1200 fairly easily. The biggest challenge is just cutting out blunders. After that, consistent practice and reviewing your games can get you to around 1400. If you want to speed it up, get a personal coach online.
This has worked for me when meeting the parents of friends and partners, and even in professional settings. Most jobs just want to see whether you are competent and sharp, and chess is close to instant proof.
So do not sleep on this. You gain immediate respect and social currency, it lasts pretty much forever, and it doubles as a great icebreaker and a great answer to a common question. There is really no reason not to pick it up.
Current rating: 1750 rapid.
obviously this alone isn’t enough to make a good first impression but still.
Having a high Elo in chess is a niche trick with a great return. It is social proof that you are smart without sounding pretentious. Whether there is any real correlation between intelligence and a high chess Elo is completely irrelevant, because everyone already associates the two.
This works on both young adults and older people, especially older men. Even people who know almost nothing about chess understand what a high Elo means.
The best part is that it comes up naturally and makes a great icebreaker. People almost always ask whether you play a sport or what your hobbies are, and answering “chess” instantly gives you that link to intelligence. If they ask about your rating, you can reply humbly (this works best at 1600+).
That is it. Once you have planted that seed, any mistake or dumb comment you make comes off as charming or humble, because they cannot help but think of you as smart. Even if you are not. Bonus points if you are attractive, but the trick still works if you are not.
Young adults tend to start seeing you as a social authority. Older people try to have deeper conversations with you, or at least respect you a little more.
And it is not that hard. Most people can reach 1200 fairly easily. The biggest challenge is just cutting out blunders. After that, consistent practice and reviewing your games can get you to around 1400. If you want to speed it up, get a personal coach online.
This has worked for me when meeting the parents of friends and partners, and even in professional settings. Most jobs just want to see whether you are competent and sharp, and chess is close to instant proof.
So do not sleep on this. You gain immediate respect and social currency, it lasts pretty much forever, and it doubles as a great icebreaker and a great answer to a common question. There is really no reason not to pick it up.
Current rating: 1750 rapid.
obviously this alone isn’t enough to make a good first impression but still.
