The veil of ignorance on Lichess 👨‍🦯 Newsletter from Say Chess

Hi,

I’m trying out an experiment this month. Lichess has made a new feature that allows users to remove all ratings on the browser version.

Now my profile looks like this:

You can of course check by enabling it in like 2 seconds, but it is a strange feeling not to play for the gratification of getting +6 rating points after a game. I have played 2 rapid games in the last 3 days. Normally I play more games, but it is thought-provoking that I have suddenly been more motivated to practice than to play chess.

After the first game, that I won, I really wanted to check the strength of my opponent. Like the win would be worth more if I knew the rating, but I felt more focused/relaxed during the actual game.

A rating can create a kind of intellectual hierarchy that often is a psychological advantage for the higher-rated player. I have experienced playing strange moves when I see I’m playing a NM or FM on Lichess. Here is a recent example where I first blunder a Knight and then misclicks a Queen.

It will be interesting to see if it will change my play to play? This next month I will try to find out.

If you want to follow my training and online practice games, remember to follow me on my Twitch channel 👇

Have a nice weekend!

/Martin