Dayton Karr

United States

14K Reach

$27

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After my competitive sports career ended at age 19, I desperately needed something constructive to fill my free time. I began teaching myself guitar as well as regaining my love for piano after baseball season forced me to stop playing piano as a kid. Through music I learned the only way to replace a bad habit or painful memory is to get busy on something constructive. And that idea also led me to chess, which is my # 1 passion today. Last December, I could not go anywhere or do anything and found myself slipping back into the same depression that often wrecked my health during college. I tried to fill my free time with music again, but it did not help like it did at age 19. I remembered the fun I had learning guitar from scratch but now I am at least an average guitar player. So I decided to teach myself chess! In a few short weeks, I was again a functioning member of society and slowly began to develop into a competent chess athlete. Through my chess journey, I decided last April to start a podcast called "One Knight Stand" to remind myself and others struggling how painful but rewarding pursuing our dreams can be. I always seek creative ways to tie in chess to mental health, as I've found from experience the principles that are necessary to be a strong chess athlete also correlate to living a happy, enthusiastic life.

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