Started playing at a young age. Got really obsessed again for a few years in college when online play was first coming out (Yahoo! Games, FTW), but it's not som

Started playing at a young age. Got really obsessed again for a few years in college when online play was first coming out (Yahoo! Games, FTW), but it's not something I've played for awhile. The advice is sound, especially the "just study one set of openings and know it really well". However, Chess is less fun than alot of other options because it does take more practice to get really good and it's less social than board games (e.g. Settlers of Catan, Pandemic, etc.), card games (Poker, Hearts, Bridge), or online video games. The plus side is the logical planning and longer term strategy boost from study. The downside is that it's not going to help social interactions as much and alot of what it teaches is contrary to alot of what you need to pick up now, which is how to navigate among many different groups some of whom may be working for or against you. In many ways, running a raid in an MMO teaches you more useful skills than what it takes to get a really good ELO rating.