Feeling like I have no skills

[Lunalara]

Hi wonderful people of Mumsnet,

I am going through a bit of a crisis. I used to be really good at chess. Not just subjectively, but I represented my county. I stopped playing when I started a levels. Recently, I started playing again, and now I am finding that I can’t beat casual players. Now, I know that not being good at chess isn’t the end of the world, but I took a lot of pride in how good I was. I work a really low paid job, and don’t really have a lot to offer in life. As you can imagine, it’s affecting my self esteem. What should I do to overcome my mental barriers?

I feel exactly the same

Keep playing, you’ll get those skills back if you’re playing regularly.

Buy some books on chess strategies- openings and mid-game moves to remind you. I can't play at all but DS enjoyed it and was quite good. He was always talking about the strategic moves - they all had funny names.

I have almost no skills. I speak one language quite well and a couple of others at basic tourist level. I am good at two things and do both for a living. That's it. I've always admired skilled people. But skills often rely on having had a childhood where money and time were spent on you. If you don't have that, and haven't acquired a habit of thinking it's normal and okay to spend time and money on self development, it's harder to do. But still possible. Free language on Duolingo. Culinary skills and yoga (and chess!) moves free online etc.