I was crushed in a live Blitz tournament (afterthought)

A few hours ago, I met up with some members of my city's community to play a Blitz tournament, something I used to do quite a bit a few years ago, but hadn't kept up with it due to my life.

I was destroyed on every single board.

The first thing I noticed was that there were a lot of people younger than me. I've gotten used to seeing that over the years, but it still surprises me every time I walk through the door and find some people I don't quite recognize. It makes me feel old, somehow.

There were more people than I thought, too. It seems like chess is gaining quite a bit of popularity among young people, and that lifts my heart quite a bit. It even makes me want to train in a certain way.

But all that excitement changes unexpectedly when I find these new faces at the board.

Some of them are clearly just starting out in the world of chess and don't handle the pieces very well yet, but others can even beat me easily, and I'm sure if I can take them to Hivechess, they'll surprise more than a few.

I don't know if I'm out of it. Anyway, I don't know if I'm not playing my best chess or if my best is over. I guess I'm a little surprised at how time flies. It spares no one, it's true, but I just hope it gives me the strength to come back.

I only scored 3 points out of 7, something I find unacceptable. My ego as a player is pretty battered from now on. I think it's time to either train hard to get back into rhythm or let myself be carried away by mediocrity and settle for my level.