LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Daniel Palladino knew it was going to be a bad day when he added a fourth spoonful of sugar to his morning double espresso. Facing the worst episode of brain fog he’d ever experienced, a near complete inability to think straight and eyes that wouldn’t focus at the same time, he watched as his beloved Chess.com rating fell almost 400 points in one day.
The damage started after he knocked back a fifth double espresso, laid down on the sofa and flicked on the television. But even following the inane daytime television chitchat was too much. He started scrolling through social media, but it was just words and photos zooming by on his screen. That’s when he decided to go to Chess.com, where all you have to do is move little pieces around the screen. No thought required, unless you want to win.
“It was the only thing I was capable of doing that day. Even though I kept losing game after game after game, I couldn’t stop myself. My foggy brain didn’t realize the fallout. I’d worked so hard to get my rating up; I did every tedious tutorial and watched tons of boring YouTube videos. The day my rating crossed 1000 was one of the happiest days of my life. That ill-fated morning I was at 1075. 1075! Then, bam —it was gone. By the end of the day I was barely breaking 700.” Palladino buried his face in his hands.
When asked if he could build his rating back up, Palladino replied, “I’m sick of this brain fog shit. I’ve moved on to Wordle.”