I realized the only way to be a competitive player was to become a human database.
I would have agreed with you five years ago. Today, Magnus Carlsen is known for being less booked-up than most elite players, playing openings just to get in the game, while rated #1 by a significant margin. So maybe there's hope.
Beyond a certain point getting better at chess simply means you got better at chess and nothing else.
No argument there. And isn't that true for most things in life?
Correct. Carlsen has destroyed the preparation/memory junkies. Chess did flounder for a while as everyone started using computers for preparation and helping memorize openings, but it has been made redundant by his style of play.
I would have agreed with you five years ago. Today, Magnus Carlsen is known for being less booked-up than most elite players, playing openings just to get in the game, while rated #1 by a significant margin. So maybe there's hope.
Beyond a certain point getting better at chess simply means you got better at chess and nothing else.
No argument there. And isn't that true for most things in life?