Thoughts & Wild Imaginings part 6 - A Really Weird Midway Road 1/2

Although I do not play chess as often as I played in the past, nevertheless, I know how it changed me until today. The day where I really started playing seems to be recent. I remembered when I discovered chess as I wrote previously but I rather want to talk about a time; when this game became a central point in my life.

It was a time while I was trying to...that looks too sententious, isn't it? Let's get back to a less emphatic style. I feel that is going to be the hardest. Hmm...In French I would have said "revenons à un style moins ampoulé".* It means the same things but I find this more suitable for what I'm thinking right now. Ok, I digress a lot...Let's get back to business. So, what I was saying ? Yes,that's it! I'm finding again the line of my thoughts... In French, "je retrouve mes petits"...

When **I started to play in a more serious way and fought against others person {or other people} in chess competitions. I was younger and unable to be totally aware about what I was made of. My first confrontations had quickly informed me about this subject. Remaining calm and concentrated {=focused} were not simple as I was living my game as if it was were*** the last thing I had to do.

Before ending the game? {no space} Really!?! Did I hear someone's saying that my style is so emphatic? Ok, let give {=allow} me time to answer you. I also want to ask you back about something. I've just been thinking about something which that is really, really important for me. How do you say, in English of course... "revenons à nos moutons !". I told you that because I wanted to use this so familiar French idiom when I came back to a better state of mind. You know that, when I introduced a similar English idiom :"Let's get back to business". So, does is there anyone who could help me ? Ok, I got it...

Being disciplined and rigorous, methodic and impassive. Each time, that was not the case, especially for the last one, I was frustrated. It happened many times during a game when I could feel that I didn't get a position that I had expected. I left the opening phase with a less interesting middlegame's position than my particular opponent in particular. In opposition, I could rejoice during a break time if I was obtaining {or gaining} a better position and you will can easily**** guess easily how I could do that in excessives manner.

*This would be equivalent to "Let's go back to simpler times".

**"When" is a preposition, so this is an incomplete sentence because it is a prepositional phrase as-is. Remove the "When" to make it a sentence.

***This is a common error, even among native speakers. Because it is hypothetical, "were" is used instead of "was". Ex: I wish I were rich.

****In English, we put adjectives before nouns and adverbs after the conjugated verb.