The Christmas and New Year binge cost me about minus 200 chess.com rating points.

And even though I haven't been drinking alcohol for almost 2 months now (since January 10th), I've still only managed to climb 120 points. That is, I have not yet returned to my former positions. So, it is not for nothing that they say that "a drunkenness is evil!".

Made on this topic art with Beth Harmon, replacing the pill jar with a glass of something strong:

And when would I recover in the rating?.. it was practically impossible to play in January and the first half of February, because of the interruptions with the light, and, especially, with the Internet, which I had here, in Ukraine, due to missile strikes by the Russians. When there was a connection, I had to spend the "window of opportunity" on more important things than chess.

Since the second half of February, I started playing again more or less regularly, and I am gradually restoring my rating.
In February, I took 14th place in one week and 11th place in another week in League of Legends. Yes, nothing special.

Hamido54 (Turkey, white) vs Bogdan12358 (Ukraine, black)

An interesting game from March 3, 2023, in which I first lost a queen, and then managed to win my opponent's queen and win the game in its entirety.
Regarding this, I think (damn!) all this is completely in the style of my life: first create a problem, and then heroically solve it!

So, my attitude towards alcohol has changed dramatically this winter. Alcohol harms mental abilities much more than we used to think. I was convinced of this thanks to chess.

Chess is generally an excellent test of the state of intelligence at a specific moment. The real state, not the one we imagine. For example, when you drink, it seems to you that the sharpness of the mind has increased. You start playing a game of chess, you think you're going to tear everyone apart. And in practice, you start to get stupid and make stupid mistakes. So drinking alcohol and playing chess is a losing combination. Unless you play well with the same bubbly handsome guy somewhere on a table in the yard.

As far as I know, the new World Chess Championship should start sometime in May-June. The prize fund last year reached a million dollars. There is a lot of money in chess, and this additionally motivates to develop.

✍ Богдан Карасьов (Bogdan Karasiov, Ukraine.
March 4, 2023).