First of all, Mr.Anderssen, receiving the compliment in the spirit that I perceive it to be given, I thank you. I do admit that I was taken aback when I saw this thread and realized that I am specifically the subject; first by embarrassment and then by curiousity. Both are mental processes within my individual being, so I own and am responsible for them.
For whatever reason, I put an actual image of myself out there instead of a representative avatar. In so doing, my appearance is sometimes mentioned--sometimes positively and sometimes with negative scrutiny. As with all communication, my only control is my own response, so I don't get to determine if or how or when anyone says anything about how they perceive me....
I AM curious about the correlation with beauty and intelligence, and general assumptions that they might be only mutually exclusive.
As for chess, hmmmm....it's true, that while I'm not a great (or even a relatively good player) my rating also does not likely reflect my true ability. When I first started playing here, I wanted to play chess and I had little understanding of the algorithms of the rating scale. I started out by playing fairly highly rated players who beat me every time, hence, my rating plummeted very quickly. Also, I was playing a lot of games because I had the time for chess back then. Now, I can rarely take time for serious chess here, so I only play occasionally. Perhaps interestingly, I do use chess as a means of play therapy with some of my young clients who struggle to engage with me. I find that chess has a language of its own and is a great way to "break the ice" so to speak.
As for the word game...outside of my regular job as a social worker, I'm a writer and actively working on a book. The play and craft of words are within my experience and my comfort level, so the challenge of the game in question came fairly easily.
I think intelligence is multifaceted and each person has natural abilities in some areas and potentialities that can be realized--sometimes, as with me and chess--with practice, patience, and persistence even while failing.
To all here, whatever your game, I sincerely hope you find joy in the process.
Now, let's play!