chess isn't always about chess. It's about tactics

Exactly. My dad taught me to play when I was relatively young. Played on a school team in middle school. I realized quickly to play the person. One interesting observation I had was most people (unlike your opponent) rely to much on their queen. If I saw that early I would do what it took to force that trade. I loved forcing trades. My dad taught me not to depend on any one piece, unlike many players.

I had always wanted to learn Go. Read about it a lifetime ago from a book called Shibumi. Kudos to you for learning it. Imagine it was even more difficult than finding others to play chess with.