Test,

Sorry, this is just a test. I will make an entry soon.

My stuff is not posting? I must be banned

The admin probably banned you for liking Avril Lavigne.


Just kidding.

Welcome Back KB!!!

Your Nimzo Nebula song sounds pretty rad!

Thanks TE and Katar

Hi KingsBlade,

I hope you don't mind but I'm posting in here because they locked the "Chess pet peeves" thread and I quite agree with some things you noted.
Firstly, go wildly awry! I always go wildly awry off topic so no doubt I’d peeve Pogo off too
That’s probably a big reason I’ve avoided joining a chess club – in case they’re so chess-intense that you can’t have a bit of a natter about anything you want.
I also think you got some spunk. I mean we should always try to respect others but heck, ain’t nothing wrong with a bit of spark when you feel strongly about something.
Oh, and I quite like some of Avril’s songs too - so up yours Pogo

(Note the addition of the emoticon smiley wink, indicating that I said that with mirth, okay peeps )

****June 28, 2009***

Chess... WTF?!

I have seen very few players on this site deal with this "chess thing" (ref: Searching for Bobby Fischer) in a similar manner as me. The main person who comes to mind is Robofriven. Sorry Robert, but you too seem to fade in and out of chess like I do. What is up with that?

I think, in my case, it has a lot to do with outside influences, or should I say "distractions". Unfortunately, I have many distractions that basically "depress" my desire to play, or maybe I should say, that they "depress" my emotional energy making it very difficult to concentrate on doing what it takes to play well enough to win. I am not talking about the normal distractions of pressures at work or the normal family and financial issues. I am talking about other challenges that are abnormal and disheartening. I am talking about issues beyond my control that put me "between a rock and a hardplace". I will spare you the details. All I can say is that it seems to double all my challenges. I am sure there are others out there who know what I am talking about. The irony of this whole thing is that the original "issue" is the whole reason why I took up the game of chess. I was forced to hang up my mountain bike (and my very active social life) and I chose (more like Chess chose me as a new victim) the "great game of chess" as a new challenging "sport/game" that I could do in the comfort of my home. Wow, what a " cerebral rollercoaster ride" this has been!

So, how does one escape the emotional aspects of chess? Is chess really "just a game"? Sorry, but it's more like a "war of wills" and your ego gets bounced around like a "super ball" in a racquetball game while you wait for the first player to make a mistake, or at least make a mistake that the other player sees and exploits, and then he proceeds to smash your heart in a torturous vice. Maybe I should buy some "Spock" ears and pretend that there is no emotional attachment... yeah, right! I think you need "thick skin" to play this game. It is not for the "faint of heart" (or is it?).

How does one play chess when the world around them is unstable? It seems like a swordfight in a boat, but my opponent is on solid ground. It is hard to wield my "Blade" while my balance is challenged. I must search for stable ground first, shouldn't I, or should I just say "F*ck it" and take my chances? I believe that once a player achieves a certain level of play, he can play on "autopilot" where there are only certain parts of the game that requires real thinking and calculation. I can equate this idea to any skill; You reach a level that you can just "do it in your sleep". Well, I sure as hell haven't reached that level yet and it is unlikely that I ever will with the present circumstances!

Anyway, I guess it is up to me to decide how much I want to kick myself around for losing so much. I friggin HATE to lose so much that I just don't want to play anymore! Hey, maybe I could just pick on the lesser rated players so I can try to inflate my "ratings ego", but then again, it will be deflated when I return to playing the stronger players. It is a vicious cycle!

I guess if I chose to continue to play chess, then I must mix the chaos of chess with the chaos of my life together in the "universal blender". It is just the way it is right now and I hope someday I can play chess with a clearer and more focussed mind. I think only then will I realize my potential!

Play Well and Prosper!

Kingsblade,

I know the feeling you are describing, and have been actively attempting to play dispassionately despite my burning competitiveness, etc. I used to be afraid to play because my ego would get in the way and I was so afraid to lose that I literally avoided playing games and just studied. I think I have improved significantly in the past 6 months, a definitely a part of that is sort of teaching my brain to play the game as an observer, not a participant. I got my method of handling this emotional pressure from some chess book I read, probably Nimzo's My System, where the author equated the chessplayers with generals and the pieces with armies, etc etc. I thought about that, and ever since I try to distance myself emotionally during the game by imagining not that I am playing the game, but that the pieces are playing the game, and I am just giving them suggestions, if that makes any sense. It sounds kind of childish, but think of the board as one of those war maps with all the little statues of the brigades etc on them. You are just the guy with the stick moving them around. Even though the strategy and moves are yours, it is the pieces that lose the fight. Anyway, it sounds lame and cheesy, but it works for me. Also, what helps me with that is to show the opponent some respect, and don't be afraid to see the beauty in your opponents play. I got burned with a windmill attack with bishop and rook on g7 the other day over the board, and I couldn't help but laugh so hard, and how quickly my game fell apart and how pretty the moves were! After I busted out laughing, even my opponent chuckled a bit, I told him it is worth losing to see a windmill like that in a real game, and it is true!

Good One JWhis!

I have "My System" too, but of course I have never read it like the other "umteen" books I have that I haven't even looked at (pathetic isn't it?). I am going to look up the part you spoke about!

I think detachment is critical in war, like Lt. Speirs said in "Band of Brothers":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFF0Z-p4BqA

Maybe I should try to apply this to the game of chess.

Thanks Dude for taking time to comment. I really appreciate everything you said!

KB

Hey KB, it's ironic that you mention me as the only other person who fades in and out of chess as much as you do. Mostly because it's for the same reason. I play and I play and I play. I study my ass off and I learn all sorts of positional things and such. (BKildahl used to call me a "positional monster" and that I had a better understanding of the game then he did, which was a good considering he was rated 700 points higher then I was) Then ultimately I lose over and over again. Every loss feels like a knife to the chest, especially the ones that I blow from a superior position. I get so furious with myself I start to berate myself and the fact that I can't believe how stupid I am. Then finally I can't take it anymore and I have to do something else for a while.

Ultimately I am brought back to the game because it is beautiful. There is an art to chess, and there is a thrill I get when my plan works and I make a little tiny move that my opponent doesn't understand and the game constricts around him like a python until finally it explodes and he has to resign. So I come back, then I berate myself until I need to stop playing again or lose my sanity. Isn't chess grand?

When you find out a way to not get so mad at yourself but still feel the thrill of being "in" the game and not just a chess playing automaton please let me know. I think I could be good if I could focus.

Thanks for checking in Rob,

I think I am alergic to blunders. I hate them! Blunders Suck! I think it is the root of all evil in chess (excluding the "deadly sins of mankind"). It is the darkest of all my nightmares. I am sure it was the main reason Nimzowitsch went "apeshit" and jumped up on that table. They make me want to quit playing chess. I try to find some sort of lame excuse for why I do them. I find the best excuse is my "disfunctional mindset". I am terribly challenged by my "basket case" son and now I have become a "basket case" too! There, I said it.... arrrrrrrrgh!

I think focus and concentration means everything to players at every level, but it is especially important to players at our level if we wish to "move up" in the "ranks". Without it we are doomed to careless blunders, specifically, tactical oversights. This becomes very discouraging because sometimes the errors are so blatant that anyone with any eyesight at all should have seen it. Simple observation (or board vision) is absolutely paramount to preventing blunders and hence playing better chess.

Chess is great right up to the point when I blunder. Actually, I don't even like it when my opponent makes an obvious blunders either, I get no satisfaction at all. But I guess I must accept the reality that blunders are just a part of the "chess-learning-process" and one must try to learn from them no matter how painful they are. We all want to reduce our blunders, but it is not so easy when one is "unfocussed".

One last point. Losing isn't the issue here. I certainly can't expect to win all the time when I mostly play higher rated players. In fact, of course I do give credit where credit is due. I am speaking only of the dreaded and inexcusable "boneheaded blunder" that leaves me groveling like a baby.

Well, anyway, most of my recent contributions to this site are more like personal venting sessions of gibberish along with useless personal rantings of the ugliness in the human side of chess, but wtf, I think it is better than just sitting here with my teeth in my mouth or maybe not. Human frustration is never a pretty sight, but a magnificent combination that wins a game sure is, don't you think?

Thanks again Rob. I always appreciate your perspective.

KB

KB,

As far as blundering vis a vis focus/unfocus, I think blunders happen most when you are over focused if that makes any sense. This is my personal theory based on nothing at all but my guess is that being over focused on a plan is what causes the obsessive stare and concentration on one quarter of the board that allows blunders to happen so frequently. I dont have a solution or anything cause I still do it (2 hung queens in 4 games the other day LOL) but I just thought I would share in the misery with you for a moment. Glad you are playing again. Maybe we can make a dual blunder video sometime.

JW

JW,

Thanks for the interesting insight on overfocussing. I am with ya brotha on that one! I think a good example was Katar's latest live video where his opponent didn't see the mate right under his nose because he had other things on his mind. Maybe we can categorize this issue as a focus issue rather than a lack of focus.

I just think my point about lack of focus is just due to my chaotic personal life. I didn't come out and say it like that, but that is my "excuse de jour"

I think I am really noticing my focus problem in my correspondence chess (since this is the only chess I have played in the last 6 months other than an occasional online blitz). Anyway, I tend to rush moves that I really don't need to. Here is a "last straw" game that I just said "f#ck chess" and resigned all my chess.com games (I am such a big baby).

This opponent is my friend Joe from a local club (I love him like a brother and I haven't seen OTB in over 6 months). He is a tough competitor and I think my record with him is like 1W-25L-2D ... and then I play this game and look what happens. (I think his uscf is around 1500-1600- in the Baltimore area). Anyway, "I can't win for losing"...LOL! I didn't have to resign, but WTF!!!!!!!!!!! I hate blunders!!!!!!!!!!! I was sooooo pisssssssed!!!!!!!

This is a classic example lack of focus. WTF was I doing with the Knight? These were some "dum-shit" moves!

I have experienced that the moments I tend to "tilt" and get annoyed by chess (even if this only lasts a few minutes^^) also have to do with absolutely stupid blunders but mostly if they occur in blitz games...or maybe even in internet games in general (though I rarely play anything else than blitz...I have a chess.com acc but this is only to be able to play with you^^).
Anyway, my point is that maybe internet chess takes a lot of good things away from chess, like the special feeling when you are sitting at a board, when you see your opponent, etc. The coldness of the diagram reduces everything to right or wrong / correct or incorrect etc...this can be really annoying.
I don't know if you play serious, long time control games at a real board on a regular basis but these games are the source for my "chess fountain of youth".
So basically, my advice is that you might want to try out a real tourney or so. That's what brings fun to my chess life Touching the pieces, looking at a real board, thinking about stuff while having a cig and a beer (well, ok...water) at the bar and then return to the board to play on. Getting up again to walk through the tourney hall and relax a bit...all this I wouldn't want to miss because playing chess in the internet only feels too "cold" and frustrating to me.

Thanks GW,

It's great to hear your viewpoint^^.

I totally agree that chess is a "different animal' in a live situation. I like the idea of having a bar to go to while playing, I wonder how much a flight from BWI to Kiel would cost?

I never really thought about this before, but I really think you make a very important point that live chess should be considered "real chess" while online chess is more like "virtual chess".

Ever since I have stopped playing at the local club, I have picked up this "chip on my shoulder" for chess. I guess I never thought of it that way, but it could be a major reason for my frustration and if I return to a real board, I would kick some serious ass (wishful thinking, eternal optimism kicking in) and my "chip" would go away. I might rekindle my love for the game.

Now I just need to get my home life in order so I can get out there and play some "real chess".

Good one GW!

Thanks Again my Friend!

Dude, last time I saw one of your games (few months ago), you were playing way worse than this. You played really well imo.
I just think you (and countless other people, including myself) don't notice the progress your making cause it happens so slowly.

The good news is that you can do a lot of things to minimize the blundering.

Number one: practice. And I don't mean studying. I mean playing games.
Playing OTB with a bar and friends is a lot more fun than playing online. Actualy anything is okay, as long as you're happy with it.
You should try to mess around a bit with the amount you play at each time control.

The weaker you are tactically, the more you'll blunder. That part can be helped by solving tactics and playing blitz and blunderchecking afterwards.

Also analysis is one important thing to fixing mistakes. You get to see what you did wrong and what you should've done instead and why. If you don't know what you're doing wrong it's hard to solve it. I don't think I have seen you analyze your own games that often. A lot of people I know don't analyze their games because they either don't like analyzing games or because they really don't know how. The best thing to do is try to learn to find a fun side in the aspects of chess you don't like. I hated endgames until I read this really fascinating book about endgames. If you're having trouble with how to analyze, I'm sure the forum members would be glad to help.

The bad news is that no chessplayer will ever stop blundering or losing. So the sooner you adjust to that, the better.
Even a tiny mistake could be considered a blunder for a grandmaster.

There are tons of people that get pissed easy and a lot of people have their own way in dealing wit that sort of thing. Best would be to find something that let's you calm down at those moments.

Good luck with chess and everything else.
We should certainly play some blitz sometime!