To Win or Not That Is The Question

To Win or Not To Win This Is The Question. With no wins there would be little point in playing chess. That is why I gave up on tennis but I did give it up on a high note as my last tennis tournament was my best result of such a class A tournament but I do confess the best players did not come from around all the country. My last victory was very satisfactory and no this much higher rated player was rated 1245 and it was over from the near beginning I ambushed him he must have been looking somewhere else for an attack but I saw a clear cut path to his throat and my dagger or weapon or the opportunity was at the ready he could have defended and thwarted my check mate but I don't think he even saw it coming. This time my performance was near perfect no flaws in my game no blunders no strategic mistakes no tactical errors just plain simple moves each one counting to move for excellence not for defeat. Opponent probably could clearly see I wasn't setting things up for a quick and decisive check mate which is what really happened. He just forced into doing what I had to do and that was stepping with him each and every step matching step for step feeling no distractions like the previous game. It is the games like this one where I could do no wrong only right which is why I keep playing the game until it isn't fun anymore.

This Is Nerves Galore

You have come to the right blog. Chess can and will make you nervous to what degree is a matter of opinion to lose in chess big time is not the end of the world but mentally it can appear to me true you will not suffer as in an accident while sky diving or hang gliding due to some unforeseen circumstances while playing chess as opposed to riding a surf or whatever by vehicle but a nice protected game of chess from the climate outside can still chill the nerves to a frazzle. Here I've played over close to three thousand games of online chess and my last opponent made my nerves into a frazzle the day has been long although the day hasn't even begun it is only 9:30am now but I've been on this caffeine kick now for many hours having taken more caffeine than usual about as much caffeine when I was a LSM operator or tennis player trying to practice for tennis tournaments when my performance counted. In this game against a 1220 rated player clearly higher rated than my rating of 1100 I blundered but he gave me the take back but then he did too and so I replied in turn. But his last blunder cost him the game players just don't blunder on line very much if it weren't for his blunder I would not have been so lucky as to winning the game. So you may ask what is so lucky when my nerves have turned to liquid jell? In this game my opening has been modified having changed the routine but not swaying drastically away from my practice routine. It is innovative or at least I've this feeling it is. In this instance the caffeine did make a difference but my day was not just pure chess practice. I'm looking at Jimmie Hendrix the greatest guitar player ever it is said and I'm studying that too. I figure the number one ranked chess player currently in the world Magnus Carlsen is doing the things which are right for him by engaging in other endeavors besides chess but they say he is just plain smart and he denies all of this being the young modest champion.

Civilized Chess Played To Your Schedule

Can today be the day I am prepared mentally I do have a choice. Having felt not right or mentally prepared gave me time to postpone the game. In any other sport I have known there is no such thing you either play out your schedule for that given day or you default. Online chess in this era my era isn't like that. I am very charmed that such a type of online chess games can cater to my whims.

Mind Preparation

As I go into another online chess game I first prepare and do the things that are necessary one must be prepared to do his or her best. And yes I predict there will be more and more women participating in this game traditionally played by males. It is just the way I can't choose or decree that this shall be so everybody knows for sure I'm not God. Anyhow chess like tennis is not to be taken lightly when entering an online game it is preparation for many who are thinking in terms of tournament chess after all ratings are assigned to each game played and yes I know some players don't think along these lines when I play them. Nevertheless it is Magnus Carlsen who said it himself as he has learned chess primarily from computers that one cannot operate without the other or in other words if it were not for computers he would not be ranked as the number one player of the world. You don't have to believe what I say I could be wrong. After all I only know what I read off the Internet and what some people believe and I did not get a near perfect score like Bill Gates did on the SAT exam. But if I am leading us all in the right direction then I say all for the better we are and how merrily merrily we can strut along.

Like I've said the caffeine gets me there when in a game playing contest as in these online chess games it is very much like the sport of tennis just before you get to play in a school tennis tournament except online chess is on your own time but every game counts toward ratings if one cannot win anymore but has a whole line of loses with no wins then something is to be said like don't go there anymore. Check out the 100th ranked tennis player who made a name for himself by thrashing Nadal Rafael in Wimbledon the other week he was in the zone he could do no wrong everything was going for him and for this he will be remembered. Buster Douglas was another who rang Mike Tyson's bell knocking him down for the count. I'm always looking and waiting or I want to look and wait for the opportune time to knock off a much higher rated chess player

The Slump: Can It Be Avoided?

As you can see in as much as I try to duck the chess slump it just sucks me into the depths of this seemingly bottomless pit and it is the opposite of being in the zone or I can do all the wrong not so much in blunders but in concentration. I love being in the zone but that will have to wait until whenever. There is no magic formula for arriving there to the zone but when I get there that is if I get there I probably will not be quiet about it. I will get there I always do and when I don't then I will go away from playing the games like I did tennis. The fond memories in tennis will never go away as well as the bitter ones too.

Chess Is Very Hard It Isn't As Easy As You Think

The rules are very easy to follow but to become a champion well it just isn't easy and when a player does become a champion he walks tall and proud he has this esteem that clouds in and around him he is far from the loser but he is the winner for all to see and maybe even worship. But please don't ask me what it is like I am not the champion with which I speak about. I have only seen them one in particular getting his physical fitness in tune so mind and body become one as when Bobby Fischer exercised at tennis like I did but now bicycle around to achieve physical fitness sitting down all day and all night doesn't cut it in chess the body needs movement in order for it to think well and play a good game of chess. My last two games drained me it was hard and I could not go on another game. It is a very hard game to master believe you me.

I Will Know When I've Arrived In The Zone

I'm still waiting for the zone when it comes I will know it this is called strategy in practice for the real game in ratings. Although I lost a practice game for no ratings I did put in my best but the best wasn't good enough I explained to my opponent what I am doing remember it pays to communicate intelligent messages where both opponent and I can benefit. In this way one can make friends and win over enemies or at least walk like a man live like a king and be all powerful like a queen. Being down in the slump is a regular track record for me if I wait it out by playing for no ratings I can get a feel for the game and decide whether I've had too much play or a burnout and then adjust accordingly. A slump doesn't last forever in as much as it seems to be. Writing this blog in chess helps me to see my statistics and where I am or was to where I am going. For instance recording and entering my weight daily from the past months and years shows that I'm making progress by charting the data. You genius types know what I'm talking about and it never takes a genius to know what I speak about. To know that you are headed toward progress is to know your better self. I'm playing chess not because it is easy but because it is hard. Once I achieve and realize a goal has been obtained then will I know I will know sing it to the tune of Whitney Houston there is a song in my heart.

Waiting For The Right Moment In Time

At this time there is not the feeling of being in the right mood nor the anticipation of playing decent chess and so the will to play at this time will be on hold. Now this makes sense why engage in something when you know deep down inside it would not be fun? And so I wait and I lie low