Mantras for Chess Players

Ambition without Expectations Recently GM Noël Studer published a blog post with this title, which led me once again to reflect on the need for a Buddhist mentality when you are grappling with the challenging pastime of chess. I am thinking of the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism: that Life is suffering, that Desire (attachment) is the cause of suffering, that there is a Way to let go of suffering, and that following the Way is the way to let go of suffering. Every time we desire things to be other than they are, we suffer. As Noël writes, “Reality minus Expectations equals Well Being.” While I know that I will never achieve this mentality perfectly, I like the way it reminds me to try to let go of that intense focus on results in the form of wins and improved rating. 

You Win or You Learn One hears this a lot in the adult improver world, and it is a helpful reminder that the letter L can stand for more than loss. But I have to admit that I become impatient with it from time to time, because sometimes it seems like the only thing to learn from a game is that I can still blunder my queen or mouse slip or play too quickly when I think I see an amazing tactic that is really an amazing way to lose a piece. 

Connect to Vanquish Shame I heard words to this effect on a recent podcast from The Ono Zone. The idea is from Brené Brown via Ono’s wife, Yara. I know, shame is a heavy word and might feel a bit strong to apply to how you feel about your plummeting (or not-rising-as-fast-as-you-think-it-should) rating or your latest loss. But when we try to figure out why it can be so damned devastating to lose at this silly game when losses at other games just don’t match that feeling in intensity, it seems to have something to do with chess being considered a game of intelligence. Even if we know that this is an over-generalization, it is easy for a loss to tap into feelings of shame over not being smart enough or good enough or worse. This can lead to a strong temptation to go crawl in a hole or under the covers or inside a bottle. But the only thing that will help shame is exposing it to the light of day, in the form of a trusted friend or fellow walker on the adult improver path. This is what makes the chess Twitter discussions of failure and frustration so precious. There are people who have felt just as you do, and they are always there to listen. 

Progress not Perfection This comes from the Twelve Step programs and is an excellent principle to have in your quiver. But it’s not too helpful for adult improvers, who tend to decide what progress means instead of accepting it. And we often think that what it means is a bigger ratings jump—or even title—than is possible for us to achieve in the amount of time that we have decided it should take. 

Anyone Can Beat Anyone Lots of people say this, but when I heard Sara Herman say it, it really stuck with me. Of course this can be taken in two ways—you can beat anyone and anyone can beat you. Adult improvers seem to me to be a glass-half-empty bunch, so we are probably inclined to think of the latter interpretation. From where we sit, we know it is highly unlikely that we would ever beat the grandmasters at the top of the chess heap. But I have found some constructive ways to think about “anyone can beat you.” One is to remind myself not to get too giddy after taking someone’s queen or getting far ahead in material some other way. Strangely, even though I think that I always feel very humble about the little chess ability I have and that I never relax, feeling certain of victory in a game, I actually do relax. I have given back that queen later in the game countless times and seen a double-digit lead in material peter away to nothing or even to a balance in the opponent’s favor. I have really tried to watch for evidence of my relaxing during a game, and I’ve noticed that I have had the opening principles of Develop, Control the Center, and Get Your King to Safety so drilled into me that when I see the opponent not doing any of this I subconsciously decide that I can beat him. Well, guess what? Anyone can beat anyone.