In my career as a player and chess coach, I have dealt with many difficult problems that stand in the way of progress for both – myself and my students. One of the main problems that occur to most players is the lack of motivation once a certain level is reached and nothing magical happens. What I mean is that once a player performs well or achieves an expectation he previously had set then the question arises “now what?” “Should it be easier to win games now that my rating is pumped up?”
Many chess players ask me over and over again how to become more confident over the board. These players struggle from the lack of confidence and lose when they should’ve drawn or even won. Lack of confidence is a HUGE problem for many amateur players. If they’ve dealt with that problem efficiently, they could’ve easily taken their game to the next level. In today’s article, will we learn about 5 ways of boosting your chess confidence.
Many chess players have problem concentrating on a current position during the game. There are many distracting factors that negatively affect player’s ability to fully concentrate. There is no surprise that if a player cannot fully concentrate on the position he will most likely miscalculate, make a mistake and lose the game. Today we will learn about 3 simple, but very effective exercises that will help you to improve the concentration ability.
Grandmaster and world chess champion Bobby Fischer is famously quoted as saying, “Chess is life.”But can this two-player game, consisting of a square checkered board and playing pieces that are moved in different ways depending on their royal or military designation, benefit your mental and physical health?
Absolutely! Check out these seven surprising health benefits of playing chess and then consider your next move.
Many people are curious if there is a correlation between one’s chess rating and IQ score. I did some information research, compiled facts and data and decided that it should be a good time to write an article about IQ score and ELO rating correlation.
If there is a correlation between IQ and ELO it would be also interesting to know how strong it is. Is it true that only people with high IQs can be strong chess players? Do all strong chess players have high IQs? We will try to answer those and other questions throughout this article.
In his lecture “The Way of Art” Joseph Campbell reminds that James Joyce defined proper art as “static”—that is art which does not move you to desire, to loathe or to fear the object, but rather to be in awe of it. Campbell then goes on to St. Thomas Aquinas’ description of the aesthetic experience, which involves three phases: Integrity (wholeness, unity), Harmony, and Clarity (radiance, fascination).The King in chess is indeed a symbol of unity and wholeness and the other pieces are not separate entities but rather parts of “The One Thing”, as Campbell put it. Here a point can be made about the importance of boundaries. Campbell advises: “you’ve got to put a frame around you and become One Thing.”
Roumen Bezergianov is a therapist in Phoenix, Arizona. This is an excerpt of his book “Character Education with Chess”, where he describes how chess can be used by parents and educators to teach values and skills to young people.
“Character Education with Chess” is available on Amazon.com, Kindle Edition (you do not need a Kindle device to read Kindle books—“Kindle for PC” is available for free).
Chess is a very complex sport requiring a player to be in great mental and physical shape in order to perform well in rough competition. Many factors influence player’s performance, but food intake before and during the competition plays significant role in any chess event. Food intake before and during chess tournament significantly affects player’s performance. In particular, nutrition impacts player’s psychological state, alertness, memory recall and overall brain performance – the most crucial characteristics for chess. Therefore, chess players should develop individual diet to fit their needs.
Although some players believe, psychology has nothing to do with chess, it is surely an important element of the game. Dr.Emanuel Lasker, who held the World Championship title for 27 years, wrote “It’s the players who fight over the board, not the wooden pieces.
During a chess game both players are trying to trick each other, obtain an advantage and ultimately to win the game. Sports physiologist and a chess master N. Krogious, believes that there are many “right” moves for one or another position during a chess game, but sometimes, even a weaker move plays a decisive role in the game and wins because of psychological factors.
A lot of people are snatch-and-grab, fast-paced types who love expediency and the thought of cruising to an easy victory. For this demographic, the game of checkers has long been a fun activity. With no in-depth strategy needed, players scream, “King me!” as they jump their opponent’s pieces en route to the boards opposite end. But the game of chess, on the other hand, is considered the game of true Kings; a thinking man’s game that involves detailed strategy and a fearless disposition that never shies away from danger.