Special lecture by Ish Ramdewar
Chess Psychology- It’s all in the mind!
Or
How Not To Play Chess
by Ish
I did an analysis on all my games this season, and I found that when I
lost, it was mostly because of something wrong in my thought processes.
Usually, I just got lazy! This is the number one reason I dropped
points or half points! I trusted to instinct what I could have worked
out. In no game did I drop below 5 minutes on the clock at any point,
and only once below 10 minutes.
I concluded that work on my thought processes and approach to the
game
would improve my chess as much as technical work.
I hope what I’ve learned will be of value to you. If not, perhaps
you’ll be entertained by some of my most humiliating defeats!
All games here:
Know Thyself!
- Are you good in open/semi-open/closed positions?
- Do you like tactics, or positional play more?
- Do you have certain positions to avoid? (e.g. Closed positions
with a lot of manoeuvring) - Do you have certain positions to aim for? (e.g. Isolated
Queen’s Pawn) - Consider doing a self-analysis. Look through as many of your
games as possible, and root out the weak points and make note of what
you do well.
Know Thy Opponent!
- Ask the same questions of your opponent! Try to make life as
uncomfortable as possible!
Of course, there are times when you don’t know anything about your
opponent. In this case:
- Ask someone else who has played them for advice.
- Consider their age! Usually young opponents are tactically on
the ball, and are weaker in closed positions the endgame. Older
opponents can be a bit slow tactically and tire more easily, so try all
else being equal, go for a more unclear position! This tip will work
for most opponents, not all: be careful! - Look at their choice of opening. If they are playing Caro-Kahn
or the French, they’re probably solid. Choose a variation that they
probably won’t like as much (e.g. Panov-Botvinnik in Caro-Kahn)
Ramdewar-Gillard 1-0
In this game, I was playing the in-form Lee
Gillard who was ungraded
but won the first 6 games of the season (this was his seventh), from
the Met office. I played sensibly and got my opponent out of book very
early (3. c4 was the extent of his knowledge). I improved my position
and eventually my opponent cracked and blundered a piece. The endgame
is a good example of taking the easy path to a win (see later).
- If they play something really aggressive like the Grob (1.g4)
or the King’s Gambit, consider playing solidly, and giving back any
gambited material in order to obtain an equal(ish) quiet position that
they probably won’t want.
Ramdewar-Daley 0-1
In this game, I was playing an England junior with a bogus grade of 81.
I knew him to play the Sicilian Dragon, and saw him play excellently in
similar positions to what we had in the game. So what did I do? You
guessed it! I gave him his ideal kind of position! He uncorked a
novelty on move 10 and I was out of book (this must be the longest line
I know!) and he out played me whilst still in book. I sacrificed the
exchange and gave myself some chances (though he was objectively
winning). I then relaxed and proceeded to blunder the game away in fine
style!
Taking on ‘Weaker’ Opponents (Rabbits)
Meaton-Ramdewar 1-0
In this game, I was playing Arthur Meaton, a senior who I’ve seen play
often, and had beaten in rapidplay. I outplayed him from the outset,
then relaxed and didn’t look for his threats (in fact, I had seen the
threat much earlier and forgot, and played an instant move in a game
which was Fischer timed and I was getting 30 sec/move added to my
clock! The resulting postion was drawn by perpetual check, but I pig
headedly tried to escape, and was duly punished!
- Know thyself and thy opponent and play according to
strengths/weaknesses as shown above. A weaker player by grade will
often still have some pronounced strengths! Don’t dismiss them (seeing
them as a ‘rabbit’ can be dangerous!) - Everything else being equal, most stronger players will outplay
a weaker player positionally, especially in the endgame. - Consider playing a more quiet opening than you may be
used to (1. c4, 1.g3, 1.d4, 1.b3 come to mind.) Often something like 1.
b3 will knock a weaker player, at least psychologically. They may think
you are very strong in this line, and unfamiliarity can make them that
little bit more uncomfortable. - Don’t set a trap and assume a weaker opponent will fall into it
because they are ‘weak’. Only set a trap if it improves your position
by doing so. Assume your opponent will see your trap, and ask yourself
whether it’s still a good move! The one exception is completely lost
positions. - Remember that all of our opponents have ideas. Always ask
yourself what the threats are, what pitfalls you can fall into and take
your time.
Foley-Ramdewar 0-1
In this game, I kept it simple against Phil Foley, a slightly weaker
player than myself who I didn’t know much about. Even though I didn’t
play my best, the simpler nature of the position suited me more than it
did him, and the win was eventually assured.
Taking on ‘Stronger’ Opponents (Heffalumps)
Regis-Ramdewar 1-0
In this game, I was taking on Dave Regis, the current club champion,
and a man graded more than 50 points above me, so I knew I had nothing
to lose! I went in to try and produce an upset. I was marginally
outplayed for the opening, but in another IQP position managed to
outplay my mighty opponent for a short period and obtain a better
middlegame with black. I was then offered an endgame and saw it as
better for black (wrongly) and went for it, but didn’t even consider
keeping the middlegame! I blundered in an even endgame and that was
that.
- Believe you can win, and play for it!
- Don’t go for the draw from the off- make them beg you for it!
- Know thyself and thy opponent (as usual)!
- All else being equal, make the position strange and tactical.
Most of the time, by definition, you will lose to a better opponent.
However, a very tactical position greatly increases the chance they
have to mess up! - Stronger players are likely to beat you in positional play, and
often are stronger endgame players. Try and keep a complicated
middlegame position. - Don’t give up! Strong players make mistakes!
Ramdewar-Pope 1/2-1/2
Sean Pope is known as a very solid (if occasionally boring) player. His
style really is not suited to me, and I tend to struggle against Sean
more than the stronger (at least by grade) Simon Waters or even Dave!
In any case, I managed to keep setting my opponent problems in a very
difficult endgame, and was simply enjoying watching him squirm! I was
just trying to make his win as tough as possible. He avoided one draw
pitfall, but missed the triangulation (probably due to tiredness)
he needed for the full point, and I walked away with a juicy
half-point!
How to Play ‘Winning’ Positions
- If the time comes when you are winning, or significantly
better, don’t take a draw unless that’s all you need to win a
tournament or match. This applies especially against strong opponents
where we feel a draw is a ‘good’ result. Again: make them grovel for
it- make them prove they can equalise and draw. - A ‘winning’ position is only winning if you play the best
moves! Stay alert! - Remember that all of our opponents have ideas. Always ask
yourself what the threats are, what pitfalls you can fall into and take
your time. - Don’t force things. The win will come to you if you keep
playing the best moves! - Go for the simple win. If you need to give up material to
extinguish counterplay, do it! - When ahead, trade down, simplify. 3vs1 is much better than
12vs10! - Be careful of traps! Even bad positions often contain hidden
resources. Play hard and focus, even when it seems easy!
How to Play ‘Drawn’ Positions
- Don’t assume it’s drawn! Often ‘drawn’ positions have alot of
play in them! Look closely before deciding the position is drawn.
Ramdewar-Bartlett 1/2-1/2
Having rejected a draw-offer against an opponent graded 30 grades above
me on move 33 in a position with bishops of opposite colours, I felt
obliged to offer a draw 7 moves later as I saw no way of making
progress. In fact, the final position which looks drawish due to
bishops of opposite colours has a lot of life in it, and I could have
gone for it!
- Basically the most important thing to do in a drawn position is
to look for ways for your opponent and/or yourself to go wrong, if you
can avoid losing plans, the draw will be assured. - If your opponent makes a mistake, it’s your job to prove their
mistake costly. - Play slowly, and let small advantages accumulate. The only way
to win a drawn position is for your opponent to make mistakes: several
small ones or a couple of big ones! - Keep your eyes open, and perhaps you’ll get that extra
half-point. People get tired and lazy (remember Ramdewar-Pope?), the
endgame is the place that strong players can really show what they’re
made of!
How to Play ‘Lost’ Positions
- When you’re losing, knuckle down! Don’t lose an opportunity for
a swindle! - Simon W is an excellent case of a good swindler. He plays very
hard in lost positions, and his strength in the endgame skill wins him
many points and half-points. But how? - At some point, the position gets so bad that it’s no good to
play the ‘objective best move’. What you need is to set up ways for
your opponent to go wrong. - Constantly solving problems is tiring. The more problems you
can set, and the more difficult they are, the harder you make your
opponent’s job. - It may be that even though you’re ‘lost’, your position
contains a plus point, which if your opponent ignores could lead to a
result other than he is expecting! Sometimes it’s better to play
aggressively with this than to passively defend and get ground down. An
example of this could be a queenside pawn majority. Play for a break to
stretch your opponent. Try to give them ways to go wrong. - Remember, the worst that can happen is that you lose. But even
if you improve your score by ½ a point in a season, that’s still
a tangible improvement!
What to do When You Blunder
- We all know that we should be avoiding blunders, but sometimes
they happen. A nasty tactical fork can easily devastate your
positionally principled move. If so, what to do? - When you make one mistake, it’s very easy to be shaken.
Usually, you missed your opponent’s reply. Step one: stay clam! - Get up and have a 2-minute break. Get a drink.
- It’s usually worth spending some time completely re-evaluating
the position. Be as objective as you can. - Sometimes you’ll be losing after your blunder. If so, take the
advice above on playing lost positions. - If you were winning, your ‘winning’ plan probably doesn’t work
anymore, so you’ll need to make a new one. Be flexible. Don’t continue
as before, like me!
Whitfield-Ramdewar 1-0
In this game, I played a dubious move (8…Qa5) and decided to make
it
stick no matter what, when objectively, it’s probably best to bring the
queen back to d8 to defend. I played pig-headedly throughout and was
obliterated, and rightly so! Sometimes we have to accept we’ve done
something silly, play the position properly, according to a good plan,
not our old poor one and fight like a devil!
When Your Opponent Blunders
- Check whether it’s a real blunder. It may be a trap!
- If you can’t see a reason not to take advantage of the blunder,
do it! Even strong players make mistakes, and if we don’t pounce on
them, we will get crushed! - Don’t trust your opponent’s analysis! Their sacrifice may well
be unsound! Analyse for yourself. Even grandmasters make terrible moves
from time to time!
Tying it all Together
- Work out your strengths and weaknesses (i.e. know thyself).
Play to your strengths, and try to root out your weaknesses away from
the tournament board! - Make life difficult for your opponent. Fischer said “Chess is
like war on the chessboard. The object is to crush your opponent’s
mind!” - Aim for positions which exploit your opponent’s weaknesses.
- When winning or playing a weaker opponent, keep focused.
Simplify into an easy win instead of going for a brilliancy. - When losing, or playing a stronger opponent, complicate
things! - Most ‘drawn’ positions still have ways to lose! Keep your eye
on the ball! - If you make a mistake, re-focus and take extra time. Get up
from the board for a minute, get a drink. Look at the position as if
for the first time. In short start again. - If your opponent blunders, make sure it’s a blunder then punish
him!