Improve Your Life by Playing A Game - Learn How To Turn Your Life

IMPROVE YOUR LIFE
BY PLAYING A GAME
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IMPROVE YOUR LIFE BY PLAYING A GAME
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First edition 202 1 by Thinkers Publishing

Copyright© 202 1 Jana Krivec
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.
All sales or enquiries should be directed to Thinkers Publishing, 9850 Landegem, Belgium.
Email: info@thinkerspublishing.com
Website: www.thinkerspublishing.com
Managing Editor: Daniel Vanheirzeele

Typesetting and Book Design: Boj ana Fortuna
Proofreading: Danila Krivec, Bob Holliman
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Graphic Artist: Boj ana Fortuna, Miran Krivec
Production: BESTinGraphics
ISBN: 978946420 1 024
D/2020/ 1 3730/43
IMPROVE YOUR LIFE
BY PLAYING A GAME
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Jana Krivec
Thinkers Publishing 2021

Written for affcurious mindJ· who never stop e;cpforirJ_J.
1Jelicatelto chess anlto the peopfe
who male ifpossi6fe for me to pfa3 chess.
1/ou 've male YY1J life/

I nt rod u ct i o n
"Chess is fife in miniature. "

(Gary Kasparov, former World Chess Champion)
There are numerous similarities between playing a game of chess and living in the game of life. This
book describes how psychological aspects that occur during chess playing or any other activity can
be used to improve everyday life. Garry Kasparov writes, that self-awareness is essential in order to
combine your knowledge, experience and talent and thus enable you to reach your peak performance
(Kasparov, How Life Imitates Chess, 2007) . He says that very few people ever take the opportunity to
do this kind of analysis.
As an active chess player, woman grand master, doctor of psychology and university professor, I fre
quently monitor my thoughts, feelings and behaviour. In doing so I see that I combine experiences
and insights I have gain'ed in playing chess with my current academic work. Many times in my life
I have realized that my behavior can be traced back to earlier experiences in chess. I have decided
to write this book acknowledging and describing all the benefits that chess has brought to my life.
Chess has made me who I am!
This book is partly designed as an autobiographical experience focusing on the processes that arise
in the life of a chess player that have be translated into everyday life. In part, the book incorporates
psychological theories that generally explain these processes, but overall it can be seen as a guide on
how to use any activity to learn skills that will enrich your life. There are several activities in life which
can be seen in the same way if we know where and how to exploit the opportunities. The truth is that
all aspirations are interconnected when we keep an eye on the thematic links. I believe that this book
will give you a new insight into how any ability can be transferred from a particular activity to the
universal wisdom of life. It will awaken your networking skills and teach you how to turn life activi
ties into lifelong skills that will improve your well-being.
The course of the book follows the typical process of playing chess, starting with training, followed by
the tournament situation, the course of the game, the time after the game and the tournament. Since
I am not a poet, I have often borrowed some quotations from famous, imaginative and clever people
from all over the world. I believe that these valuable thoughts have enriched the book.
One thing I ask you to do while reading this book is to open your mind and enjoy the inner journey.
So let us go and try to become aware of the processes behind our life activities. Let us find out what
and why we do what we do in our daily lives.
I M P ROVE YO U R LIFE BY P LAYI N G A GAM E 7

I nt rod u c t i o n
FOREWORD b y Dr. Matej Guid
The process of acquiring chess skills and gaining a deep insight into the thinking of chess masters
has always been an exciting topic. What are the special skills, talents and habits that distinguish great
chess players from club players has long been the subject of intense discussion. Little scientific work
has been devoted to this question, and there are practically no books that would combine knowledge
of psychology and the development of strategic thinking skills in a textbook of high educational
value. The greatest obstacle was that most psychologists who dealt with this question were not strong
chess players themselves and therefore had no direct access to the mental processes of chess at the
master level. On the other hand, it is also difficult to find first-class cognitive psychologists among
the chess players. Dr. Jana Krivec is a unique exception to this rule: a strong chess player, a woman
grandmaster with extensive experience in competitive chess, and a university professor in the field
of cognitive psychology, who devoted most of her research to understanding cognitive processes in
the minds of chess players.
The book Improve Your Life by Playing a Game takes us on an exciting j ourney through a wide range
of topics from psychology and explains these topics by putting the reader in the role of a tournament
chess player. Gaining a deeper understanding of the mind of a chess player during training, playing
and analysing chess games suddenly takes on a different dimension when explained through the lens
of modern psychology. Even non chess players can now deeply understand the famous quote that
chess is life in miniature. Throughout the book life, chess and cognitive psychology are so intimately
connected that the reader is given plenty of food for thought and valuable life lessons.
All this makes this book surprisingly interesting for a very diverse audience including:
• students of cognitive psychology who want to deepen their knowledge through case studies from
real life
• students of business administration and economics who want to develop and strengthen their
strategic thinking skills
• trainers and coaches in various sports (including chess, of course), who are aware that psychology
plays a decisive role in every competition
• chess players who want to improve their game by better understanding the role of psychology on
their way to mastery.
I
Finally, we should not forget all those curious readers who are constantly searching for ways to be
come true masters in the game of life.
Dr. Matej Guid

(University professor and FIDE master)
8 I M P ROVE YO U R LIFE BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

I nt rod u c t i o n
FOREWORD b y Dr. Sonja Cotar Konrad
The comprehensive scientific monograph Improve Your Life by Playing a Game by Dr. Jana Krivec
brings new insights into the connection between psychological concepts and chess. She focuses in
detail on various aspects of chess and combines them meaningfully with various aspects of the psy
chological functioning of an individual in daily life. It covers both cognitive and non-cognitive areas
of human functioning. It combines the cognitive aspect of chess with an individual's ability to iden
tify a problem and analyzes the ways and methods of searching for and evaluating the solutions. In
doing so she illuminates the concept of decision making and the question of facing up to wrong deci
sions. The author originally relates the rules and required skills in chess to the non-cognitive charac
teristics of the individual. The correct handling of emotions in solving problems and possibly wrong
decisions is only one of the personality traits she considers to be extremely important for (chess)
success in life. The author adds that a successful person (and chess player) is certainly characterized
by a high degree of self-reflection, perseverance in overcoming obstacles and achieving their goals.
However, the latter are not only set in form of learned techniques and strategies, but they conceal
within themselves a curious individual who is always searching for the meaning of his work. In this
scientific monograph, Dr. Jana Krivec, a psychologist and women's chess grandmaster clarifies new
insights and presents them in a new way for the psychological field. The monograph thus represents
an important milestone for various applied aspects of psychological knowledge (e.g. pedagogy, clini
cal psychology) and provides new insights for the professional and lay public.
Dr. Sonja Cotar Konrad

(University professor of psychology)
I M P ROVE YO U R LI F E BY P LAY I N G A GAM E 9

Conte n t
CONTENT
1. TRAININC 17
1.1 GOAL SETTING 19
1.2 MOTIVATION 23
1.3 SELF EXAMINATION AND IMPROVEMENT 29
1.4 DISCIPLINE, HARD WOR K AND PERSISTENCE 33
1.5 LEARNING FROM THE MASTERS 37
1.6 MEMORIZATION TECHNIQUES 41
1.7 WOR KING WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY 47
1.8 DELAYED REWARD 49
1.9 NEVER STOP EXPLORING 51
2. PLAYING A TOURNAMENT 57
2.1 PREPARATION 59
2.2 DURING A CHESS GAME 63

2.2.l ALWAYS FIND A M EANING 63
2.2.2 FOCUS AND CONC ENTRATION 65
2.2.3 SYSTEMATIC THINKING,
PROBLEM SOLVING AND D ECISION MAKING 70
2.2.4 ACTIVATION, PATI ENC E AND R ESPONSIBILITY 94
2.2.5 COURAG E and OPTIMISTIC THINKING 102
2.2.6 CR EATIV E THINKING AND FL EXIBILITY 108
2.2.7 B EING IN CONTROL OF YOUR F E ELINGS 114
2.2.8 NEVER STOP FIGHTING 115
2.2.9 E THICS 118
3. AFTER THE CAME 123
3.1 COPING WITH STRESS AND LOSSES 125

3.1.l COGNITIV E T ECHNIQU ES 128
3.1.2 B EHAVIORAL TECHNIQU ES 132
3.1.3 YOU DON'T FAIL, YOU L E ARN 136
I M P R OVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E 11

Conte nt
4. AFTER THE TOURNAMENT 1 45
4.1 A WILL TO CHANGE 147
4.2 WHO ARE YOU? 149
4.3 MIND AND BODY WOR K TOGETHER 155
4.4 POSITIVITY 159
4.5 DO WHAT YOU LI KE 161
4.6 GENS UNA SUMUS 162
5. POTENTIAL NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF CHESS 1 65
6. THEORIES AND STUDIES ON BENEFITS OF CHESS 1 67
6.1 CHESS AND EDUCATION 167

6.1.l CHESS AS AN ACTIV E T E ACHING TOOL 168
6.1.2 M E TA-ANALYSIS O F TH E B E NE FITS
O F CH ESS INSTRUCTION ON
EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES 170
6.2 CHESS AND HEALTH PROBLEMS 172

6.2.l D E M E NTIA 172
6.2.2 SCHIZOPHRENIA 174
6.2.3 ADHD 174
6.2.4 AUTISM SP ECTRUM DISORD ER (ASD) 174
6.2.5 ADDICTION 176
6.2.6 CHESS AS A REHABILITATION AND THERAPY 177
6.2.7 SOCIAL ASP ECT OF CHESS 178
SOURCES 183
ABOUT THE AUTHOR 189
12 I M P ROVE YO U R L I FE B Y P LAYI N G A GAM E

It seems like a quiet place...
...but its just the tip of an iceberg in the rough sea.

"7he roofr ofecfucafion are hitter hut the fruit is sweet. "
Aristotle
l TRAI N I N G
1. TRAINING
".Sf;<fJ la3s a!}er"r 9 tfa!J in tournaments, fve la3s 9 rest

ancf300 la3s 9 work on YY1!JJame. "
(Akiba Rubinstein, chess player)
Chapter summary
• When starting an activity properly set a goal.
• When setting goals follow SMART model.
• Find your active values, develop your internal motivation and need for achievement.
• Self-examination leads to improved performance.
• Talent is developed by hard work, discipline and persistence.
• Use modelling and positive comparison with successful people.
• Understand and master your memory.
• Find patterns in the information you receive.
• Let Al and modern technology be your friend not your enemy.
• Learn how to delay the gratification of your work.
• Don't be too cocky too soon and remember the Dunning Kruger effect.
• Never give up on exploring new things even if the results are not seen instantly, they will
inevitably appear.
Typically, chess training consists of learning chess openings, solving chess problems in order to be
come familiar with different motifs, analyzing games of top grandmasters, and learning endgames.
During the training process a chess player has to go through several different phases of his develop
ment. Some of these phases improve his knowledge while others focus on personal growth. Garry
Kasparov stressed how important it is for your future to understand and use your past, to learn
things for your future life.
In life, as in chess, you have to be practically productive. Without pain nothing is gained - or better
said, nothing is achieved without goals, focus, motivation, intelligent learning and personal growth.
All this leads to the development of your own personality and to the right foundations for a success
ful and fulfilled life. Let us take a look at the skills that develop during chess training.
";t( strorJ_J memof'!}, concentration, imtljination, anla sfrorJ_J wiffis

reiuirelto 6ecome aJreat Chess tfa3er"
(Bobby Fischer, former World Chess Champion)
I M P ROVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E 17

l.l G o a l sett i n
1.1 GOAL S ETT I N G
11great minis have purposes, others have wishes. 11

(Washington Irving, American author)
Key takeaways
• Always define your goal
• A specific goal enhances your motivation
• Your goal should not be too easy or hard
• Follow the SMART model
\\'hen we begin to get seriously involved in an activity we must set ourselves the goals we want to
achieve. Goals give us purpose and motivation to train. A clear goal keeps us on a defined path where
we are less likely to be distracted. Of course they can change during a career, but at every stage they
must be set correctly and motivate a person.
:\'ot every goal deserves a name. Let's say we have a goal: "I want to be happy". This is an overly broad
objective that does not fulfil any of the above mentioned functions of goal setting.
The SMART model is a goal setting approach which includes five characteristics that will en
chance the possibility of reaching the goal: "specific;' "measurable;' "attainable;' "relevant;' and
"time-bound:' Within each of these aspects one must answer several questions in connection
with the plan that the set goal will be reached.
When defining goals, it is advisable to follow a known SMART model. The SMART model guides you
through the following steps of goal definition:
TRAI N I N G 19
Spec i fic
When you set a goal it is very important to define the content precisely. Ask yourself the follow
ing questions: "What exactly do I want to achieve? What are the conditions and limitations? Who is
involved in the plan? How and where will the activities be carried out?" Identify requirements and
constraints. For example, a general goal would be: "Get in shape". A specific goal would be: "Join a
gym and train 3 days a week." When you set goals, also include your creativity. For example, success
does not always mean winning a game or a tournament, but it could be playing well, fighting, playing
a new opening, managing time properly, etc.
Measurable
Measurable goals mean that you determine exactly what you will see, hear and feel when you reach
your goal. Establish concrete criteria to measure progress towards each goal you set. This means that
you break down your goal into measurable elements that produce concrete evidence. Being happier
is too general. Better would be to define what "being happier" means, for example: "I will have pre
dominantly positive thoughts during the course of a day, other people will notice that I smile more often,
I will be more energetic and therefore engage in more daily activities, my close relationships will be more
satisfying, I will get involved in fewer arguments, etc.". Ask yourself questions like "How much? How
many? How do I know when it will be done?'' Measured results give us a kind of feedback: it is im
portant that we receive feedback. This way we know whether we are going in the right direction and
reduce/eliminate errors. This encourages us to continue the fight for the ultimate goal. The feedback
must be objective, positive and concrete.
Achievable
Goals should always be within the scope of your own abilities. If I set myself the goal of becoming
World Chess Champion, it would exceed my possibilities to achieve it. Similarly, it would not be right
for me to set myself the goal of winning at least one game in a tournament if I could win more. If your
goal is realistic, with hard work and determination, you should be able to achieve it.
"When I play, I always have goals that I know I can achieve.

However, I am aware that something might surprise me. Already
at the beginning of the game I think about which endgame struc
tures I want. Then I choose the opening strategy that gets me there
most likely. If my opponent is making a counterattack or has a
skillful defense, in most cases I've already considered it, studied it
in similar historical games, and created my own response."
Susan Polgar, former Women's World Chess Champion

Photo: Lennart Ootes
20 I M P ROVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

-:-0u should recognize the difference between focusing o n realistic goals (e.g. winning the game) and
:.."-l e forces that could dissuade you from your goal (e.g. too strong of an opponent, unfamiliar opening) .
::.--- en if you cannot fully predict the future or do not know whether unexpected obstacles will arise, it is
;.:ill possible to assess whether your goals are reasonably achievable or whether the obstacles preventing
·.·0u from achieving them are simply too high. When formulating realistic goals, you should not forget
:v think about the possible contingencies and how to deal with the possible obstacles.
-=-::1 ere is a reason why people set their goals too high or too low - low self-esteem and low self
::5.:iency. If I set myself a goal that is extremely easy to achieve, my self-esteem is safe. In a way my
'°"lt--esteem is also safe when the goal is almost impossible to achieve such as "I want to be a world
_-;:,impion". We often hear people say: "Well, I'll try, I have nothing to lose". However, if I set myself
"- goal that is achievable but still not so easy to reach, I might succeed or fail. In the latter case, my
�If-esteem will suffer. If it is already low, we could have a problem. When we set goals that we never
:ir always achieve, we have to ask ourselves about the reasons and challenge our self-worthiness.
iatarodi and Swan (200 1 ) claim that there are two concepts behind self-worthiness, namely the feel
:r1g of being competent and the feeling of being accepted (by other people). I agree that the threats
:ome from these two directions. Whether we fear that we are not loved/ accepted by society or that we
:·eel powerless. Marisa Peer propagates the statement "I am enough". It refers to numerous potential
Jangers of the self-thought "I am not enough". Not being worth enough is definitely something we
-.,·ant to avoid, and if that feeling is too intense it can also affect goal setting. Remember that goals
;.hould always be a challenge, not a threat! You are (good) enough and the action that lies ahead of
:.-ou will not change that. Here it helps to seek external advice whether from a friend, family member
or professional advisor. Make sure that you distinguish between a realistic goal and a wish.
Relevant
\\-hy do you want to achieve this goal? Will the achievement of the goal meet your expectations?
\\"hat is the objective behind the goal and will this goal really achieve it? I could imagine that winning
a particular game will change my chess career, but will it really? Understand why the goal is impor
tant for you. Will it bring you financial benefits, will you do it to become famous and respected, or
Kill you be fulfilled because you have mastered the special chess technique?
Timely
_\ goal should be grounded within a certain time frame. With no time frame involved, there is no
sense of urgency. If you want to lose 10 kg, by when do you want to lose them? "Someday" won't work.
However, if you anchor it within a time frame, "by May 1st", then you have set your subconscious
mind in motion to work towards the goal. It is all the more important to set goals at a time when a
person has a full schedule. After all, a day has 24 hours, and if you want to do many things, you have
no time to daydream, procrastinate and waste time. The schedule forces us to reserve time during the
day for each activity. If there is a time frame, it is easier to fill it with actions just as it is easier to draw
a picture when you already have a sketch.
SMART goal setting can be used in all aspects of life. From founding a company to refining existing
processes; from finding the perfect partner to staying together. It brings clarity to your plans and
gives you energy to achieve your goals.
TRAI N I N G 121
l.l Goa l settin
Table 1 . An example of time management for 1 day.
Day 1 - content Checking the results Threats Solutions
8:00-9:00 Wake up, breakfast
Search for older tour-

Working on openings Analyzed at least 10
I cannot find this nament
opening I many games I additional analysis
- Caro Kann: check the games from the last
9:00-10:00
last world class tourna- tournaments from the
are from blitz with computer or
ment strongest players
trainer
10:00-10:15 Break
Play a "game" where

Working on openings
you compete with
10:15-13:00 - Caro Kann computer Loss of motivation
computer on guessing
analysis
the moves
13:00-14:00 Lunch
14:00-14:30 Coffee Break
Playing a match with

14:30-16:00 Played 10 blitz games
my coach
16:00-19:00 Free
Motivate yourself with

Jogging with my gym positive techniques.
19:00-20:30 10 km ran Tiredness
trainer Once a week a small
award
20:30-24:00 Free
Ruminating the chess Use of relaxation

24:00:00 Sleep
openings techniques
A m i n ute for self-reflecti on

Define one of your goals following the SMART model.
22 I M P ROVE YO U R LI F E BY PLAYI N G A GAM E

1.2 M otiva t i o n
1.2 M OTIVAT I O N
(Gaelic)
Key takeaways
• Develop your internal motivation and need for achievement
• Find your active values
• Sources of motivation change through life
Setting goals is closely linked to motivation. If a person is not motivated, any task can be a burden
and the question of dropping it is in the air. Therefore, it is important to be motivated in all phases
and aspects of our activities, e.g. training, playing, etc. "To be motivated" is easy to say, but finding
motivation is not always an easy task.
"It is importa n t to train in small doses in order n o t to lose the joy of

playing chess."
Viswanathan Anand, former World Chess Champion

Photo: Jos Sutmuller
When you try to motivate yourself, it is important to first identify what motivates you. In sports,
in chess or in life you can strive for different things. Theories define several possible motives that
determine your behavior.
TRAI N I N G 23
l.2 M otiva t i o n
"I am not competitive at all. Even now, ifI play tennis orfootball, I don't
care about losing. I enjoy the process, and it doesn't make any difference
if I win or lose. Instead, I just have this permanent will to become better
and improve, and I think that this actually leads to a greater motivation
than ifI werefixated on the results. Ifyou really like what you do and you
enjoy the process, then that gives you a drivingforce to keep working at it,
even when things are stressful."
Vladimir Kramnik, former World Chess Champion

Photo: Lennart Oates
Some people are motivated by success and achievement which is

Need for achievement � important both in chess and in life. Henry Murray ( 1 938) defined
(N-Ach) refers to an in this characteristic as the need for achievement (N-Ach) . It refers
dividual's desire for sig to an individual's desire for significant accomplishment, mastery
nificant accomplishment, of skills, control or high standards. People with a higher need for
mastering of skills, con achievement will set goals that are difficult but not impossible to
trol, or high standards. achieve. They love tasks that differentiate people.
N-Ach enhance intense,
prolonged and repeated Those with a low N-Ach, on the other hand, choose very simple
efforts to accomplish tasks to minimize the risk of failure or very difficult tasks so that a
something difficult. It failure would not be embarrassing. People with a high N-Ach are
is an indicator failure of characterized by a tendency to seek challenges and a high degree
work with singleness of of independence. Their most satisfying reward is the recognition
purpose towards a high of their achievements. The sources of high N-Ach include: par
and distant goal. It shows ents who have fostered independence in childhood, praise and ap
the determination to preciation for success, linking achievement with positive feelings,
win. People high in N linking achievement with one's own competence and effort (not
Ach are characterized by luck) , desire to be effective or challenged, intrapersonal strength,
a tendency to seek chal desirability, feasibility and goal setting abilities. All these are quali
lenges and a high degree ties that are desirable in competitive environments such as sport
of independence. Their or work.
most satisfying reward is
the recognition of their
achievements.
24 I M P R OVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

l .2 M ot ivat i o n
_-\.:cording to McClealand ( 1 958), there are two types of motiva

tion: internal and external. Internal motivation is derived from
-.,ithin a person, personal motives and values. Externally moti- Lea n i n g m ostly o n
-.-ated people carry out an activity only to receive rewards or avoid i nte r n a l m otivation
?Unishment. External motivation may be helpful at some point, you will:
'.:>ut in the long run you need to base your motivation on internal • experience fewer moti
:notives and values. vational fluctuations,
Some studies have shown that offering excessive external rewards • be less likely distracted,
:-or already internally rewarding behaviour can lead to a reduc • be more forgiving of
:ion in intrinsic motivation, a phenomenon known as the over your own mistakes,
=ustification effect. In one study children who had already shown • be more focused on
:nterest in playing with a toy were rewarded for playing with it. learning and improving,
They became less interested in the object after being rewarded • become more confi
c).." ternally. However, unexpected external rewards do not usually dent and self-sufficient,
reduce intrinsic motivation. • feel greater satisfaction
in your achievements.
'/\.person's interest often survives when a reward is used neitherfor bribery nor
for control, but as a signal of a job well done, such as a "most improved player
award". If a reward increases your sense of competence after good work, your
enjoyment of the task can increase. Rewards that are administered correctly can
motivate people to achieve maximum performance and creativity."
David G. Meyers, 2004,

Professor of Psychology at Hope College, Holland, Michigan US.
There are theories that focus on how a task can be designed to be highly motivating for the indi
vidual. Vroom's expectancy theory assumes that behavior results from conscious choices among al
ternatives whose purpose is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain (Yourcoach, 2020). It assumes
that motivation will be higher if:
• a person expects that the more effort he puts into the activity the better the results will be (so called
Expectancy)
• a person believes that the particular activity will lead to the desired goal (so called Instrumentality)
• a goal will satisfy a persons need (so called Valency): if someone is mainly motivated by money, for
example, he will not appreciate the offer of an additional holiday.
It is advisable to consider these three components when organizing tasks and work if we want a per
son to be motivated to fulfill them.
TRAI N I N G 125
12 M ot ivat i o n
Motivation changes i n the course o f life. For example, I first played chess fo r fun. This did not
mean that I had no motivation for training. On the contrary, I trained hard to be good so I could go
to tournaments, meet new people, meet my friends, have fun, see new places and different cultures.
Following the Klaws Grawe (2006) paradigm of neuropsychotherapy, the search for pleasure and
the avoidance of pain is one of the basic psychological needs of man. I would say that pleasure was
a pretty strong motivation for me. Over time my motivation was driven by success and enjoyment
of the game. This is normal, according to the sports psychologist Tufak (Tufak & Tusak, 1 994), who
states that from the perspective of developmental psychology, at first the most motivating thing is fun
and enjoyment of the game, followed by the motivation of success and money (as shown in Figure 1 ) .
Fig u re 1. Trend of mo

tivational sources during
fun. friends (internal motives) sport career.
money, glory, success (external motives) AMOUNT OF TIME IN SPORT
It is important to respect and use this energy motor at every stage of the development of a particular
activity. If my parents had forbidden me to have fun and demanded that I play tournaments only
at home and not abroad, or if my coach had concentrated only on pure chess theory, it would have
become boring for me and my motivation would have been gone. In fact, at one point in my chess
career this really happened to me. Apart from having fun, I always wanted to be creative in chess and
really not learn the openings by heart. At some point there was an opportunity to train with a highly
respected grandmaster and chess trainer. My family and I were very happy that he accepted me as his
student. Everything was great until we really started to work. One session looked like this: We ana
lyzed one of my chess games and when things started to get interesting (from my point of view) we
saw that I had made a mistake in the opening and that was the end of our analysis, because from the
coach's point of view we had found the mistake in the game. I am not saying he was a bad coach, quite
the opposite - he was perfect for some established, older grandmasters. However, not for a young girl
who wanted to have fun playing chess - on and off the board. Not for me. My Elo rating (Wikipedia,
2020a) dropped by many points during that time. The coach does not have to be a top expert in the
discipline in which you want to improve, but he must have a feel for your needs and know how to
improve them. He has to know you as a person, as an athlete and train YOU within the discipline,
not just the discipline itself.

l.2 M ot ivation
A m i n ute for self- reflection
=-.i t 3 events/results that you are proud of or feel good about when you remember them.
l. _________ 2. _________
ow explain why you're proud of them or why you like to remember them? What's behind the
_ -
eYents you're proud of? What are the reasons for your success or failure?
From these explanations you can see what is important to you and what drives you towards
your goals. Further plans and goals should be defined according to these needs. Thus, when the
goals are achieved, they will satisfy the need that motivates you. If there are problems in achiev
ing the goals, we have to redesign them.
If you have problems motivating yourself, try to focus on the result. Imagine you have a bunch
of dishes to wash, you don't even know where to start, and of course you will postpone it for
"later". Now imagine what it will be like when the dishes are washed, everything shines, you
feel good. Even if you're still at the beginning with dirty dishes, it is much easier to get to work
when you think about the end result than when you concentrate on the work that needs to be
done on the way there. Imagine what it would be like if you had achieved something you were
striving for. Close your eyes and imagine what life will be like when you have achieved your
goal. What will you have, who will be around you, what will you do, what will you see, hear
and/or feel.
This visualization really helps to clear the way to the desired achievement. It is one of the tech
niques used by the Neurolinguistic Psychotherapy Approach. D uring the tournament I like to
imagine how good it will be if I achieve a good result, win a game and so on. It gives me the
strength and motivation to make it happen. If a negative feeling or doubt overcomes my win
ning image I try to realize that this is just something that could prevent me from reaching my
goal. If I have trained and am prepared these emotions only harm and must be escorted out of
my body and mind.
TRAI N I N G 27
l.3 Self exa m i n a t i o n a n d i m prove m e n t
1.3 S E LF EXA M I NATI O N AN D I M P ROVE M E N T
"1<nowir>J3oursef{is the he_Jinnir>J ofarrwislom, II
(Aristotle, Greek philosopher)
Key takeaways
• Personality traits guide one's behaviour

• Self-examination of temperament, character, and
capabilities leads to improved performance in various life
situations
:n the previous chapters we have learned about motivation and goal setting. Before we start train
:ng, we need to dive into self-examination. Every chess player must find his own playing style before
:he training begins. Chess openings can lead to different types of positions. Some are "open" and
�equire attacking, aggressive play, others are "closed': where the game is calm and positional, requir
:ng patience and exploitation of small details in the game. Chess players typically like only one type
0f game. Either calm and not too aggressive or vice versa. Therefore, a chess player must be well
·•ersed before starting training and choose openings that suit his personality and playing style. Self
examination is essential on the way to improvement.
'1 am convinced, the way one plays chess

Perso n a l ity tra its always reflects the player's personality. If
something defines his character, then it
Relatively stable patterns will also define his way ofplaying."
of thought, feeling, or be
havior that characterize Vladimir Kramnik,
an individual. former World Chess Champion
Knowing oneself is important in all areas of life. Take your profession, for example - is it the right
one for you? Does it suit your personality? There are big differences when we work in the area that
fits our character, skills and personality traits or when we work in areas where the tasks do not fit our
personality.
TRAI N I N G 29
l.3 Self exa m i n a t i o n and i m prove m e n t
Following the most widely accepted and frequently used personality traits model called Big Five, we
can distinguish five different dimensions that can fairly describe one's personality. These dimensions are:
openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. If we are extro
verted to a high degree, we will enjoy jobs with many social contacts and dynamics, such as selling, but we
will struggle with too much order in the work environment or have problems coming to meetings late, etc.
On the other hand, if we tend to be introverted, we will hate being disturbed at work and we will not be
satisfied and successful with a job that requires public appearance and speaking in public, but we will be
able to do a routine job for a long time. If we are highly agreeable, we will enjoy social jobs, but we will not
be suitable as lawyers. For people with a high openness to experience, routine is a nightmare, but they love
creative work that requires constant development and training. Studies have shown that senior managers
tend to be less neurotic and agreeable, but more extraverted and conscientious .
• 75
Close-minded #····
OPENNESS
--------------·----- t ·· ·· ····· --;; Open to new experiences
25 ,,,
r�' .,.
Disorganized ---- �t CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
----7'------------ Conscuentious
Introverted -------+ ._,________

1
Extraverted
95
•
Disagreable ------/-
AGREEABLENESS
t
-------------�--• Agreeable
0 1
t NEUROTICISM
Calm/relaxed -=---'----��-��======�=- Nervous/high strung
�
Fig u re 2.The Big Five personality traits are the most widely accepted and frequently used
�
personality model. Each person is well described with a position along each of these character
istic dimensions. Source: VandenBerghe, 20 I 2.
"Who fook;· outside, dreams; who fook;· inside, awakes. "

(Carl G. Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst)
As part of self-examination it is also important to identify your strengths and weaknesses and to
find the activities that highlight the former and minimize the latter. My style, for example, is very
offensive. I hate (and play badly) positions that are closed where you have to maneuver your pieces
all over the board to get to a certain square where they increase their value. I do not have the nerves
for that. I also hate endgames - that is why I'm afraid to swap queens and try to avoid it. It is not good
to be a narrow-minded player who only knows a limited number of positions, but it is still better to
know your weaknesses and enter positions that you like and that you play better. I also had a problem

l.3 Se lf examina t i on and improvement
c>fbeing afraid of better chess players. When I played against a weaker opponent I fought to the end
md looked for every chance to win. However, when my opponent was ranked higher, the situation
••as reversed. During the whole game I just waited for my opponent to offer me a draw which I would
a-:cept even though I was in a much better position. I partially eliminated this weakness by using a
;imilar method as described in the case of the young chess player Sakshi.
"'Here is an example of Sakshi, a chess player describing his weaknesses (Source Silman, 2016)
�c;1pt1on of the Pf9bi,E'[!l�·:··, y: '.:;::3 · � • ' ...:·.· _: :::, · '. :.:. ;..: .. " ·:
· suddenly mode a blunder. and I just don't know why I do it. I was winning in this game, I was confident in this
;:::me that I am winning, but suddenly with a stupid blunder,! lose it all. I was very sad after that."
· usually make these types of mistakes whenever I got a good position or when I am up in material. I want to
:: . oid it as much as possible, but I can't succeed in it. In any tournament, it has now become a habit, to lose a
;X>d game with a single blunder. How can I eliminate this problem?"
t:xample
Saks h i vs. Priyamvada

0-1 Del h i , 2016
Saks h i played 44.Radl and lost after 44... Bf3 fol lowed by mate with Rook
on hl. I nstead he cou ld s i m p ly play g4 and draw the game.
Diagnosis
l. Fear of a h ig h e r-rated opponent. It is very com mon. The 1200-player fears the 1400-player, the 2200-player fears
the 2300-playe r, the 2400-player fears the i nte rnational masters, and the i nternational masters often fear the
g randmaste rs. This fear is so debi l i tati ng that serious players must end this disease once and fo r a l l .
2. Relaxation in good/wi n n i ng positions, with consequent b l u nders.
l. You have to accept that you wi l l lose lots of games. The world champion loses games, and you wi l l too. It is u na
voidable. Si nce you know you' l l wi n some and lose some, trai n you rself to be a warrior. P l ay every game to wi n ,
even if you r opponent is SOO rat i n g poi nts h i g her t h a n you . D o NOT play t o draw aga i n st anyone! ALWAYS play
to wi n; o n ly accept a draw if the position is com pletely drawn, bor i n g , and a waste of t i m e to cont i n ue. When
you enter a game with that me ntal ity, you'l l f i nd that you r opponents are the ones that are f ri g htened of you!
2. When you know you are wi n n i ng, do the fol l owing:
a. Don't t h i n k the game wi l l w i n itse lf. Don't take you r foot off the opponent's th roat.
b. Don't relaxi You can relax when the game is over.
c. If you have lots of time on you r clock, use itl Look for all the t h i ngs that m i g ht h u rt you . Don't move u n t i l
you a r e com pletely conf ident you a r e safe.
d. NEVER move quic kly! M any do, hoping to quickly end the "easi ly wi n n i ng" game. That sets you up for an
agon i z i n g fal l . I n stead, enjoy you r opponent's m isery. Enjoy the wonders of you r position. Be patient, focused
and enjoy the game t i l l the end.
l * - This is the remark for tasks that are related to chess specifically. Non-chess players can skip them.
TRAI NI N G 31
l.3 Se lf exa m ination and i mprove ment
Anatoly Karpov, former World Chess Champion said: "I didn't know so well chess theory, the theory of
chess openings. And so, of course I knew the theory, but not on the level of the best players, so this was
my. . . this was always my weakness".
Such a self-examination shows us where and how we have to work in order to improve ourselves.
Drawing general conclusions about your main weaknesses can be a great incentive for further
growth. Some personal traits that are usually present in top athletes can also be harmful when over
expressed, such as perfectionism, the need for control, self-criticism, etc. "Ifwe are aware of the nega
tives, the worst-case scenarios, the potential crises, we can work to eliminate those weaknesses now
and by so doing improve the quality of our performance overall. We cannot wait for disaster to strike
before making changes. "Find and fix" has to be our mantra . . . . Questioning yourself must become
a habit, one strong enough to surmount the obstacles of overconfidence and dejection. It is a muscle
that can be developed only with practice:' (Kasparov, 2007).
"You know, it's not about sharing or not sharing it. It is, maybe,
about a particular trait of my character that was preventing me
from accomplishing my ambitions. And it seems to me that now I
have got rid of that. Lately, I might have become wiser and more
friendly. At least, I'd like to believe that's so, since I've worked on
it. . . . Well, I can't say it's about changing myself completely, it's rath
er about making slight corrections. We keep changing throughout
our lives, and one of the traits that could change is the degree of ag
Levon Aronian, gression. In this respect, we should pattern ourselves a bit, in order
world class grandmaster to comply with our epoch. That's what I was working on."
1. Cognitive pie
If you think something is bothering you, a
cognitive pie is a good practical solution.
Draw a circle and divide it according to the se
verity of the problem. For example, divide the
circle according to the things that prevent you
from achieving your goal(s). It is very impor
tant to put abstract things on paper to define
them explicitly.
2. *Try to play a chess game and determine

which type of positions suits you most. Are Cognitive pie example.
you a more positional or tactical player? Goal: increasing chess strength.
32 I M P R OVE YO U R LI F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

l.4 D isc ipl i ne, h a rd wo r k a nd pe rsiste n ce
1.4 D I SC I PLI N E, HAR D WO R K AN D P E R S I STE N C E
"1-larlwork 6eats tafent when tafent {ai/S to work harl."

(Kevin Durant, American basketball player)
Key takeaways
• Work is a wheel that moves you ahead
• Talent is nothing if work doesn't develop it
• Expertise on every domain demands approximately
1 0.000 hours of work
• Falls should not prevent you from pursuing your goal
hery aspect of life must be nourished in order to develop. Nothing should be taken for granted.
:\ lalcolm Gladwell (2008) discussed that to become an expert it takes 10000 hours (or approximately
1 0 years) of deliberate practice. Ericsson et al. ( 1 993) underlined, also, that the quality of the practice
\,·as important.
'/ls a personality, I'm a fighter, you know. And I don't give up, and if I be
lieve I'm correct, I'm right, then I work, and I fight. Okay, this could be over
a chess board, this could be in life, and so I defend my principles." He even
said: "Maybe the only (important) talent you need or people can have, is the
ability to work (hard)!"
Anatoly Karpov, former World Chess Champion

"9(9 rest 9 rust. "

(Placido Domingo, Spanish opera singer)
Individual differences, even among elite performers, are closely related to assessed amounts of de
liberate practice. Many characteristics once believed to reflect innate talent are actually the result of
intense practice extended for a minimum of 10 years (Ericsson et al., 1 993).
TRAI N I N G 33
l.4 D i sc ipl ine, h a rd wo r k and pe rsisten ce
To be disciplined and diligent is something that cannot be avoided during chess training.
Imagine you have to learn this:
Fig u re 3.
Page of a
Chess Informant
Source: personal archive.
Seems quite impossible, doesn't it? But actually it is only a small fragment of the material that a
chess player has to learn during his career. Therefore, the attitude of a chess player does not include
thoughts such as "I can't.", "It is too hard.", etc.
"Professional players work almost every day, for hours on end, and the em
phasis is on the word 'work.' It can be with a partner or it can be alone, but
professional chess is always a pursuit of something new and surprising."
Viswanathan Anand, former World Chess Champion

Photo: Jos Sutrnuller
Don't be surprised - small children use such an approach every day. For example, when they learn to
walk, they fall... not once, not twice, but a hundred times and more . . . and yet they don't give up, they
don't think: "Oh, maybe this 's not for me!". They have the discipline, they work hard and in the end
they all learn to walk. That's something we should remember at some moments later in life. Moments
when we lack discipline or motivation to stand up and fight.
(1 .00)365 = 1 .00
(1 .01 )365 = 37.7
Doi n g noth i n g at a ll
vs.
S ma l l consistent effort

l .4 D i sc ipl i ne, h a rd wo r k a nd pe rsiste n ce
(Thomas Alva Edison, American inventor and businessman)
-:he same can be seen in very successful people. None of them have succeeded without multiple failures along
:..':.e
way. These failures taught them a great deal. It was the failure that shaped their success. Walt Disney was
:'..red for lack of original ideas. He was rejected 302 times before his first success. Teachers told Thomas Edison
:-. e was too stupid to understand anything. He had more than 9000 unsuccessful attempts before he invented
:..1e light bulb. Later he said that none of these attempts were a failure, but a lesson and a step towards his
s.rccess. Lionel Messi was kicked off a soccer team at the age of 1 1 because he was too short due to a growth
::ormone disease, later he became the best player in the world. A chess player like any other human being
::mst learn to be persistent. I remember a tournament where I once lost 5 games in a row. The next day I had
:0 go out there and play a new game and face another possible defeat. I didn't give up and eventually, I won.
"9'm aJreat 6eliever in fuckanl9 �nlthe harler

9 wor� the more 9 have ofit. "
(Thomas Jefferson, former US President & politician)
Being persistent and striving to achieve your goal is easier if you do things you like to do and that make you
happy. In this case there is no failure deep enough to stop you. All successful people are extremely persistent.
"20 1 6 was a difficult yearfor my chess, but I want to thank myfriends, family
and my supporters for being patient with me. The new year will be very differ
� � � � ��
winning is the biggestjoy in life for me, and setbacks only make me more eager
to play, and stronger personally. Happy New year to you all, have a great 201 7!
Levon Aronian, one of the top Chess Grandmasters, toasted the new year
of 20 1 7 with this Facebook message.
I am sure each of you has your dreams that may be hidden from the rest of the world. Let them out.
Do not be afraid to take a risk and try to fulfil them. The airplane was invented only 100 years ago.
We wouldn't be flying today if there were not people who were not afraid to make their dreams come
true. People who believed in their ideals where others could see threats of falling planes. Ideas and
achievements are out there, waiting to be discovered, waiting for you. Helen Keller, a blind and deaf
American writer, political activists and professor was once asked: "What on Earth can be more dev
astating than a person born without sight?" She answered: "The only thing worse than being blind is
having sight but no vision:' So don't just use your life to grow old with it. Use every single day of it.
Do not just follow the established paths. Turn away sometimes, go your own way and leave a trail.
TRAI N I N G 35
1 .4 D i scipl ine. h a rd wo rk and pe rsistence
"1'r0Jress is not achieve/63 fuck or 63 accilent,

6ut 63 workirlj on3oursef(lai§. "
(Epictetus, Greek philosopher)
• Name some of your previous goals that required at least 1 week of hard work. Write down how
you felt when you crossed the finish line.
• List some of your achievements, for which, not much work was needed. How did you feel in this
case?
• Compare the level of satisfaction when you reached the "easy" and the "difficult" goal.
• Define your life vision, for which you are willing to spend 10.000 hours working to fulfil it.
• *Try to learn a new chess variation.
D I SC I P LI N E
HAR D WO R K
P E RS I STE N C E
36 I M P ROVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAY I N G A GAM E

l .5 Lea rn ing f rom t he ma ste rs
1.5 LEAR N I N G F R O M TH E MAST E RS
"7he on§ wa3 to3et smarter is 63 (1fa3ir>_J a

smarter 0(1(1onenf. "
(Fundamentals of Chess; 1 885. Source: www.reddit.com )
Key ta keaways
• It is good to find a role model and to understand what he is doing for his success
• Comparison of oneself to masters needs to be in a positive way
"f.ive, fose, andlearn, 63 o6servir>_JJour o(1(1onent how to win "

(Amber Steenbock)
\ lost of us chess players, have a role model. A person whose play we admire and from whom we
learn. We analyze their games and try to understand their mind, their way of thinking, so that we
.:an become more like them - i.e. better. One may say that we are doing "modeling" and use positive
.:: omparison with successful people.
:\fodelling and positive comparison to successful people: During training, a chess player needs to
analyze hundreds of games of strong grandmasters to improve his performance. He must understand
why they are so good - what do they do differently, how do they think, etc.? In order to gain knowl
e dge from a master's work, we need to analyze it properly. We try to monitor what successful people
do and improve ourselves in this way. Therefore, modeling is one of the techniques used in neurolin
guistic programming (Dits et al., 1980) to improve one's life. According to this technique, the work
should first be divided into smaller parts, following the rule 'as simple as possible and as complex as
necessary". Each task is manageable if it is broken down into sufficiently small parts. The division of
complex behavior patterns into transparent components that can be learned in this way is the basis
for modeling. Modeling is the process of recreating excellence. We can model any human behavior by
mastering the beliefs, physiology, and specific thought processes (these are the strategies) underlying
the ability or behavior.
TRAI N I N G 37
l .5 Lea r n i ng f ro m t h e m a sters
The ste ps of a successful modelli n g i n clude ( Exce l l ence a s s u red , 201 9):
• Finding the experts, w e want t o model and the contexts i n which they apply the capability
to be modelled.
• Gathering up the relevant information from different perceptual positions.
• Decomposition of the task into meaningful parts.
• Filtering of the information gained from experts according to relevant cognitive and behav
ioral patterns that reflect the defined parts.
• Organization of the patterns into a logical, coherent structure or model.
• Testing the effectiveness/usefulness of the model you have constructed by trying it out in
various contexts and situations, and making sure you are able to achieve the desired results.
• Reduction of the model to the simplest and most elegant form that will still produce the
desired results.
• Identification of the best procedures to transfer, or 'install' the explicit skills identified by the
modelling process.
• Determine the most appropriate tools to measure the results of the model and find the limits
or "edge " of the validity of the model.
By-products of the modeling process are: a better understanding of something through the develop
ment of more meta-knowledge about the processes on which it is based; bringing the ability into
consciousness; acquiring the skill of modelling any other behavior; transferring that ability to a wider
range of behaviors. By developing an attitude of continuously modelling your own experience, you
can engage in the concept of continuously making small improvements in your approach.
In this way we learn how to compare ourselves with successful people in a positive way and not to
feel inferior when someone is better than us. Successful people should inspire us, but often we feel
threatened by them or envy them. Successful people push up the limits and prove that many things
are possible, even if they do not seem to be at first glance. This is very stimulating for whatever we do
in day-to-day life. If we do not turn to successful people for inspiration, they can be the source of our
sorrow, that we are not as good as they are. In every activity we participate in, there is a great chance
that someone is better than us. There is a great chance that someone else has a nicer dress, a bigger
house than us. If we are constantly sorry for not being the best or not having the biggest house, we
will always be unhappy. Do what you like best, follow your dreams, learn from other people and do
not try to be them.

1 .5 Lea rning from t h e m a sters
Fig u re 4. My role model, former world

chess champion Garry Kasparov and I.
i n ute for se lf- reflection

o is your role model and why?
at is he doing differently than you?
Go through the chess games of Magnus Carlsen. Try to define what he is doing well.
LEAR N I N G
F RO M TH E
MASTE RS
TRAI N I N G 39
l.6 Memorization tec hn iques
1.6 M E M O R I ZATI O N TECH N I QU ES
"9n affchaos there is a cosmos, in arrlisorler a secret orler. JI
Key ta keaways
• Put some effort into encoding information so that you
will efficiently recall the information
• When encoding information always search for meaning
ful patterns
• When memorizing information, try to make as many as
sociations with existing knowledge as possible
The will to explore, hard work, discipline, persistence and motivation are not the only things required
:'"o r successful chess training. A chess player has to learn how to remember openings, endgames etc.
This is a picture of a tiny part of the material that a chess player has to include in his knowledge base.
Fig u re 5. A page taken

from the Italian Game,
Encyclopedia Chess
Openings.
It seems impossible, doesn't it? Well, it is not, if you have an adequate mnemonic technique and ad
equate information processing. For this we need to know special memorization techniques, which
usually involve patterns.
TRAI N I N G 41
l .6 M e m o r i z a t i o n tec h n iques
"9 fove to pfa3 chess, 7he fast lime 9 was pfa3ir>_J, 9 sfarfelto reaf(y see
the hoar/. 9 Ion 'f meanjusfseeir>_J a few moves aheal
- somefhir>_J e/Se. M:;Jame sfarfel3etfir>_J 6etter. 9f's the patterns.
7he patterns are universa{"
(Forest Whitaker, American actor)
Patterns are everywhere. Meaningful patterns of information or chunks are essential to under
stand and storing any type of data. Miller ( 1 956) first explained the possibility of increasing the
efficiency of working memory (WM) by using a simple mental coding of information into a smaller
number of more complex, coherent units, called "chunking". Chunks are pieces of meaningful in
formation (i.e. information related to information in long-term memory) that facilitate learning and
perception. Miller defined the so-called magic number 7±2, which represents the capacity of WM
or amount of information that can be simultaneously retained in short-term memory. Simon and
Chase ( 1 973, Chase & Simon, 1 973) generally applied the concept of chunks to long-term memory
by defining chunks as units of perception and meaning, while chunking can be seen as a way of stor
ing information in long-term memory. Chunks are described in the Gobet and Simon's Template
Theory ( 1 996). They are defined as elements in a discrimination network that are closer together than
with other elements of the network. They are developed into templates, chunk networks, which may
contain some unfixed elements and can be changed from one chunk to another.
Exte r n a l sce ne Lo n g -Te rm Memory: Disc r i m i nation netwo rk
Fig u re 6.
Example of a chunk
from CHREST pro
gram, simulating
human informa
tion processing in
the game of chess,
which is based on a
Template theory
(Gobet & Simon,

1 996).
Picto r i a l S h o rt-Term Memory
From the figure we can see that a chess player does not process each piece on the chessboard sepa
rately, but combines many pieces to superior structures (chunks), which represent a new entity in
information processing (declarative knowledge) .
42 I M P R OVE YO U R L I F E B Y P LAYI N G A GAM E

l.6 Memo rization tec hn iques
:be situation is similar with sequences of chess moves (procedural knowledge) . Players do not re
:::iember each move individually, but associate it with typical openings and motifs that help them to
:--emember the move in the game.
My doctoral thesis: COG N ITIVE PROCESSING OF I N FORMATION: chess playing example

see Knvec & G u 1d , 2020)
MO.q��T]ON�·.. · .
.
· .
'.: �·:�· ��:�
.• .� :: · . · . , .
• . � •
. �
-- e esse nce of effective i nformation storage a n d lea r n i n g memorization tec h n iques is the u ndersta ndi ng of
- _ -nan cog n i tive process i n g a n d knowledge c reation. T h i s knowledge is a lso va l u able fo r the construction of
- :e l l igent agents a nd effective i ntel l igent tea c h i n g systems.
:. "len it comes to cog n itive a rc h itect u re and h u m a n i nformation p rocess i n g , c h u n ks a re one of the best known
= - ::l most recog n i zed constructs. They a re def i ned as the form of com plete u n its of mea n i ngfu l ly rel ated i nfor
- 3tion. C h u n ks a re considered as basic featu res of proced u r a l i nformation process i n g . Nevertheless, the nature
: " :: h u n ks is sti l l very e l u s ive, espec i a l ly when it comes to c h u n ks in proced u r a l knowledge ( i.e. (often i m p l i cit)
• - ::iwledge that i s exercised in the performa nce of some task) .
-- e re is also l itt le known on how the p rocess i n g of i nformation a n d c h u n ki ng is rel ated to diffe rent cha racte ris-
: :s of the situation i n w h i c h they a re processed, i .e. context. More specifical ly, how context is rel ated to: efficiency
:" · n formation process i n g (su ccess and speed) , size of c h u n ks, speed of c h u n k process i n g , a n d the reca l l of a
: - u n k.
:;QAL
-= u nderstand how peop le process i nformation of a proced u r a l type a n d acqu i re procedu r a l knowledge. I n t h i s
s:::ipe the fol lowi n g questions/goa ls a re o f i n terest:
· Does i nformation process i n g rel ate to age, gender, a n d/or expertise?

::. dentify c h u n ks i n procedu ral knowledge a n d describe t h e i r cha racteristics.
:: --iow is i nformation process i n g and c h u n ki n g rel ated to different c h a racteristics of the situation in w h i c h they
a re processed, i .e. to the context?
M ETHOD
::: -,ess was chosen as an experi menta l dom a i n , beca use of its com plexity, def i ned ru l es and its sta nda rdized
- easu re of chess player strength. As an experi me nta l procedu re we used tasks of reconstruction of leg a l a nd
egal chess sequences (32 p l i es).
::: ::i ntext va riables were def i n ed with the reprog r a m med chess p rog ra ms C rafty and Rybka. Va riables for i nforma
: :i n dispersion, deviation, com plexity and positivity were ext racted i n each chess position.
Exa m p l e of a chess sequence f rom a tou rna ment game between

K l i n e a nd Capablanca ( New York, 1913) a n d the i rreg u l a r sequence
f rom the sa me sta rti ng position.
C h ess sequence: l Bf4-g3, Bf8-e7 2. Bfl-d3, 0-0 3. Nbl-d2, Rf8-e8

4. 0-0, Nf6-h5 5. Nd2-c4, Be7-f6 6. Nc4-e3, Nd7-f8 7. d4-e5, d4-e5 8.
Bg3-h4, Qc7-e7 9. Bh4-f6, Qe7-f6 10. Nf3-el, Nh5-f4 11. g2-g3, Nf4-h3+
12. Kgl-hl, h7- h5 13. Ne3-g2, g7-g5 14. f2-f3, Nf8-g6 15. Ng2-e3, h5-h4 16.
g3-g4, Nh3-f4
Irreg u l a r sequence: l. Nbl-b4, Nf6-g6 2. g2-h3, Bf8-f6 3. Bf4-f8, h7- h3 4.

Bf8- h7, 0-0 5. Bfl -c6+, Qc7-d2+, 6. 0-0+, Rf8-d5 7. c3-e6+, f7-f5 8. Nb4-
g2+, Ng6-g3 9. Nf3-h3+, Nd7-b5 10. Ng2- h5+, Bf6-e3 11. Nh5-c5+, Qd2- h4
12. Kgl-e2+, f5-g2+ 13. Bh7-f4, g7-f6+ 14. Nc5-b4, Ng3-g7 15. e6-f5, Nb5-
d8 16. g3-g4, Nh -f4
TRAI N I N G 43
l.6 Memorization tec hn iques
RESULTS
1. The performance (efficie ncy and speed) of procedu ral i nformation process i n g is related to the leve l of relevant
backg rou n d knowledge and, to a l esser extent, to ge nder and age. Better chess players ofte n reconstru cted a l l
presented chess sequences (32), w h i l e worse chess playe rs remembe red fewer moves. In addition, w e i ntro
duced some sequences in which moves we re not played accord i n g to the chess r u l es. In t h i s case there were no
differences in the reca l l su ccess between better, worse chess players and non chess players. They all reme m
be red about 7+-2 pl ies.
200
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2u 1 50 .
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u 1 00 ())
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•
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. ·· · · ·· · · · "i;j}f'l • @!;JD
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0
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& Reconstruction
0 su ccess p rediction
1800 2000 2200 2400 2600 2800 with respect to ELO.
E LO
2. The capacity of short-term memory is dete r m i n ed by the combi nation of the size and quantity of procedu ral
c h u n ks reca l l ed i nto short-term memory. When process i n g proced u ral i nformation, partici pants with more
special ized knowledge ope rated faster and with larger c h u n ks (on average 4 u n its) than partici pants with less
special ized knowledge (3 u n its). M oreover. it was fou nd that c h u n ks can comb i n e and g row. The resu lts show
that the knowledge of expe rts is not organ ized i n a semantical ly different way f rom non-experts. It seems that
expe rts combine smal ler (detai led) c h u n ks i nto more com plex. larger (basic) knowledge u n its. The amou nt of
c h u n ks recal led varies depending on the leve l of expertise and order of the i nformation. The refore, the capacity
of short-te rm memory in com p l ex situations can not be expressed as a si m p l e concept.
fl�cedural
f!l'/i/fa.�� 111?�
recallkli;� chunks
. 4'1flfi.f:"(;/f!ll!lilllflJJlJllJJ!!!llll
l lfJl
f! lllfttl.'t!fa
High skil led Low ski l led

chess pl ayers c hess p l ayers
( Ordered
J( Ra ndom
J ( J(
Ordered R ando m
J Nu mber of reca l l ed
c h u n ks accord i n g to
leve l of expertise and
Gt] ( J
order of recal l .
3-4 3-S
3. A h i g her dispersion and com plexity and a lowe r positivity of i nformation i n a context lead to less efficient i nfor
mation process i n g . The resu lts su pport the assu m ptions of the Cog n itive load th eory (CLT. Swe l l e r. 1988) about
the negative effects of exte rnal factors on i nformation process i n g and working memory. Resu lts also support
the Adaptive Control of Thoug h t-Rational (ACT-R) theory (Anderson & Lebiere. 1998). which states that more
f requent i nformation has a h ig h e r activation and can the refore be retrieved more eas i ly and quickly. The resu lts
are cong ruent with the positivity effect. which proposes that it is easier to remember positive i n formation than
negative i nformation.
CONCLUSION
The resu lts obtai ned contribute to a hol istic u nde rstandi ng of h u man cog n itive process i n g . The fi ndings of t h i s
study o p e n u p possibi l ities for futu re studies and c a n b e appl ied t o various fields such a s cog n itive psyc hology,
educational and desig n sciences. They can be usefu l for many problem appl ications in the real world such as
student mode l i ng , task p resentation, h u man-com puter i nteraction, etc.

l .6 Memo rization tec hn iques
:,., practice, this means that if we see a certain sequence of moves frequently and encode it correctly,
�\is sequence will represent a motif known to us and can be processed (i.e. retrieved) easily and
�uickly.
-:be same should be used for all information in life. Every day we are constantly attacked by a lot
:ii external information. If we want to react correctly and orient ourselves to the world around us,
-,.·e must use this information selectively and effectively. We must learn to efficiently integrate the
ill owledge into our long-term memory, so that we can recall it when needed. Every time you learn
;.omething new, try to find the meaning behind it, try to connect new information with that you
.tlready have stored in your brain.
You have 2 seconds. Try to remember this:

B B C B M WFB I CNN
ow try to remember this:

BBC BMW FBI CNN
llhat is the difference?

The only difference is that in the second case the set ofnonsense letters has a meaning. When encod
ing information, always connect it with the prior knowledge and try to find patterns and meaning
in each piece of information.
Exercise is key to success. Now, when we know the way, let's do a "miracle" and remember all these
numbers in few seconds:
1 9001 9141 91 819391 9452000
Did you think of some historical events when encoding information? Wars?
Here is another example. Try to remember this:

Ran dog callfire girl house bread bike shop quickly help firefighters
Difficult? Now let's make it easier. Let's give meaning to these words . . . let us convert 1 0 independent
units of information into a single one. How would you do it? Think a bit.
Let's put it in a story with a few sentences.

While the girl went to the shop to buy bread her house caught fire. She quickly ran home with her bike
to save the dogfrom the burning house. In the meantime, she called the firefighters.
In the latter case we have 3 sentences (including all words) which now represent 3 units of informa
tion which can be more easily remembered and retrieved.
TRAI N I N G 45
Following is a sequence of moves where chess pieces do not
move by the existing chess rules:
Irregular sequence: 1 . Nb l -b4, Nf6-g6 2. g2-h3, Bf8-f6 3.
Bf4-f8, h7-h3 4. Bf8-h7, 0-0 5. Bfl -c6+, Qc7-d2+ 6. 0-0+,
Rf8-d5 7. c3-e6+, f7-f5 8. Nb4-g2+, Ng6-g3 9. Nf3-h3+,
Nd7-b5 10. Ng2-h5+, Bf6-e3 l l . Nh5-c5+, Qd2-h4 12. Kgl
e2+, f5-g2+ 1 3 . Bh7-f4, g7-f6+ 14. Nc5-b4, Ng3-g7 15. e6-f5,
Nb5-d8 1 6. g3-g4, Nh-f4
Go through the sequence on the chessboard with a 2 second delay between successive moves. After
the last move, place the starting position on the board and repeat as many moves as possible in order.
I think you could reconstruct about 7 +-2 moves, because this is the limit of short term memory.
Now put the same starting position as before and go through the following line, where chess pieces
move by chess rules:
Chess sequence: 1 . Bf4-g3, Bf8-e7 2. Bfl -d3, 0-0 3. Nb l -d2, Rf8-e8 4. 0-0, Nf6-h5 5. Nd2-c4, Be7-f6
6. Nc4-e3, Nd7-f8 7. d4-e5, d4-e5 8. Bg3-h4, Qc7-e7 9. Bh4-f6, Qe7-f6 10. Nf3-el, Nh5-f4 l l . g2-g3,
Nf4-h3+ 12. Kgl -h l , h7-h5 13. Ne3-g2, g7-g5 14. f2-f3, Nf8-g6 1 5. Ng2-e3, h5-h4 16. g3-g4, Nh3-f4
When remembering the line, make sure that the encoding process involves the well-known chess
motifs.
In the original experiment, most of the high ranked chess players reconstructed all the moves in the
sequences from the chess game.
This case shows how important it is to use knowledge when encoding information for its later recall.

l .7 Wo rking with m o d e rn techno l ogy
1.7 WO R K I N G WITH M O D E R N TEC H N O LOGY
"9ffearnirJ_J is an act ofe;<pforafion, then techno{o_J3 eo/uifs

the e;tpforer for thejourne_y ofa lifetime. "
(Anonymous)
Key takeaways
• Don't be afraid of modern technology. Work hand in
hand with it
• Use modern technology in the right way
.\ !any people are afraid of modern technology, AI, robots, etc. One could even believe that these
-.=reatures " will destroy us in the future. Not chess players, they know that technology can and must
:-e used. The use of modern technology has become an essential part of the game of chess today.
''I've never been much of a computer guy at least in terms ofplaying

with computers. Actually until I was about 1 1 I didn't use a computer
for preparingfor games at all. I was playing a bit online, was using the
chess club mainly. Now, obviously, the computer is an important tool
for me preparingfor my games."
Magnus Carlsen, current World Chess Champion

Photo: Len nart Ootes
ln the chess world there has been a great debate about what will happen when a computer beats a hu
man. It has already happened. In fact, even the best chess players today have no chance against the best
computer. People, however, are not disturbed by this. They still play chess and use computers to train and
analyze their games. Ultimately, the best possible way to play chess is to combine people and computers.
Together, they are stronger than each of them individually. Humans are the ones who have the knowledge
and feel for the position, while computers have the computing power. Computers are much better at cal
culating than humans. As chess is too complex to be completely calculated, computers must also rely on
a certain basic knowledge. Sometimes, however, the positions are unusual for computer algorithms, and
the evaluation function cannot achieve the correct evaluation. In this case, humans can make better deci
sions by relying on their intuition (unconscious decision based on a large amount of previous experience
and implicit knowledge). They direct the computer to the chess sequences that need to be calculated more
deeply. Perhaps things will change with the era of Alpha Zero, a computer program developed by artificial
intelligence research company DeepMind to master the games of chess, shogi and go.
TRAI N I N G 47
l.7 Wo rki ng with m o d e r n tec h n o l ogy
A m i n ute fo r self- refl ection
Think about the way you are combining your expert chess knowledge and engine evaluation.
*Which chess lines are suitable for computer analysis and which are not?
Are you concerned about the impact of AI on people and the world?

1.8 De l ayed rewa rd
1.8 D E LAYED R EWARD
"Stea'.J effortta3s off, even ifnot afwa3s in an immeliate,

tan_Jihfe wa3. "
(Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion)
Key takeaway
• With complex achievements one should learn how to
overcame the need of instant gratification
During the training process you have to sit at a chessboard training for hours and most of the time
\·ou do not know if the exact position will ever appear during a real game. Garry Kasparov said that
his periods of intensive preparation were rewarded with good results even though he had not used
the fruits of his labor. He said that there was an almost mystical connection between work and per
formance, with no direct tie between them. He even thought of benefiting from a kind of placebo
effect - going into the fight with what he believed was a lethal weapon gave him self-confidence,
although it remained largely unused .
:::: x peri ments on del ayed g ratification.
To u n d e rsta n d when c h i l d ren d evelop the control of d e l ayed g ratification, the a b i l ity to wa it to obta i n some
thing that one wa nts.
To see whether i ncreased sa l i e nce of a rewa rd wou l d in t u r n i n crease the a mo u nt of t i m e c h i l d ren wo u l d be

a ble to d e l ay g ratification (or wa it) .
To i nvestig ate if a ny activity that d i stracts a pa rtic i pa nt from the rewa rd they a re a ntici pati ng wi l l i ncrease the
time of d e l ay g ratification. It was expected that overt activities, i nte r n a l cog n itio ns, and fa ntasies wou l d help in
this self- d i straction.
To esta b l i s h correlations between the resu lts of the m a rsh m a l low experi ment a n d the su ccess of the c h i l d ren
m a ny yea rs l ater.
M ETHOD
C h i l d ren were g ive n a choice between a sma l l rewa rd that was g ive n i m medi ate ly, or two s m a l l rewa rds ( i .e. a
l a rger, later rewa rd) if they wa ited for a short period, a bout 15 m i n utes, d u ri n g which t i m e the tester left the room
and then retu rned (the rewa rd was a m a rsh m a l low) .
TRAI N I N G 49
l.8 Del ayed rewa rd
Sou rce: https://c a r p e n t ryoft h e h ea rt.wo rd press.co m/2015/11/17/t h e -sta nford - m a rs h m a l low-experi ment/
R ESU LTS
I nstea d of the rewa rds servi ng as an i n d ication of possible d e l ayed rewa rds, the rewa rds themselves served to
i ncrease the frustration of the c h i l d ren a n d u lt i m ately red uce the d e l ay in satisfact i o n .
Effective d e l ay o f g ratification d e p e n d s heavily on the cog n itive avo i d a nce o r suppression o f the rewa rd ob
jects while wa iti ng for them to be del ivered.
Preschool c h i l d ren who d e layed g ratification longer in the self- i m posed d e l ay para d i g m were descri bed more
t h a n 10 yea rs later by t h e i r pa rents as adolescents who we re sig n ifica ntly more com petent ( M ischel, Shoda, &
Pea ke, 1988). h a d better educat i o n a l a c h i eve ment (Ayd u k et a l . , 2000) , body mass i n dex (Sch l a m et a l . , 2013)
a n d ot her l ife measu res (Shoda et a l ., 1990). Watts, D u n c a n a n d Q u a n (201 8) yielded most ly statistica l ly i ns i g
n ifica nt correlations with be haviora l p r o b l e m s b u t a sig n ificant correlation w i t h ach ievement tests at age 1 5 .
CONCLUS I O N S
T h e resu lts seemed t o i n d icate that not t h i n ki n g a bout a reward e n h a nces t h e a b i l ity t o delay g ratification rather
than focusing attention on the futu re rewa rd. Effective delay is not achieved by merely t h i n ki n g a bout somet h i n g
other t h a n w h a t you want, b u t rather depends on suppression a n d avoida nce mech a n isms that red uce frustra
tion. Effective mecha n isms of the a b i l ity to delay rewa rd a re con n ected with better l ife com petence i n genera l .
There is obviously a large reward delay when training at chess. In chess lessons you learn from a
very young age that you cannot get everything you want immediately. Dealing with reward delays
has proven to be an important factor for overall success in a person's life. Understanding this can
help us in various areas of life. Tolerating the immediate satisfaction of your desires helps to develop
empathy, patience and indulgence, which leads to better relationships with other people in general.
"Work feac/S to knowfe'Je anlknowfe'Je is never waste/."

A minute for self-reflection

Imagine something that you really want. What would happen if you did not get it right away?
*Find a game: Paul Morphy Vs. The Consultants, 1 858.

1. e2-e4, e7-e5 2. Ngl -f3, d7-d6 3. d2-d4, Bc8-g4 4. d4-e5, Bg4-f3 5. Qdl -f3, d6-e5 6. Bfl -c4, Ng8-f6
7.Qf3-b3, Qd8-e7
Would you take 8.Qxb7 here?

This is not a good move because it follows the urge for immediate gratification and not the rules of
good chess playing. Black could play Qb4 and release the pressure with drawing chances.
Morphy was not tempted by the "free'' pawn and played a much better move, allowing him to play an
active game, which he later turned into one of the most brilliant victories in chess history. The game
continued: 8. Nb l -c3, c7-c6 9. Bcl -g5, b7-b5 10. Nc3-b5, c6-b5 1 1 . Bc4-b5+, Nb8-d7 12. 0-0-0, Ra8-
d8 13. Rdl -d7, Rd8-d7 14. Rhl -dl, Qe7-e6 15. Bb5-d7+, Nf6-d7 16. Qb5-b8+, Nd7-b8 17. Rdl-d8# 1 -0

l .9 N eve r stop expl o r ing
1.9 N EVE R STO P EXP LO R I N G
"7=acts lo not cease to elist hecause the:; are f_Jnorel."

(Aldous Huxley, English writer and philosopher, complete Essays 2, 1 926-29)
Key ta keaways
• Most things can be lost if you think you know everything.
No one knows everything
• Do not lose the will to learn and improve when you are not
progressing. It is just a phase of your true development
From an evolutionary point of view, man had to explore his surroundings in order to obtain the
information that would help him survive. Plato's cave was one of the first allegories of how to com
;::- are "the effect of education" and the lack of it on our nature. Plato described a group of people who
were chained facing a blank wall their entire lives. The people watched shadows projected onto the
wall by objects passing in front of a fire behind them and gave names to these shadows. The shadows
were the prisoners' reality. The inmates of this place did not even have the desire to leave their prison,
for they knew no better life.
But when should we stop exploring and come to the conclusion that we have enough information to
trust our knowledge and decisions? Typical for human functioning in life and in chess is the so-called
Dunning-Kruger effect (Kruger & Dunning, 1 999) . From point zero a person learns some basic
chess rules. He often quickly gets the feeling as if he has conquered the world and knows everything.
Unfortunately, this is usually only the beginning of his journey or the beginning of the Dunning
Kruger effect curve (see Figure 7). As Eoin Colfer in a series Artemis Fowl nicely described "Confi
dence is ignorance. Ifyou 're feeling cocky, it's because there 's something you don 't know."
1 00%
QJ
u
c
QJ
"CJ
�
0
u
Fig u re 7. Dunning
Kruge r Effect.
Source: Kruger & D unning,
1 999.
Non e Exp e r i e n c e Exp e rt
TRAI N I N G 51
l .9 Neve r stop expl o r ing
If you stay on the first summit, there is a good chance that you will not progress and discover
more new things. At this peak there is a kind of blindness - a person is overwhelmed with his
(basic) knowledge and does not see what else there is to discover. Just like Plato's cave, which
represents ignorance, those in the cave live accepting what they see at face value. Ignorance is
further represented by the darkness that engulfs them because they cannot know the true ob
j ects that form the shadows. Thus they believe the shadows are the true forms of the obj ects. The
chains that prevent the prisoners from leaving the cave keep them trapped in their ignorance
since the chains are stopping them from knowing the truth. The shadows cast on the walls of
the cave represent the superficial truth which is the illusion that the prisoners see in the cave
(Allegory of the Cave, 2020 ) . As B enj amin Disraeli, lord, politician and writer, said: "Ignorance
never settles a question". Only when you gain additional experience, read some (chess) books or
lose some games, you discover that you actually do not know as much as you thought you did
and that there is a significant amount of knowledge that you still have to absorb. Therefore, per
severance in exploration is the only way to improve and master a skill in any life area. According
to the philosopher Ralph B. Perry, ignorance deprives people of their freedom because they do
not know what the alternatives are.
�
Kahneman (20 1 1 ) similarly writes of a "pervasive optimistic
bias '', that "may well be the most significant among the cognitive
What You See I s Al l biases. 'This bias generates the illusion of control, that we have sub
There Is - WYSIATI stantial control over our lives - a kind of unwarranted optimism.
refers to the fact that To explain overconfidence, Kahneman introduces the concept
we normally make our he labels What You See Is All There Is (WYSIATI) . This theory
judgements and impres states that when the mind makes decisions, it deals primarily with
sions according to the in "known knowns", phenomena it has already observed. It rarely
formation we have avail considers "known unknowns", phenomena that it knows to be rel
able. In general, we don't evant, but about which it has no information. Finally, it appears
spend too much time oblivious to the possibility of "unknown unknowns", unknown
thinking "well, there are phenomena of unknown relevance. He explains that humans fail
still many things I don't to take into account complexity and that their understanding of
know". Simply, we assert the world consists of a small and necessarily unrepresentative set
what we do know. of observations. Furthermore, the mind generally does not take
into account the role of chance and therefore falsely assumes that
a future event will mirror a past event. Khaneman also explains
the undue confidence in what the mind believes it knows. He suggests that people often overestimate
how much they understand about the world and underestimate the role of chance in particular. This
is related to the excessive certainty of hindsight, when an event appears to be understood after it has
occurred or developed. Kahneman's views on overconfidence are influenced by Nassim Nicholas
Taleb (Kahneman, 20 1 1 ) .
I n chess i t sometimes happens that a chess player i s confident i n his victory without taking into ac
count all the information that a particular position contains. Especially when he is playing with an
underrated player. This misjudgment can cost him a victory. Namely, an underestimation can lead to:
reducing concentration, making risky decisions because you think your opponent will not find the
right solution, not calculating the variations to the end and generally not giving your best.

l .9 Neve r stop expl o r ing
:_, the book The Invisible Gorilla, Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons (20 10) describe a study
-..-here they asked chess tournament players two questions:
• What is your most recent official chess rating?
• What do you think your rating should be to reflect your true current strength?
Given the strict methodology used to calculate the chess ratings 2 , the two answers should have
Jeen the same or at least very similar. However, 75% of respondents stated that their actual score
:mderestimated their true ability by about 1 00 points. Weaker players massively overestimated how
�ood they were. They thought they would beat someone with the same rating as themselves in more
:han two-thirds of the cases. Better players did not show as much self-confidence. They called this
:ihenomenon the illusion of confidence.
:.. et us consider the investment business. Overconfident investors tend to trade more actively than
0thers. After all, they feel that they have a solid understanding of how the market works and can pick
good investments. Many of these people have the "illusion of knowledge " caused by the abundance of
investment information available to them on the Internet. This strengthens their confidence in their
ability to predict the market. Unfortunately, the market does not always coincide with their forecasts
and they can lose a lot of money (Goldstein, 20 1 8 ) .
\\'ith increasing experience and knowledge, unrealistic overconfidence can n o longer deceive u s and
;Jowly turns into a more realistic confidence that will serve us better. However, this is a rather depres
;ive phase in which a person has to face their misjudgment, admit their fault and deal with a blow
to their self-esteem and self-development. A person may lose the motivation to keep trying further
because they may think that everything is too complicated for them.
:\'evertheless, a good chess player today had to go through many such stages in the past. In so doing,
an important power arises in him for he learns that ignorance is the mother of wrong thinking, not
to mention all evil. This is a stroke of luck for his personality for he will now be very careful before
he makes a firm statement. Instead, he will look for more information in order to get a relevant view
of things and always leave some room for doubt and the possibility that there is more behind what
he knows.
It is the same in daily life. You should learn new things and not stay in a cave thinking you know
everything. The latter is neither good for personal development nor for interpersonal relationships.
As the author Samuel Butler said: "The truest characters of ignorance are vanity, pride, and annoyance."
So let us seek new knowledge, read new books. "Whatever the cost of our libraries, the price is cheap
compared to that of an ignorant nation." (Walter Cronkite, j ournalist)
Even if something may seem too complicated at some point, the acquisition of information and
knowledge leads to better understanding and performance on the ground and thus promotes our
confidence. In life situations, the curve of the left side of the Dunning-Kruger effect can have devas-
2 The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It
is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor. The difference in the ratings between two
players serves as a predictor of the outcome of a match. Two players with equal ratings who play against each other are
expected to score an equal number of wins. A player whose rating is I 00 points greater than their opponent's is expected
to score 64%; if the difference is 200 points, then the expected score for the stronger player is 76%. (Wikipedia, 2020b)
TRAI N I N G 53
l .9 N eve r stop expl o r i ng
tating consequences for the individual and society. An example of such a situation is crypto-curren
cy. In this case people got information about how some people became rich immediately by buying
Bitcoins. This little knowledge shaped their perspective and their self-confidence in the idea that they
would do the same. Some people took out loans or mortgaged their homes to buy crypto currencies.
Of course they did not know that only a small group of the first investors in crypto currencies be
came rich, that the investment was not safe, that they could lose all the money invested; not to men
tion understanding the mechanism behind crypto-currencies. In many cases people lost everything.
Their little knowledge (in combination with other human characteristics such as greed) extremely
increased their confidence in their (risky, if not wrong) decision.
"111111
In the field of social psychology, illusory superiority is a A m i n ute fo r self
condition of cognitive bias wherein a person overestimates refl ection
their own qualities and abilities, in relation to the same
qualities and abilities of other people. The term illusory su Are you a better driver
periority was first used by the researchers Van Yperen and than most people?
Buunk, in 1 99 1 . The phenomenon is also known as the
above-average effect, the superiority bias, the leniency error, Svenson ( 1 98 1 ) inter
the sense of relative superiority, the primus inter pares effect viewed 1 6 1 students in
(Hoorens, 1 993}, and the Lake Wobegon effect, named after Sweden and the United
the fictional town where all the children are above average States and asked them
(Pinker, 20 1 1 ) . to compare their driving
skills with those of others.
In terms of driving skills,
93% of the US sample and
69% of the Swedish sam
ple put themselves in the
top 50%.
* Make a list of the things

in chess that you are not
good at.

11{joolacfions3ive sfrerJ_Jth to oursefves
anlimpire3001actions in others. 11
Plato
2. P LAYI N G A TO U R N AM E NT
2. P LAYING A TO U RNAM ENT
"1/ou can tretare mentaf(tj as much as3ou want, 6ut when3ou3et

there anls;t at the hoar/, there is somethiYJ_J e;dra, tressure. "
(Magnus Carlsen, current World Chess Champion)
-:-here comes a point where the trained skills must be shown in a tournament game.
-.,-hen a chess player participates in a tournament, the whole day is dedicated to chess. It usually
:akes about 5 hours to make an average of 50 moves. There are usually 9 games per tournament, one
;-er day. This is a typical day in a chess tournament which is more or less repeated for at least 9 days:
Morning Before the game The game After the game Evening
::: ·eparation fo r the

: ::i ponent fo r a bout
l u nc h , rest, repeat-
ing the ch ess
g a m e of chess lasts
on average 4-5
0 •
a n a lysis to see what
the opti m a l p l ay
d i n ner, re laxation
a n d sleep
· ·2 hou rs va ria nts h o u rs was
Chapter sum mary

• Optimal performance begins with good preparation for objective, practical and psychologi-
cal aspects.
• Find meaning in whatever you do.
• Focus broad or narrow, short or long. Concentration is trained focus.
• When analysing, be aware of all the relevant aspects.
• The decision making process is an exact procedure that should follow all the necessary steps.
• Make sure that your evaluations of things are as objective as possible. Understand your
thoughts and do not neglect your intuition.
• Mistakes are greater if you do not correct them and persist in the wrong direction.
• Be active, patient and responsible.
• Don't let your negative emotions disturb your thoughts.
• If you do not see the solution at first sight, it does not mean that it does not exist. Be creative,
search for new ways and never give up.
• Always preserve your dignity and follow your moral values.
I M P ROVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E 57

2.1 P re a rat ion
2.1 P R E PARATI O N
"1/ou can discover more a6ouf a person in an hour ofpfa3

than in a3ear ofconversation. "
(Plato, Greek philosopher)
Key ta keaways
• Optimal performance is reached at medium level of
arousal
• Besides theoretical preparation, practical and psycho
logical aspects should not be underestimated
�:i the preparation phase you have to analyze your opponent: What openings he plays, what kind of
?:ay he is good at and what not. Every chess player has his own opening repertoire - typical opening
::.nes of moves he usually plays. There are too many openings to handle so you have to choose some
:..,at you like best and learn to play them. In addition, all games ever played are stored in the chess
.iatabase. This is very important from a preparation point of view. Before the game you always know
-.,ith which opponent you will play and with which color. When you know your opponent, you can
�heck in the database to see what he usually plays and prepare for his specific opening. As Kasparov
0nce said: "we are trying to know our opponent as well as possible." We try to find the opponents poten
:ial weaknesses. It is the best feeling to win the battle of the opening, meaning that during the game
:-ou still know the moves you prepared before the game and your opponent has to play without any
:heoretical background. On the other hand, it is psychologically devastating if your opponent plays
me opening without thinking, as this means that he has prepared himself for your specific game with
the help of computers or trainers.
Du ring the preparation there are several things that need to be considered:
Objective evaluation of the variant: Of course it is dangerous to play a wrong variant, i.e. a variant
that can put us in a worse position if the opponent knows the right move.
On the other hand, we have to be aware that a game of chess is a competition. The psychological
aspect of the competitive situation must therefore be taken into account. Sometimes we may
choose not to play the obj ectively best variant, but the one that surprises the opponent, is unpleas
ant for his style, and so on. In this case we have to know the opponent's personality and conse
quently his style of play. Emanuel Lasker was first among the top players to realize how important
it is to consider the personality of the opponent. He pointed out that it was human beings who
fought over the chess board, not merely wooden pieces. He did not prepare himself to play only
against the abstract black or white pieces, but tried to take into account the merits and weaknesses
of each of his opponents (Krogius, 1 976).
P LAYI N G A TO U R N AM E NT 59
2.1 P re a ration
In his book Krogius ( 1 976) writes about an example that happened at the candidates' tournament in Cu
racao in 1962. For one of his games against Fischer, Petrosian had prepared the old MacCutcheon vari
ant, which does not have a good reputation today, but for Fischer it was a surprise. Fisher was not only
surprised but even offended by Petrosian's opening selection. He continued to play as he would want to
punish his opponent for "disrespect" and showed overconfidence in the openning, conducted the open
ning on impulse, became upset when things didn't go so smoothly and eventually lost the game.
• Krogius ( 1 976) has also conducted a study which has shown that it is not the same when we face
our opponent for the first time or when we have played against him before. For some players,
psychological preparation was very important (e.g. Lasker, Botvinnik, Tal) . For them, knowing
the opponent, his temperament, habits etc. positively influenced their play. Krogious exposes the
example of Petrosian, who prepared for his first world champion title match with Spassky, went to
Tbilisi in 1 965 to watch Spassky-Tal match and to monitor his future opponent live.
• We have to prepare mentally for a game. That means getting into a fighting mood, clearing up
doubts about our strength, not thinking about how good it would be make a draw and other things
that would be less than a win.
The preparation and waiting for the game to start is a rather exhausting time. Tension and anxiety
are present in all phases of preparation. Before the game it rises to its climax. It has been shown that
if the anxiety is too high (or too low), performance is not optimal (see Figure 8) and can affect our
performance outcome. The best level of arousal is moderate.
Optimal Performance
HIGH
'
w I n c reased Atte ntion Strong Anxi ety
u I nterest
z
<(
2
0:
0 Fig u re 8. Influence o f '111111
LL Boredom/ Com p l ete
0: Depression Meltdown
anxiety level on perfor
w mance success.
0...
Source: Bradberry, 20 1 4 .
LOW HIGH
A N X I ETY
Therefore, chess players use various techniques to calm down such as relaxation, imagination and
visualization.
One way to do this is to focus on the process and try to enjoy it. If a negative thought creeps into
our winning mindset, we simply walk it out. Breathing is also a very important relaxation technique.
Visualization means that we "draw" the image in our heads and concentrate entirely on it.
Imagination is more than just visualization, although vision is usually the strongest element of imagi
nation. In addition to visual and auditory feelings, kinesthetic (body) sensations are also important
for competitors.
Anchoring is a useful NLP technique for inducing a certain frame of mind or emotion such as hap-
60 I M P ROVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAY I N G A GAM E

piness or relaxation. It usually involves a touch, gesture or word as
Visualization means an "anchor", like a bookmark for a desired emotion and being able
that we "draw" the image to recall it again later using that same anchor.
in our heads and concen Visualization and imagination are two techniques that can be very
trate entirely on it. useful in stress reduction (Tufak & Tu5ak, 1 994) . When we visual
Imagination is more ize and focus on what calms us down, stress is reduced and vice
than just visualization, versa. Imagination is an experience that resembles a real sensual
although vision is usu experience, but it happens without the usual external stimulus.
ally the strongest element In fact, you do not feel the real chess pieces or the chessboard,
of imagination. In addi but we try to imagine the feeling as real as possible with all our
tion to visual and audi senses. You don't hear real voices, see the coaches or fans, but you
tory feelings, kinesthetic feel everything in your head. All these feelings are the product of
(body) sensations are your memory which you feel inside yourself when something in
also important for com your memory remains very much alive or is reconstructed from a
petitors. past event. Imaginary events have the same effects on our central
Anchoring is a useful nervous system and muscles as real experiences. Therefore, with
NLP technique for in the help of imagination we can accelerate new openings faster or
ducing a certain frame of prepare ourselves better for the competition, recover faster after a
mind or emotion, such bad tournament...
as happiness or relaxa Anchoring is a similar technique where we replace a negative
tion. It usually involves a feeling or state with a more resourceful one such as relaxation,
touch, gesture or word as self-confidence and happiness. Before we begin, we need to decide
an "anchor", like a book- what positive resource we are working on and whether the nega
mark for a desired emo tive state should collapse. Once we have reached the desired state,
tion and being able to we use a specific gesture or voice to anchor the state. In the future,
recall it again later using this gesture/voice will serve as a hint that highlights the state we
that same anchor. want to reach and on which we have trained before. We can also
use the anchoring technique to determine the success of remem-
bering a particular opening variant. For example, when we repeat
a certain variant, we simultaneously perform certain gestures. At the critical moment these gestures
.:hange. We perform the same gestures when we play a game. This makes the association of the right
moves more vivid and increases the possibility of recalling the correct variant on the chessboard.
We will speak more about stress coping strategies and techniques in the continuation (chapter 3), as
stress coping strategies are important in all phases of the activity.
A m i n ute for se lf- refl ection
Stress coping exercise

Let us try to learn how to visualize and anchor a relaxing, positive state of mind so that it overrides
a negative one when it appears.
Imagine an anxious situation like an exam or a chess game. Various negative thoughts run through
your mind as you try in vain to concentrate. You become more and more anxious as your head gets
lost in this confusion. In this case, perform the following techniques:
61
2.1 Pre a ra t i o n
l. STO P tech nique is useful when we start to ruminate about disturbing
•
thoughts and want to end this. Imagine a STOP sign or a red traffic light. Try to do this
as vividly as possible and stop the physiological reaction of rumination. Concentrate
exclusively on the stop sign that you have in your head. Repeat the "stop" instruction
in your head if needed.
2. Breathing: When braking the rumination process, inhale deeply and exhale.
Concentrate on your breathing, it will become more regular and relaxed. Then take
a deep breath, count to 3 and exhale. Repeat this three times. Now you are ready for
the visualization.
3. Visua ization: Let's take an object, a candle for example. Now look at the object.
'-
Gradually draw your attention to a tiny part of the candle flame, such as the tip of the
• flame. As you inhale, feel your breath, like a golden thread coming from this point of
the candle and entering your heart. When you exhale, feel your breath and the light
that leaves your heart by passing through a point on your forehead between and above
your eyebrows and then entering the object of concentration. Try to feel that nothing else exists but
you and the object you are focusing on. When you do this exercise, you will always have thoughts
that get in your way. When this happens, do not be angry or upset, but focus your attention back on
the exercise. Now close your eyes and try to imagine the candle you have just seen. Focus on every
single detail and process it through visualization. What is its shape, how big is its flame, is it hot?
How does it feel? Nothing else exists in your mind. Just the candle, as alive as you really saw it. Think
of the feelings you are having now, when you are fully concentrated. Whenever you need to con
centrate, close your eyes, think of the candle, and all those feelings and concentrations will be there.
4. I magination and Anchoring:

• Now we will try to remember and completely restore a very pleasant state you have
experienced: That means you have to find a day that was perfect for you. Try to
remember the weather that day, the people around you, the smell and all the de
tails that happened. Remember your thoughts. How did you feel then? Try to re
member that feeling. Try to figure out what was different that day. Unlike any other
ordinary day. How would the people who saw you that day describe you in that mood? Try to
relive that day. Enjoy it again.
• Provide a specific "anchor" (stimulus) to retrieve the desired feeling: Now take a deep breath, lean
back and clench your fists. The fist is now your anchor to which you can attach yourself. Every
time you want to remember this good feeling, you will squeeze your fist together and you will
remember and feel it.
For sport or any other situation in which the mobilization of all forces is necessary, we can anchor
some positive self-talks that will strengthen self-confidence. Anchors are short words and/or images
that remind you how energy is collected and how you can concentrate on your task. All words and
images that represent energy are appropriate such as, "You can do it", "You have trained hard". Let's
go! Action! I can do it! , etc. It is important to use positive, strong and unique anchors. When choos
ing a word it is important for a person to know the meaning and effect of such keywords from his
training period.

2.2 D u r i ng a c h ess game
2.2 D U R I N G A C H ESS GAM E
-:-:1 e game of chess looks very peaceful and calm on the outside, but there is a war inside the chess
:-:ayer and on the board. In this war there is a lot to learn for normal life. Let me guide you through
·�·hat is going on in the mind of a chess player during a game of chess.
2.2.1 ALWAYS FI N D A M EAN I N G
"1/e, who has a 1U111/ to five, can 6ear with afmost ary 1f(J1U. ff
(Nietzsche, German philosopher)
Key ta keaways
• A bad plan is better than no plan at all
• Find a reason for your choices in life
As Abraham Lincoln said: "If we could first know where we are

going and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do
Logotherapy is a school and how to do it". And it's not just about knowing where you are
of psychology and a phi going, but also knowing where you are.
losophy developed by
neurologist and psychia Being purposeless in chess, as in life, can lead to serious problems.
trist Viktor Frankl ( 1 985). We must always have a plan, a meaning for our time on Earth.
It is based on the idea that Survival means finding meaning. Viktor Emil Frankl, neurologist,
we are strongly motivated psychiatrist and founder of Logotherapy wrote in his book Man's
to live purposefully and Search for Meaning ( 1 985) that life never ceases to have mean
meaningfully, and that we ing, not even in suffering and death. He even asked his patients
find meaning in life as a questions like: "Why don 't you commit suicide?" But no man can
result of responding au tell another what his purpose is. In the end, it is up to us to find
thentically and humanely that meaning and take responsibility for it. Even in business, it is
(i.e. meaningfully) to life's important to have a plan. In this area there is a saying: "Planning
challenges. without action is futile, action without planning is fatal".
";ti
https://themeaningseeker. org/
logotherapy-in-a- nutshell/ 6alpfan is 6etfer than none at aff. ff
(Frank Marshall, former US Chess Champion)
P LAYI N G A TO U R NA M E NT 63
2.2 D u ri ng a c hess ga me
In my opinion, we do the same thing in chess - we try to find out what the position means, the es
sence of the position on which we can rely and develop our game - our life in that moment. This
is called strategy. Savielly Grigoryevich Tartakower described the difference between strategy and
tactics excellently. He said: "Tactics means knowing what to do when there is something to do; strat
egy means knowing what to do, when there is nothing to do". Strategy is often about finding abstract,
long-term goals. It is difficult or even impossible to avoid it. Sun Tzu, one of the greatest military
strategists, said: "Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the
noise before defeat."
111ln idiot with a ('fan can 6eat a3enius without a ('fan. 11
(Warren Buffett, American businessman)
As you learn how to find a good plan when you play chess, you will similarly strive to find a plan else
where, resulting in a rich, meaningful life. Frankl ( 1 985) defines the meaning of life by having a clear
"why" with which we can face all the "how" questions of life. If we transfer Frankl's view to chess, we
need to find meaning even in a bad position (when we suffer) . We still have to look for hope, believe
that there is a solution, even if a small one. Another parallel between life and chess is that no one can
give us the meaning or the goal of our life - we have to find it ourselves. The search for meaning is
a life-long process and a never-ending task. We have to adjust our life to changes in society and our
personal growth. Under conditions without a plan, without purpose, it is a burden to take the next
step, to live an active life.
"More and more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live
fior."
Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist
https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en
117he man who knows how w;ffafwa3s have ajo6.

7he man who knows wh_J w;ffafwa3s 6e his 6oss. 11
(Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, lecturer and philosopher

2.2 D u ring a c h ess ga me
A m i n ute fo r self- reflection
Imagine: you find yourself in a concentration camp. You recieve information that your loved ones
were killed. What would keep you going?
*Why do you play chess?
2.2.2 FOCU S A N D CO N C E NTRAT I O N
"Chess lemanls fotafconcenfrafion. "

Key ta keaways
• Attention is like a light that we can direct wherever we want to
• Concentration is the ability to maintain attention for as long as we want
• Find your FLOW state
• Do not forget to look from above and see the whole picture
• Stay focused until the game is over
In a chess game you must concentrate from start to finish. Win

ning is a clear goal that you must follow with every move. There is
no time to rest. The greatest tragedies in chess are when you play a
good game, get into a better or even winning position and then lose
concentration and overlook an important move and lose a game. In
chess we must develop the ability to constantly focus on the ideas
we are developing and be able to exclude all other irrelevant factors.
A typical game of chess lasts 5 hours. It is hard to imagine, but when
you play, you would say it lasted for 5 minutes. This is the result
of perfect concentration. The players are constantly running out of
time, they are often very surprised where their time has gone.
Fig u re 9. Concentration during a chess game.

P LAYI N G A TO U R N A M E NT 65
2.2 D u r i ng a c h ess ga m e
"
O ne 6almove n uffi{;es {ort:J3001ones. "
(Vladimir Horowitz, Russia-born American pianist and composer)
In general, concentration on a daily basis rarely needs to remain at such a high level for so long. Even
though people have problems concentrating on things even for a short time. What is concentration,
focus, attention? Imagine that our attention is like a spotlight. Where we direct it, we can see all the
details, remember them and process them. The rest of the world remains as it was, we are aware of
it, but it is obscured compared to the illuminated part of our focus. Our spotlight can be focused in
any direction, it can be a narrow strip of light that illuminates only a small area, but it can be wide
and illuminate the entire surroundings. Nideffer (Castle & Buckler, 2009) suggests different types of
concentration, depending on the width of the focus and its direction (as seen in Figure 9):
EXTERNAL
Assess t h e Perform, act, react

s i t u a t i o n , e.g . do I to m i n i m a l c u es i n
n eed to i n te rve n e a s i t u a t i o n , e.g. a re
t o h e l p a st u d e n t t h e st u d e nts
e n g a g e m o re? e n g a g ed i n
l ea rn i n g ?
BROAD NARROW
Ana lyse a n d p l a n a Rehea rse a fut u re

stra tegy, e.g . g ive n perfo r m a nce, e.g.
t h a t it is ra i n i n g , I p r a ct i se t h e l esso n
wi l l use t h e h a l l fo r i n my h e a d , control Figu re 9. Nideffer's
g a mes t h i s a n x i ety. model of attention.
afte r n o o n .
Source: Castle & Buckler, 2009.

I NTERNAL
There are several factors that influence concentration. Some are external, such as noise (although when
playing a game of chess, I can see and hear nothing but chess pieces), motivation, clearly defined goals
and, of course, concentration training. When it comes to competition, we should focus exclusively
on this event. We have to put aside things that don't belong on the playing field. Usually it is good to
focus on the process and not on the results. Eventually, the athletes find that the results automaticalh
follow when they concentrate on the process. It is important to be aware that at a time when thing'
are not working the way we want them to, we need to redirect attention. An interesting thing happen'
when a chess player overlooks something. When he finds out that he has made a mistake, there i'
initially a physiological reaction: muscle tension, rapid breathing, sweating and even dizziness. Tuer.
he realizes that the direction of concentration has changed. In such a case it is best to do a "return tc
attention"exercise, after which we can calm down and return to the competition venue. Then we car.
concentrate on the performance and continue to be fully immersed in what we are doing.
66 I M P R OVE YO U R LI F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

2.2 D u ring a c hess game
)f course nothing is as simple as it seems, and even concentration must be trained. There are several
.ilferent exercises or techniques to achieve a higher level of concentration. For me, one of the most
:...,teresting concentration trainings is the neurofeedback method (Marzbani et al., 20 16). This method
:.s based on the well known fact that the brain generates waves with different frequencies depending on
.:.lertness or concentration level. At high levels of concentration beta waves are produced. The neuro
:�dback method includes: ( 1 ) a device called an electroencephalogram (EEG), which measures your
:-rain waves while you try to concentrate, and (2) a device that sends you different kinds of feedback.
)ne of the types of feedback is the "wood-burning task". In this exercise you observe a barrel on the
�.:>mputer screen. In between, an EEG device measures your brain waves. When you concentrate and
=:JS produce beta brain waves, the barrel starts to burn. The more you concentrate, the more the barrel
�urns. The strength of the fire is feedback on your concentration strength showing that you are going in
:::e right direction. If you continue to have a high level of beta waves (i.e. high concentration), the task
:-coceeds to its solution, in our case the barrel burns off completely. If you lose your concentration, the
�e will extinguish. Such feedback will guide you to improve your concentration.
Fig u re 10. Using the

neurofeedback method
to lift up a helicopter
with the power of con
centration (on the basis
of brain waves decoded
through an EEG device) .
There are also several different techniques that can be performed without a special device.
Something that helps us to improve our concentration is to learn how to be in the moment. In chess,
\,·e learn how to be completely and wholly in every moment of the game.
For many chess players, chess is their life and they love the game. As Bobby Fisher once said: "All I
;rnnt to do, ever, is just play Chess". Another world champion Anatoly Karpov would agree with him.
He said: "For me, chess is my life. It is everything."
"I spend hours playing chess because I find it so much fun. The day it
stops being fun is the day I give up. . . . . Once you're a chess player, you
spend a lot of time thinking about the game and you can't get it completely
out ofyour head."
Magnus Carlsen, current World Chess Champion

We can be certain that chess players are completely in the game.

F LOW: "You can turn Alan W Wats ( 1 977) calls such a state a FLOW .. In a game of chess
any activity into medi you cannot only be partially engaged. It sucks you in completely.
tation simply by being You do not see the surroundings, you forget time and other needs
completely with it and and thoughts. To be in the moment, fully aware of the moment,
doing it just to do it. And without unnecessary judgement, is the main proposition of the
instead of calling it work, increasingly popular mindfulness approach. As shown in Figure
realize it is play." 1 1 , people usually act with mind full instead of mindful. Sounds
(Watts, 1 974). familiar?
Fig u re 11. A person's in

ner state when he is not
in the present moment.
Source: Freevectors.com,
Bojana Fortuna
Bill Watterson put the words into the cartoon characters Calvin and Hobbes explaining that we are so
busy paying attention to what lies ahead that we do not take the time to enjoy where we are. I am sure
we have all been in a situation where we have been worried about work, about what is going to happen
the next day, what we have to do in the near future, and not really enjoying the moment, like standing in
the sun with our friend or partner. Most of the time the worries are useless. They do not do any good but
just ruin the perfect moment. Often we are the ones who ruin our happiness and for no good reason.
Try to learn to live every moment, to really live. Start with the good moments. First experience how to
fully be in this particular moment and then transfer this feeling more widely.
A m i n ute for self- refl ection

M i n dfulness exercise
Take any solid food you have in your environment, preferably one with an interesting or un
usual texture, smell or taste. Suppose you have taken a raisin. Now act as if you have never
seen a raisin before. Pay close attention to how the raisin looks, how it feels, how your skin
reacts to it, its smell, its taste. Concentrating on the single object of the raisin should bring
your mind into the present, into what is right in front of you. Not thinking of anything else.
Body sca n: It requires very few props or tools and is easily accessible for most begin-
ners. I will not guide you, but if you are interested, you can find the instructions in several
books or articles about mindfulness.
68 I M P ROVE YO U R LI F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

i n dful Seei ng: For some, the lack of visual stimuli can feel overwhelming. After all, a
healthy imagination is not given to everyone. The activity of Mindful Vision can be helpful for
anyone who identifies with this feeling. This is a simple exercise that requires only a window
with some kind of view. The facilitator guides the group in the following steps:
tep 1 : Find a place by a window where there are sights to see outside.
Ste p 2: Look at everything there is to see. Avoid labeling and categorizing what you see out
side the window; instead of thinking of "bird" or "stop sign", try to pay attention to the
colors, patterns or textures.
Step 3: Watch the movement of the grass or leaves in the breeze, notice the many different shapes
that are present in this small segment of the world that you can see. Try to see the world
outside the window from the perspective of someone who is not familiar with these views.
Ste p 4: Be observant, but not critical. Be alert but not fixated.
Step 5: If you become distracted, gently withdraw your mind from these thoughts and again no
tice a color or shape that will bring you back to the right frame of mind (Ackerman, 2020) .
See the whole pictu re
"OurJreateststrerJ_Jth is the a6ifit:J to a6sor6 anls_Jnthesize patterns,

methols an/information. 9ntenfiona§ inhihifirJ_J that a6ifit:J 63
{ocusirJ_J loo narrow& is not on& a crime, 6ut one with few rewarcfS. "
In a chess game you have to find one move to play, but before you do you need to synthesize the
whole chessboard and see the whole picture of the position.
"Once we have thoroughly absorbed the known we can step back from it
confidentially, step back far enough to see the big picture. From there we
can see new paths and make new connections. New relevancies appear,
old information seems fresh.". . . "Seeing the big picture means much more
than simply acquiring more information. We must see how the informa
tion is con nected as well as how our own actions are con nected."
Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion

Photo: jos Sutmuller
P LAYI N G A TO U R N A M E NT 1 69
Often, however, a player will focus o n a particular aspect o f his plan o r position and look fo r the right
move in that limited area. In this case there is a good chance that he will miss something, probably
from the other side of the board or from another aspect of the position.
The same problem can also occur in life. Sometimes we are so focused on solving a particular prob
lem that we do not notice other possibilities. Or even more critically, sometimes we only see a bad
point or a bad life perspective and nothing else around us captures our attention. This kind of vision
is typical for suicidal people. It is called narrow vision.
One of the first things we need to do when we are too obsessed with a problem is to be able to see
the problem in a broader context. In chess we train for this. We solve problems where a player has to
search the whole board and look for different motifs in the game. This is also a part of psychotherapy
(e.g. mindfulness) . It is called decentralized perspective and refers to an individual's observational
attitude towards his own experiences, the so-called attitude of an impartial observer or witness, and
leads to a more decentralized perspective. Another term used by psychotherapists is "positive dis
traction ", which refers to the diversion or expansion of attention. In the state of cognitive awareness,
the amount of stimuli that attract the attention of the individual is greater. Therefore, attention is
more scattered and less persistent for a given stimulus. Consequently, this means that we are not fix
ated on certain (negative) thoughts, emotions and physical feelings.
Even broadly, it is good to have a wider general knowledge.
"The broader our knowledge, the broader the potential scope of our un
derstanding. We begin to see connections that weren't previously visible
and everything else comes into sharperfocus. Pushing these boundaries is
more than a self-improvement exercise. . . . To succeed, to even know how
to define success, we have to look at the whole board.". . . "It is fine to be a
detailed oriented manager most of the time, but at some point during the
day we need to step back from the details and the day-today and look both
wider and deeper. This is necessary to keep our strategy on course and to
notice the icebergs in our path before it's too late." . . . "The increasing use of
tight focus can lead to the loss of visionaries, of true leaders."

Photo: )os Sutmuller
2.2.3 SYSTEMATIC TH I N KI N G , PROBLEM SOLVI N G AN D D E C I S I O N MAKI N G
11Chess is a maffer ofleficafeju'Jement,

k..nowiYIJ when to p unch anlhow to luc� 11

Key ta keaways
• Be aware of the SWOT analysis aspects
• Follow all steps of the decision making process: problem definition, list of possible solutions,
evaluation of the proposed solutions, selection of the best solution, re-evaluation of the final
solution
• In your evaluation, do not forget to be obj ective and do not try to deceive yourself with false
assessments
• Always understand why you have made the chosen decision
• Intuition is often more correct than calculation
• Admit your mistakes rather than apologize for them
Chess players are problem solvers. Every day they train themselves in solving chess problems. In
:his way individuals develop not only analytical and problem solving skills (Burgoyne et al., 2016),
:-ut also perseverance to find the right solution. From a functional point of view, a chess player is a
;.elf-determined, persistent problem solver who is willing to take on any challenge (Liaskos, 20 1 9).
The chess game goes far beyond the search for the best move. "The move is just an output, the product
��(an equation that must first be developed and understood. It comes down to determining the relevant
.';lCtors, measuring them and, most critically determining the optimal balance between them." (Kasparov,
�007). It includes several steps of the problem solving process: defining the problem, finding possible
;;olutions, evaluating possible solutions, temporarily deciding on the best solution, re-examining the
;;olution, making a final decision and checking the performance of the solution. Daniel Kahneman
2 0 1 1), Nobel Memorial Prize winner describes two different ways the brain forms thoughts:
• System 1: Fast, automatic, frequent, emotional, stereotypic, unconscious.
• System 2: Slow, effortful, infrequent, logical, calculating, conscious.
In chess we can find both systems, and they need to work hand in hand. Adrian Mikhalchishin
(20 1 8), a top chess grandmaster and one of the best trainers describe the chess players thinking and
decision making on the three levels:
1 . Based on precise acquired knowledge (openings, endgames)
2 . Logical reflection (calculation of variations)
3. Intuitive decision (a gut feeling/implicit decision based on a large knowledge base)
Mikhalchishin defines the following scheme of chess players thinking in a new position:
CALCULATION
OF VARIATIONS
EVALUATION PLAN STRATEGIC
DECISIONS A N D
(checking of what
M OVE
MOVE CAN D I
ha ppens after a
SELECTION
(material, (e.g. attack agai nst
DATES
part i c u l a r move,
piece activity, ... ) the opponent k i n g )
prophyl actica l ly
t h i n k i n g . First we
see the opponents'
threats, what is the
opponent's plan)
2.2 D u r i ng a ch ess ga m e
Mikac (2004) explains the process of selecting a move on the following way:
Ch essboa rd C h ess p layer
• Associations I pattern
recognition
• Release of useless patterns

and information
• Sintesis of useful patterns

and information in a coher
ent unit
• Thinking twist/idea
• Calculation and control

of the idea
Sequence of moves: 1. Re l -e8, Nf8 2. Nf5-h6, Qf6-h6 3. Re8-f8, Kg8-f8 4. Qg5-d8#
Jelen (2006) defines the process of selecting a move with the following steps:
• After each opponent's move, before each intended move, sometimes

even while calculating the variants, a chess player asks himself:
- Which move is a threat and gains control over which important area?
- What did the move ignore and did it give up control of any impor-
tant square?
• • Evaluation of the position.
•
• Based on the evaluation of the position, a chess player makes a plan for
further play.

• On the basis of the evaluation and the plan select all candidate moves
that should be considered when choosing the best move.
• Calculate all candidate moves and based on the calculation of each

move make an assessment.
• He selects the best move, the move with the best assessment score.
After rechecking it the move can be played.
"Botvinnik tried to take the mystery out of Chess, always relating it to

situations in ordinary life. He used to call Chess a typical inexact problem
similar to those which people are always having to solve in everyday life."

Problem definition
The exact definition of the problem is already half the solution. It is very important to make an
accurate and objective assessment of the problem situation. It is about finding out which factors are
involved in our problem and eliminating all disturbing factors from the definition and focusing only
on our actual problem. To extract the real core problem and eliminate the noise. 'f\s dictated by the
principle of GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) an experiment can produce results as good as the data fed
into it and as good as the questions asked of the data. Even the greatest minds can be so distracted by the
search for answers that they fail to ask logical questions. It is worth keeping in mind that Isaac Newton
himself devoted much of the second part of his life to the spurious pursuit of alchemy. Our basic receipt,
then, is to first steep ourselves in every aspect of the problem and then identify the questions that need
to be answered. The most creative minds usually belong to those who know the most about the matter
at hand" (Kasparov, 2007).
Recognizing a problem correctly also means having a sense of risk. The identification of risks is
important if we want to control risks and not fight for survival. This is difficult because it requires
constant vigilance with regard to the subtlest changes.
Once the problem i s defined, it does not mean that the assessment will last forever. It needs t o b e
reassessed. I n chess w e make a n evaluation fo r each position and adjust the decision i f necessary,
whereas in everyday life we rarely reevaluate the decision made. Evaluation is the most difficult part
of the game of chess but there is no way out - it must be done.
SWOT analysis is a helpful tool that can guide you through the elements that will help you with the
evaluation and problem definition.
"7he 6est inlicator ofa chess pfa3er 's form is his a6ifit:J to sense
the cfima� ofthe3ame. "
(Boris Spassky, former World Chess Champion)
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Assessments of these as
pects are used to make a proper analysis of your business and to make the most of what you have,
to your organization's best advantage. By understanding what you are lacking, and eliminating
hazards that would otherwise catch you unaware, the chances of failure are reduced.

* Evaluate your professional (e.g. chess, job) situation with the use of the SWOT analysis.
Stre n g hts Wea kn esses

W h a t d o you d o we l l ? W h a t co u l d you i m p rove?
W h a t u n i q u e resorces c a n you d raw o n ? W h e re d o you have fewer resou rces t h a n othe rs?
W h a t d o o t h e rs see a s yo u r s t re n g h ts? W h a t a re o t h e r s l i ke l y see as wea k n esses?
Opportu n ities Th reats

What o p p o rt u n i t i es a re o p e n to you? W h a t t r e a t h s co u l d h a r m yo u ?
What trends co u l d you t a ke advantege of? W h a t is yo u r com petition d o i n g
H ow c a n you t u r n yo u r stre n g hts i nto o p p o rt u n it ies? W h a t t r e a t h s d o yo u r wea k n esses c a u s e yo u ?

,. 3
Make a SWOT analysis for White of this chess
position from the game Seirawan
- De Firman, Key West, 1 994:
Streng hts Wea kn esses
Opportu n ities Th reats
Sea rching for possible sol utions

This step can best be implemented with the principle of brainstorming. It is simply a matter of quot
ing everything we think is a possible solution without deciding or specifying the solutions. In ead
chess position there are about 15 moves, followed by the square number of the opponent's pos
sible moves and so on. When looking for the right move, a chess player uses a rule of 3 candidatt
moves. This means that he always needs to find 3 moves from all possible moves, which could be <
reasonable choice. Not one, not ten, but three. This means that a person critically evaluates all pos·
sible solutions and does his best to find only a few different solutions that can lead to a goal. Ever
if sometimes we only see one, we should not stop there but try to keep looking to see if there is ar
alternative worth exploring. We need to examine each of these moves as deeply as possible so that wt
do not overlook anything and draw the most objective conclusion. If something does not work in <
3 Strengths: outpost for white pieces infront ofblack's isolated d-pawn, potential weak black isolated pawn, solid pawr
structure, Weaknesess: more passive pieces than the ones of the opponent, potentially endangered king, Opportuni·
ties: exchange pieces and reach an endgame where the isolated pawn will be a big weakness for black, Threats: if Blad
complicates the middlegame, his active and well placed pieces would be dangerous.
particular situation, it i s not necessarily wrong. I t may just need a little improvement o r correction. In
real-life problems we are often satisfied with the first solution to a particular problem that comes to
mind. If this solution does not work, we give up trying to solve the problem and do not look for other
options or try to improve the chosen option. This can lead to apathetic or depressive attitudes. On the
other hand, if we were to look for new solutions or improvements to the existing solution, sooner or
later we would ascend from the bottom. Some psychotherapeutic approaches such as Neurolinguistic
Programming - NLP (Dilts et al., 1 980) are based on the assumption that freedom of choice is bet
ter than non-liberty of decision. The aim is to find a variety of possible ways of behavior (Requisite
Variety) . The person who is flexible achieves the most. If a current approach to achieving something
does not work, you need to try something else, find a new approach, maybe get an expert opinion
or just explain things differently until you get the desired result. It is as simple as that. A balanced
person will always be ready to change their behavioral repertoire, learn new things and enrich their
own personality.
Problem solving exercise:

Do this problem-solving exercise and see if you are good at it.
1. Select one of your problems and describe it:
2. Describe as many solutions as possible (at least three). Even if they seem unreal or funny or you
just do not like them:
* In chess there is often more than one possible solution that should be considered. Even in those
cases where one move seems to be the only one. Take 10 seconds to evaluate the following position:
Leko,Peter (2749) vs. Kramnik,Vladimir (2766)

Amber-blindfold 1 6th Monte Carlo, 2007
Which move did you first consider? Is there any other move
that is worth considering? 4
4 I guess your first thought was 1 . . . Rh2. In this case, with opposite-coloured bishops on board, there are good drawin�
chances. After 1 . Rf2, however, White resigned immediatelly.
. .

Eva luation of the possible sol utions
"Chess is the art ofana§sis, ff
(Mikhail Botvinnik, former World Chess Champion)
-:-he next thing we need to do is to combine the parsed thoughts into a meaningful whole that will
_-;;-ad us to a decision. Precise analysis, evaluation of the proposed options and selection of the deci
;'.on must be carried out. The options that you consider worth analyzing must be calculated accu
�a.tely. Every detail must be viewed from your side and from the opposing side.
"'lien choosing between different options people often make decisions with some gut feelings, random
.:.nd partial judgments. As N. Krogius said ( 1 976, pp. 1 15), one should understand that "in chasing after the
:.nattainable the player tries to analyze a comparatively large number ofvariations, which he tries to calculate
�far as possible. Such a player shows an unwillingness to abandon calculation or to make a critical judge
"lent about the positions arising in his calculation." However, the decision-making process is not correct if
-.,-e do not take into account all the advantages and potential weaknesses of a particular solution.
A m i n ute fo r se lf- refl ection
Solution selection exercise

Write down the positive and negative aspects of the proposed solutions to the problem you de
scribed above:
. . Negative asi:>ects
2.
3.
4.
5.
Now decide which solution is the best.
Discover and exploit opponent's wea knesses
"9 pfa3 {oot6afffike chess. 1/ou have to think a fot anlanticipate what
couflhappen after!JOU make!JOur move. ff
(Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenian professional footballer)
'/\. Chess game is a dialogue, a conversation between a player and his op
ponent. Each move by the opponent may contain threats or be a blunder, but
a player cannot defend against threats or take advantage of blunders if he
does not first ask himself: What is my opponent planning after each move?"
Bruce L. Moon, American art therapist, educator, artist and author

(Source: https://alchetron.com/Bruce-Moon)
"Chess is a very intimate game. You understand what your

opponent's going through by the way he moves, the way he
breaths." What is behind this statement refers to high emo
tional intelligence of chess players, who recognize every tiny
gesture and understand its meaning."
Levon Aronian, world class grandmaster

In chess we must always be aware of the weaknesses of the opponent's position. It forces one to see
the perception of the other person (Why did he play this move?). In this way we can say that in chess
we master the ability of empathy.
Moreover, in chess it is often not enough to make one weakness in the opponent's camp. There is
a golden rule: "You need at least two weaknesses to win a game of chess". You can hold one front,
but it is very difficult to hold two of them. Every good boxer attacks the head and the body, and
every good chess player will make two points of attack in the endgame. In business, for example,
this wisdom can be very useful. When a company has one problem to solve, it is still manageable
because all forces can be concentrated on solving that problem. However, if another problem
occurs, the situation changes drastically because the company is usually not flexible enough to
transfer resources and therefore cannot cover the new "problematic point " with a potentially
devastating result.
The principle of two weaknesses: When your opponent has only one problem to take care
of, he can use all of his resources to defend that area, while if you create another front of
attack, a second weakness, his resources become less efficient and his position will quickly
deteriorate.

2.2 D u ring a c h ess ga m e
Two weaknesses principle exercise: Which structure is better for white?
Source: https://thechessworld.com/articles/middle-game/principle-two-weaknesses/
The one on the left. In this case black has two weak pawns (a7 and c6). It will be difficult to defend
them both.
.\nother important thing is coordination of your forces. In order to take advantage of the opponent's
\,·eaknesses, your forces need to work together in the most coordinated way possible. For example,
one or two pieces are usually not strong enough to mate, but when a third piece j oins in, the odds can
.:hange completely. That is how life is, you have to combine your strengths and sometimes "give it your
all " to achieve what you want, otherwise it simply will not be enough to make a breakthrough.
Objectivity
11Chess teacheJ3ou to controfthe initiafe;<citement3ou {eefwhen

3ou see somethiYJ_J that fooh3001anlit fraim3ou
to thin� o§Jective(J when3ou 're in frou6fe 11
(Stanley Kubrick, American film director, producer, screenwriter and photographer)
We must be honest and objective in assessing life situations. To be objective means that we perceive
and evaluate information undistorted by emotions or personal prejudices on the basis of observ
able phenomena.
We must consider the different aspects of each solution, both positive and negative. In chess, objec
tivity of evaluation is indispensable. Former World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker once said ,,Lies
and hypocrisy do not survive for long on the chessboard". Many times during the game, when a line I
like does not work, I too sometimes try to find a n excuse - a halfway correct line that would give me
"permission " to play the line I like. Neglecting a certain aspect of the position on the board or trying
to portray it as better than it is can have devastating consequences. The chosen move, based on an
unrealistic evaluation will be bad. Chess players therefore try to make assessments that are as obj ec
tive as possible. Obj ectivity can give good insight into the quality of our decision-making processes.
"There are strict standards of success and failure in chess. Ifyour de
cisions are faulty your position deteriorates and the pendulum swings
towards loss; if they are good towards victory. Every single move re
flects a decision and, with enough time, it can be analyzed to scientific
perfection whether or not each decision was most effective."
Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion, 2007.

Photo: J o s Sutmuller
.. . ·.c::::a .:
. .. G)� ,� ·� �
�
.o . - 0 ®e:;a .
4�_:� � _�_."".....__
In chess as in life, being objective is not always an easy task. Source: Pinterest.
"Human beings are creatures of preference and can never be completely objective" (KasparoY.
2007) . We see the world with our eyes and with our mind. They are filters for the external real
ity. Obj ective information from the real world enters our mind through subj ective encoding and
comprehending. Sometimes the subj ectivity of our world view helps us, for example when we
want to maintain our positive self- esteem. Even in this case, unrealistically exaggerated self- con
fidence can lead to actions that go beyond our abilities, which will lead to failure and a decline ir:
self-esteem. More often, people are subj ectively negative. This means that you anticipate nega
tive things in your environment because of your subj ective opinion, which derives from inner
80 I M P ROV E YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

;roblems and unconscious negative personal core beliefs. Being subj ective i s therefore harmful
:·or us and the people around us.
"13ein_J aware of!Jour own tre{erences anltrjulices can he as criticaf

as how weff!Jou ohseroe the e;dernaffactors. "
One of the best known psychotherapeutic approaches, cognitive

0 pm10n
. . . somet h"mg �
is behavioral therapy, uses as its main technique the transformation
that you beLIEve in, of subj ective thoughts based on people's opinions into objective
whereas fact is a conclu thoughts based on real evidence and data. The negative subjec
sion based on objective tive thoughts are called cognitive distortions. You can learn more
evidence. about them later in this book.
Learn how to distinguish between a fact and

an opinion.
What words would you use to describe the

following picture?
Now sort these words into two groups,

whether they are a fact or an opinion.
Fact:
Opinion 5:
Don't always beLIEve your opinions . . .

there is often some LIE in them.
"Chess first ofaffteaches!JOU to he o�ective. "

(Alexander Alekhine, former World Chess Champion)
5 Facts can be that the clown has red hair and a hat. The oppinnion is that he is funny, happy. . . this is your perception.
To some people clowns are scarry. Its his professional duty to smile, but it does not mean that he is happy.
P U\Y I N G A TO U R NA M E NT
2.2 D u r i ng a c h ess ga me
Parsing thoug hts

To achieve objectivity, it is essential to be aware of one's thoughts
and to analyze them. This is part of self-reflection. People often do
Self-reflection is the key things in their daily functioning without really knowing what they
to self-awareness: it al are doing or why. This is not good because thoughts and behavior
lows us to look neutrally can easily deviate from reality and we have problems with objec
at our thoughts, feelings, tivity, as already described. However, in chess parsing thoughts
emotions, and actions. is inevitable. In any position, before making decisions, we must
Through this practice, we ask ourselves why we think the way we do and find reasons for
are able to look at our our beliefs. A chess player needs to know how to argue his deci
selves with interest and sion - which elements he has considered and why. For example,
curiosity. my position is worse because I have a permanently bad bishop. It
is bad because its activity is permanently restricted by my pawns.
During training and analysis sessions the coach often asks the students the tiresome "why" question -
"Why did you play this move?". Gary Kasparov explained (2007), how a talented American student told
him: "That is what Vallejo Pons (a top world grandmaster) played!" It was true that Vallejo played that
move, but compared to the youngster, he knew why. The result was that Vallejo had a plan for the follow
ing moves, while the boy did not know how to proceed. I remember a similar situation when my father
(an amateur chess player) and I practiced chess as I was a young player. We had the book on the famous
Kasparov-Karpov match and went through the games. I did not understand many of the moves that the
great players played so I asked my father: "Dad, why did he make this move?" Of course, as an amateur
player, my father didn't understand the background of the move either, so he said: "I don 't know, but if
Kasparov played it, then it must be good. You just play like that and you 'll win ". If it would just be that sim
ple. During the process of parsing your thoughts, it is inevitable to use your own brain.
"Our epoch is characterized by the fact that people don't try to use their own
brains when thinking about anything. People don't strive to comprehend any
thing themselves - nowadays, they got too used to having guidelines . . I prefer
. .
to think on my own, trying to understand everything in depth."

This type of analysis is of crucial importance in the business world. There are similar needs for the
analysis of thoughts and the analysis of situations. Let's remember the SWOT analysis, where you an
alyze the current situation from the point of view of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Setting priorities
"?f is no lime to 6e (1fa3irJ_J chess when the house is on fire. "

(Italian Proverb

-.\-hen evaluating the position and deciding on the right move, there is one important skill that needs
:o be used - prioritizing, i.e. deciding more precisely what is more and what is less important in
:he position. In a chess position you can only choose one move at the end of your decision making
?rocess. Everyone tries to find the best one. A chess player knows how to divide information and
?rioritize tasks. Playing along lines, diagonals and columns can help a chess player to get everything
:.n order and work both efficiently and productively to complete each task. Setting priorities should
�o beyond materialism.
"It doesn't take long in chess or elsewhere to realize that there is much more to
life than material. It's a valuable lesson the first time you are checkmated de
spite having a big material advantage. The ultimate value of the king trumps
everything else on the board and your value system begins to adjust. Material
isn't everything. . . . In life, we often form personal attachments to assets that
have little to do with their objective value. These sentimental attachments can
distort our evaluation ability considerably, if not always in a harmful way."
Garry Kasparov, 2007

In a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, it is necessary to have the ability to have dif
ferent approaches (Bennett & Lemoine, 20 1 4) and a clear list of priorities to organize such an envi
ronment. This ability is undermined in daily life. Nowadays everything seems to be very important:
.:areer, status, family, etc. All details are equally important - the job, the family. Everyday actions are
often perceived as life-threatening events. Is this really so?
"1lnlevety la3, the worflwifflrC1_J3ou 6_J the hcml,3e{(;YIJ:

"7his fr im('ortantl
1lnlthat fr im('ortantl
1lnl3ou neelto warty ahout this.I
1lnlthisl
1lnlthis/"
1lnleach la3, it fr uf' to3ou, to3ankJour hanlhac�
1'ut it on3our heart anlsa3: "No. 7his fr what fr im('ortantl""
(Iain S. Thomas, South African writer and new media artist)
P LAYI N G A TO U R NAM E NT 83
When playing chess w e must be prepared t o give u p something i n order t o win a game. A s Siegbert
Tarrasch said, 'every move creates a weakness". "For example, when your pawns advance, you gain
space to maneuver your pieces, but at the cost of weakening your defenses" (Kasparov, 2007) . It's like the
first law of thermodynamics mentioned by Kasparov in his book "How life imitates chess" (Kasparov,
2007) - it says that the total amount of energy in a system is a constant - so if we move energy into
one area, we lose the same amount elsewhere.
Therefore, a chess player has to learn to make compromises. This means that he is aware that he
cannot always find a perfect move, but a move that IS GOOD ENOUGH. During a chess game
a player often gets into "zeitnot': This means that he only has a minute or even seconds to make
several moves for which he wants to spend much more time. Under such pressure one has to act
quickly and somehow accept that one cannot find the absolute best move in the position. Namely,
even if you finally find it, but you run out of time, you lose. Therefore, a chess player has to learn
how to set priorities.
"?f's not harlto lecile what3ou want3our fife to he ahout. What's

harl, is fiJurirJ_J out what3ou 're wiffirJ_J foJive up in orler fo lo the
thirJ_JS3ou reaf!J care ahout. "
(Shauna Niequist, American author)
Priority analysis and synthesis helps us to decide whether a move is good or bad. Even if an opponent
makes a counter plan and we cannot control every square on the board, some squares or pieces are
crucial to win the game. Just like in life. The pursuit of perfection can often prevent success. I remem
ber when I was writing my dissertation, it was never enough. I could have added endless new theories
and yet there were some I did not mention. At some point I had to stop and finish the dissertation,
otherwise the spiral could spin on forever. Perfectionists often have the burnout problem. They never
take a break and rest because in their mind this time is wasted and could be used for work. Body and
mind however have their limits. Like a motorcycle or a car, if you push them too much, sooner or
later they'll break.
Priority setting exercise

Let's get started. Take a blank piece of paper and make a list of things that are important to you
in life. Next, rank these things according to their importance. Last but not least, think about
concrete applications of how you will invest your energy for the top priority things that you
have listed. Meanwhile, minimize the effort for other intruders as they are not important fac
tors in your life.

"t.ife is a kinrlofchess, with strUJJfe, comtefifion, Joor!cmrliffevents. 11
(Benjamin Franklin, American politician)
Setting priorities does not mean that you do not strive for perfection. It means that perfection is
Jefined differently. Perfection itself is imperfect. There is no such thing as a perfect move. More than
:hat, sometimes all moves lose. Nevertheless, the chess player must play as many imperfectly perfect
:noves as possible and fight to the end. Turnovers in chess are constant. To win a lost position a chess
?layer must fight to the end, even in an imperfect position. The most important thing is to try, or as
-.,-e say in Slovenia, never to walk like a sheep to be slaughtered (i.e. without a fight) . Here too there
are parallels in everyday life. Most of the time there is no perfect solution. You can win something,
:mt you have to sacrifice something else. Sometimes the result is not positive. Nevertheless, you have
:o fight and look for the solution to minimize the damage.
Decision making
";tl human heirJ_J is a rlecirlirJ_J heirJ_J. "

(Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist)
.\laking decisions means taking responsibility for your own actions. In order to make decisions,
you have to understand the consequences of your actions. This often includes the use of accumulated
knowledge, self-confidence, a feeling of control over one's own life and the realization of one's life
priorities. Extreme examples of this in chess are sacrifices that do not have a clear result. Only a chess
player who deeply believes in himself can do it. It's about being mentally ready to make decisions
without turning back.
";tlvoirlthe crawl. 1Jo:;our thinkfrJ_J inrletenrlent&.

13e the chess tfa:;er, not the chess piece. 11
(Ralph Charell, American author)
' Lr' ' , , -J G A TO U R NAM E NT 85

Decision making process in management. In management, real decision making begins with
thinking and ends with acting (example 1 ) . In chess, it may seem that decision equals action,
but often it happens that a chess player decides to make a particular move and then begins to
rethink or even play another move. In this case (example 2) the process of decision making is
not complete. Sometimes a chess player finds himself in a thinking loop (example 3) without
reaching a decision or acting on it. There are cases of impulsive decision making and acting (ex
ample 4). I do not believe this is the same as making decisions intuitively. The latter still leaves
room for a thinking process in the evaluation phase. Sometimes there is only action. There is
a chess proverb that someone "moves the wooden blocks", which means that he plays without
thinking at all (example 5 ) .
Table. Decision making process i n management (Source: Picinin, 2 0 1 2 , pp. 2 1 ) .
. .
l + + +
2. + +
3. +
4. + +
s +
6.
* Efstratios Grivas wrote a good book on this topic: Modern chess planning. Here is an example
from the book.
This is the position from the game

E. Grivas - N. Kalesis
(Greek Team Ch, Aghia Pelagia 2004) :

White is on the move . What i s the core feature of the position that you will build your play
on? Cho ose the best plan among the three proposed plans: 6
0 I should concentrate on th e queenside where my pawns are well advanced. I shall start
l.c8 19. �2 and then a4-a5 . Black's counterplay seems insufficient as he does
with 18 . i!.d2
not have any entry squares for his pieces, nor any active plan . My advantage will be slight
but stable .
0 I have more space on the kingside due to my e S -pawn, therefore I should transfer my piec
es to that part of the b oard to create attacking chances. The black king seems inadequately
protected as the black knight cannot access the f6- square , nor can any other piece contribute
to the defence . More over, the pawn on h6 is a potential target for a sacrifice. If Black trie s to
lib erate his p osition with the .. .fS advance, then the creation of a permanent pawn weakness
on e 6 will give me a clear positional target. S o , I shall start with 18 'm'e4 and 'm'g4.
9 I think that the c6-square could b e turned into a strong outp ost, particularly for my f3 -
knight. For this purpose, I must push my b-pawn to bS and exchange the light-s quared bish
ops. Then, with l2Jd4- c6 I shall have created an excellent basis for my plans on the queenside
and in the centre . I shall start with 18. i!.b2 l.c8 1 9 . 'm'd2 and then �dl and l2Jd4, with
strong pressure in the centre and on the que enside .
Believe i n your intuition
"9nfuifion -Jou can 'f f_Jnore if ancf!Jou can 'f e;<pfain if. "
(Agatha Christie, English writer)
Intuition is an immediate "On ly our experience and instincts can combine all the ob
understanding or know jective factors into con text, a complete view not only of how
ing something without things work, but of why they work that way. Intuition means
recourse to conscious rea- understanding, not just knowing. All our memories, talents
soning. The intuition is the and skills come together to produce what a dictionary de
pattern-matching process fines as "knowing without the use of rational processes."
that quickly suggests feasi
ble courses of action. (Kasparov, 2007)
6 The solution is plan B. The game followed: 1 8 . Qc2-e4, Qd8-d7 19. Qe4-g4, Kg8-h8 20. Qg4-h5, Kh8-g8 21. Lcl -h6,
g7-h6 22. Qh5-h6, fS 23. Qh6-g6, Kg8-h8 24. Nf3-d4!, Bb7-c8 25. Ral -d l , Re8-d8 26. Ne4-f5 ! , Be7-f8 27. Re l -e4! , Lf8-
g7 28. Re4-h4, Kh8-g8 29. Bg2-d5, e6-d5 30. Rd l -dS! l :O
P LAY I N G A TO U R N A M E NT 87
Chess players know that the best moves come from remembering the familiar elements, a knowledge that
is stored in long-term memory and not always accessible to the conscious mind, but can be used for chess
related decisions. This kind of knowledge is called intuition. The accumulation of knowledge is very im
portant according to the neurolinguistic programming paradigm. All knowledge that is acquired is a skill
that can enrich the individual set of possible actions and increase mobility in the search for solutions and
behavior. This improves our ability to react appropriately to the demands oflife. NLP does not encourage
you to replace old behavior with a new one, but adds new options to the current set of behavioral patterns.
In this way, it is important for a person to activate all the resources available to him. Or as the psychologist
A. Maslow would say, a man has to realize all the personal potential and become a self-realized person.
�
In recent psychology, intuition can encompass the ability to know valid solutions to problems
and decision making. Gary Klein found that under time pressure, high stakes, and changing
parameters, experts used their base of experience to identify similar situations and intuitively
choose feasible solutions. (Klein, 2003)
'Too often we rely on having all the information and then doing exactly what the information tells us to do"
(Kasparov, 2007). However, there may be other information or knowledge that could be useful for our
present decision that is beyond our awareness. Fortunately, we have a mechanism that connects our vast
knowledge base stored in long-term memory with our current focus of consciousness. It is called intui
tion. Often our intuition "knows " more than we think. We must learn to trust our intuition. This implicit
knowledge is something we should use in our daily life! Garry Kasparov (2007) said that overthinking can
numb our instincts and turn what should be a quick decision into a mental committee meeting.
We rely heavily on pattern recognition as explained by RPD (Klein, 1 998):
Recognition-primed decision (RPD) is a model of how people make quick, effective deci
sions when faced with complex situations. In this model, the decision maker is assumed to
generate a possible course of action, compare it to the constraints imposed by the situation, and
select the first course of action that is not rejected. RPD has been described in diverse groups
including trauma nurses, fireground commanders, chess players, and stock market traders. It
functions well in conditions of time pressure, and in which information is partial and goals
poorly defined. The limitations of RPD include the need for extensive experience among deci
sion makers (in order to correctly recognize the salient features of a problem and model solu
tions) and the problem of the failure of recognition and modeling in unusual or misidentified
circumstances. Recognition primed decision making is highly relevant to the leaders or officers
of organizations that are affiliated with emergency services such as fire fighters, search and
rescue units, police, and other emergency services. It is applied to both the experienced and
the inexperienced, and how they manage their decision making processes. The RPD model is
developed as samples for organizations on how important decisions can affect important situ
ations which may either take or save lives (Klein, 1 998).

? .:.tterns enliven the world. This can already be seen i n the way the basic building blocks of
_::: fo rmation transmission - the neurons - function. A single neuron is powerless, but when con
::�cted to a neural network it comes to life. The electrical flow miraculously receives a message
: :· content and the brain is transformed into the most powerful "machine " in the world. With the
.:.iscovery of patterns, scientists decoded the Enigma, encryption device developed and used in
:..':c early- to mid-20th century to protect commercial, diplomatic and military communication.
�he understanding of patterns drives artificial intelligence, enables computer-aided vision, im
.:.ge and text processing, etc. Patterns give us a meaningful basis on which we can rely with our
:,•gical thinking. Without them, we wander around in a universe of individual data that has no
>recial meaning for us.
-,,-hat exactly is pattern recognition? It is about finding the meaningful connections between
data and giving them a meaning. It includes understanding how things relate to each other and
:..1 s ing this information to predict future behavior. The process of pattern recognition involves
:natching the information received with the information already stored in the brain. Making the
.:onnection between memories and information perceived is a step of pattern recognition called
:dentification. Pattern recognition requires repetition of experiences.
Translated into chess language the search for patterns consists in finding the connection between
;:iieces that form a meaningful construct for a chess player such as openings or motifs. On this basis
we can predict the course of the game and decide on the appropriate move. An experienced chess
?layer can almost see the forces between the pieces, the danger areas where it is inappropriate to
move them, etc. Often this pattern is implicitly coded in the brain. For example, we do not know
how to describe in words the pattern that defines a bad bishop, but we quickly recognize it when we
see the appropriate combination of pieces on the chess board. Strategy can be defined as a pattern of
successive decisions. Although positions and moves are never exactly the same, chess players find key
clements that we have mastered through training. The more games we review and understand why
the moves were played the way they were played, the more patterns we will form, and the more op
tions we will have to identify the key pattern of piece configuration in the next game, which will help
us choose a move. It is therefore very important that we learn chess not only by moving the pieces
from move to move, but that we always understand the latent patterns that are in the background.
Just as a person's ability to recognize patterns is a quality, it can also be a trap. We should not only
rely on existing patterns but look for new ones. We can only do this with new experiences and with
the self-awareness of this process. By understanding the meaning of what we do and adding meaning
to the information, we bring our neurons in the brain closer together so that they can stretch out and
create intertwined knowledge. Can you remember the last time you did something for the first time
and connected the neurons together?
What patterns do you follow in your everyday life?
Do you see a known chess pattern in the following position? 7
Goal reaching determination
"9 can accept {aifure; everyone {aiG at somethir>J.

1?:,ut 9 cannot accept not tryir>J. "
(Michael Jordan, American former professional basketball player)
World Champion Magnus Carlsen disclosed his commitment to

the game in an interview with Chessbase: "Keeping in mind how in
credibly stubborn I was back then . . . I never stopped playing for a win,
almost no matter what. I've noticed the last few years that I can't force
myself to concentrate and look for tiny chances. « He continued . . . «If I
have to sitforfour hours extra even with only 2 percent winning chance
in order to avoid a draw, it's worth it. But I haven't had the same drive
and energy the last few years." ( ChessBase, 2 0 1 8 )
A chess player must learn to constantly strive to achieve a goal - to win a game. One good move does
not win a game. Even all good moves do not win a game if the opponent finds better moves. As I haw
already mentioned, I believe that this is not the same as being a perfectionist. The latter derives from
inner compulsion, which is based on past experience. For example, if a child has grown up in a fam
ily where the parents always demand perfection from him and he was worthless if he did not reach
7 The solution is 1 . Qd5-g8, Rf8-g8 2. Nh6-f7 checkmate. This well known checkmate pattern is called smothered
mate. It occurs when a knight checkmates a king that is smothered (surrounded) by his pieces and he has nowhere to
move nor is there any way to capture the knight. It is also known as Philidor's Legacy after Fran<;:ois-Andre Danican
Philidor, though its documentation predates Philidor by several hundred years.

: ·.,ill develop the following pattern: "I have to be perfect in everything I do or I'm worthless." I n this
:.l...'< ,
when the child grows up, he will continue to try to meet the early patterns. Unfortunately, it is
:- :· : possible to be perfect, not even for superheroes. Such an adult exhausts himself in this mission
.::: p ossible and burnout is a common end.
There are different inner compulsions or unconscious patterns of our thoughts:

•My results must always be perfect (which leads to hypersensitivity to criticism)
•Others must be satisfied with me (which leads to hypersensitivity to rej ection)
•Work allows me to exist (which leads to a high degree of introversion)
•I have to do all the work (which leads to excessive responsibility)
A.ny of these coercions can lead to workaholism and burnout.
-:he search for an optimal (not perfect!) solution for a certain problem, on the other hand, is a real
jemand that is not driven by unhealthy inner patterns. Optimal therefore does not equal perfect.
This means that a chess player wants to calculate as much as possible to find the best plan to win a
5'.ame, but at the same time he is aware that this is not a perfect plan. Because of the great complexity
.:>i the game, nobody knows what is objectively the best move in most chess positions.
:c is therefore an important characteristic of man to strive for the best, but not perfect, solution of
rroblem situations in life.
What's the difference between striving for excellence and being a perfectionist?
Perfectionists beat themselves up if everything isn't perfect, whereas hard workers tend to be
happy with a near-perfect j ob well done. (Scott, 2020)
Ad mit that you have made a m i stake
"£.earn to aimit3our mistakes 6e{ore someone e;ctlJJerates the stor:;. "

(Unknown)
In chess, it is essential to have a plan. However, you may find that the chosen move/plan is bad. This is
a situation that questions your adulthood. In fact, it is very difficult to admit that you are wrong and
to undo the move you have just played. In a sense, you are temporarily admitting defeat. In the long
run, however, it is still better than persisting with the wrong plan and trying to make it good. One of
the students at the Royal School (Tanzania) asked his teacher an amazing question: "What is the most
important thing chess has taught you?" The teacher explained: "The first time you make a mistake, it is
a learning experience. The second time you make it, it is a true mistake." (Rabin, 20 1 9)
There is a phenomenon that

refers to the negative aspect of
But !jus defending one's own position,
t Lied even if it stands for the wrong
thing. Leon Festinger ( 1 957)
called it cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance refers to a situation involving con Cognitive dissonance occurs
flicting attitudes, beliefs or behaviors. This produces a feeling when a person experiences two
of mental discomfort. For example, when people smoke (be or more contradictory beliefs,
havior) and they know that smoking causes cancer (cogni ideas or values. This discomfort
tion), they are in a state of cognitive dissonance. When two is triggered by a situation where
actions or ideas are not psychologically consistent with each a person's beliefs collide with
other, people do all in their power to change them until they new evidence perceived by the
become consistent (Festinger, 1 962). Most often it is easier to person. When confronted with
change attitude than behaviour which can worsen the gap facts that contradict beliefs,
between the initial values and behavior in the long run. For ideals, and values, people will
example, a person convinces himself that smoking is not so try to find a way to resolve the
dangerous and continues harmful behavior. contradiction to reduce their
discomfort (Festinger, 1 962) .
In A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance ( 1 957), Leon Festinger proposed that human beings strive
for internal psychological consistency in order to function mentally in the real world. A person
who experiences inner inconsistency tends to feel psychologically uncomfortable and is motivated to
reduce cognitive dissonance by making changes to justify the stressful behavior. This is done either
by adding new parts to the cognition that cause the psychological dissonance or by avoiding cir
cumstances and contradictory information that are likely to increase the magnitude of the cognitive
dissonance. If there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors (dissonance), something must
change to eliminate the dissonance. If there is a discrepancy between attitudes and behavior, it is very
likely that the attitude will change to reflect the behavior.
An example is found in the story of "The Fox and the grapes"; because the fox could not reach the
desired grape, he decided that he did not really want the fruit and convinced himself that it was sour
anyway. Through the act of rationalizing (justifying), the fox reduced his cognitive dissonance, which
arose from a wish he could not realize.
Another example of cognitive dissonance in real life is when people smoke (behavior) and know that
smoking causes cancer (cognition) . In this case they are in a state of cognitive dissonance, which i;.
unpleasant, and they want to get rid of this unpleasant feeling. What they can do is ( 1 ) quit smoking
(which is the most difficult thing to do), (2) get new information that outweighs dissonant belief;.
(they will find research that has proven that smoking is not dangerous), or (3) reduce the importance
of knowledge (i.e. beliefs, attitudes; one could say, for example, that a short life full of smoking anc
sensual pleasures is better than a long life without such pleasures) . In this way they reduce the impor
tance of the dissonant cognition (smoking is bad for your health) .

.�s we can see, it can lead to unpleasant things i f one i s not aware o f it. To a certain cognitive dissonance is
..::c,itable, since in everyday life we often make decisions that are not perfect. For example, a chess player
.:.nides to make a move to attack the opponent's king but at the same time this weakens his own king. Or
·.. -hen we buy a cheap item that is good but have given up on the best quality due to price optimization. A
�ummon way to reduce dissonance is to increase the attractiveness of the chosen alternative and decrease
:...,e attractiveness of the rejected alternative. It would be unpleasant if we bought the cheap item and then
�untinued to think about the better quality but more expensive item we rejected. This is referred to as
-:he spread of alternatives". This is probably because it would lead to a bad feeling if we made an effort to
.:.-:hieve something or if we made a choice and then judged it negatively. To avoid these negative feelings,
-.,e often try to convince ourselves that we have not really spent years of effort trying to achieve something,
:ir that the effort was very pleasant, or that it was not really much effort at all. This method of reducing
.iissonance is called "effort justification " (McLeod, 20 18; Prentice, 20 1 7).

•)ne of the worst real life examples of cognitive dissonance has been seen in the legal system. Modern
..:.ay DNA analysis has unequivocally demonstrated incorrect conclusions. These tests have demonstrated
.:.lmost beyond any doubt that mistakes were made by the police, prosecution and courts. Matthew Syed
-.,Tote in 20 1 5, "This should have led to an acknowledgement of error, and meaningful reform. In fact, the
.-.stonishing thing is not that the system - or at least the people behind it - learned, but the extent to which
:r continued to evade and deny . . . The problem was not the strength of the evidence, which was often over
,, helming; it was the psychological difficulty in accepting it." This form of cognitive dissonance exists, in part,
Jue to the inability of experts to accept the truth when exposed to the reality of their mistakes. Instead,
SYed points out, when confronted with evidence that directly challenges our deep convictions, "we are
•1wre likely to reframe the evidence than we are to alter our beliefs." "We simply invent new reasons, new jus
�!fications, new explanations. Sometimes we ignore the evidence altogether" (Gonzalez, 2020).
"Peopfe who make mistakes anlalmit them are almirahfe, peopfe

who make mistakes anlIon 't are laY>Jerous. "
(Unknown)
A m i n ute for self- refl ectio n

Recognizing the signs of cognitive dissonance in your everyday life can help you to adapt your
behavior to your values so that you will experience less unpleasant long term feelings. Find an
example of cognitive dissonance in your everyday life.
If you have difficulty finding an example, try to remember if you have ever experienced signs
that could be related to dissonance, such as:
• Feeling uncomfortable before doing something or making a decision.
• Trying to justify or rationalize a decision that you have made or an action you have taken.
• Feeling embarrassed or ashamed about something you have done and trying to hide your
actions from other people.
• Experiencing guilt or regret for something you've done in the past.
• Doing things because of social pressure, even if it was not something you wanted to do.
Source: Cherry, 2020.
P LAYI N G A TO U R NAM E N T 93
2.2.4 ACTIVAT I O N , PATI E N C E AN D RESPO N S I B I LITY
I stopped waiting for the light

at the end of the tunnel
& l it it up myself.
Source: https://www.redbubble.com and www.pixabay. com
In chess as in life, it is important to be active, to make the most of your time and to take responsi
bility for your own actions. However, these processes require mental control over the situation and
patience. Let us take one step at a time.
Key ta keaways
• Take action in your life. Inaction also has consequences
• Patience is not passivity, but active control over impulsive
actions
• Taking responsibility for your actions is a power and not a
burden
Activity
"l.ife fr a3ame hoard. 11me iJ3our opponent 9(3ou procrastinate,

!JOU wifffose the3ame. 1/ou must make a move to he victorious. 11
(Napoleon Hill, American author)
By being passive you are not going to give mate. That is why a chess player learns not to wait for the
perfect moment, but to try to take a moment and make it perfect.
"7ake one step towards fife anlfife takes one thousanltowards!JOU. "
(Osho, Indian philosopher and founder of the Rajneesh movement

�ot making a decision i s a decision. I f you d o not actively make a choice, you choose passivity and
-:: : others, or life, make a choice for you .
..!..s
Torbj0rn Ringdal Hansen said: "In chess a sign of being out ofform is that you spend too much time
: •: almost every decision. Is that really better for me? Have I calculated correctly? In the end, you might
,-. e n end up not doing what you want to do." (Hansen, 20 1 8) .
"S'omethir>J that3ou can never take awa3 from me is the wa3

9 choose to resfonlto what3ou lo to me. "
X> it is in life. Norman Mailer wrote that every moment we are either "living a little more or dying a
::ttle bit". "There is no standing still, no maintaining a perfect equilibrium" (Kasparov, 2007) . Life does
:iot like passive people. It gives them leftovers. Be aware, if you do not actively seek a good view, the
:cftover might be a disappointment.
Fig u re 12. Every single day you make a

choice. Source: Flickr.
In chess, the importance of activity is also reflected in the activity of the pieces. As Michael Stean
said: "The most important feature of the Chess position is the activity of the pieces. This is absolutely
fundamental in all phases of the game: Opening, Middle game and especially Endgame. The primary
constraint on a piece's activity is the Pawn structure''. If we do not move and develop, the world will
crush us. The benefits of active action can be considered from different angles - economics, aging,
sport, etc. Sometimes even success reduces activity. "Success and satisfaction are our goals, but they
can also lead to negative patterns of behavior that impede greater success and satisfaction, or even to
catastrophic failure at a key moment." (Kasparov, 2007).
"7o survive, we have to keef' evofvirJ_J. "


*Activity is a crucial aspect of chess playing. Find an active way to play the following position:8
Rench, D vs . Boor, C.
Vegas International, 2006
Source:
https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess- endgames#activate
your-king
Here is the hint:

Every great endgame player in history not only un
derstood the importance of King activation, but
they anticipated precisely when the middlegame
was ending, and that it was time to bring out the
"big guy" !
Use your time
When you play a game of chess, you feel how important TIME is. If we waste time (literally or meta
phorically), the opponent will checkmate us first. For this reason playing with the white pieces is
considered an advantage as White has the first move. Therefore, he is faster, he will be the first to
checkmate if Black copies his moves. Therefore, Black is worse from the beginning and his first goal
is to equalize the position. By searching for the best moves from the first move, as well as learning the
chess openings, we try to achieve the best possible position for the rest of the game. This is roughly
the same as what companies do through brand design and development, marketing and product or
service development and market positioning, with the aim of gaining a competitive advantage in the
opening phase. In chess, as in life, we have no spare time to waste. You should therefore actively step
out of your comfort zone and exchange passivity for activity.
8 The game continued: 57. Kg3-f4 ! , Rh5-h4 58. Kf4-e3, Kc7-b7 59. Ke3-d2, Rh4-d4 60. Kd2-c3, Rd4-c4 6 1 . Kc3-b.3
Rc4-h4 62. a3-4!, b5-a4 63. Kb3-a4, Rh4-h2 64. B4-b5, Rh2-h4 65. Ka4-a5, Rh4-h5 66. b5-b6, Rh5-h2 67. Ka5-b4, Rh.:
h4 68. Kb4-c5, Rh4-h5 69. Kc5-d6, Rh5-h2 70. Kd6-e7 1 : 0

"Life is like
a ch ess g a m e . . .
yo u don 't wa n t
to waste a m o ve. "
Tech S u m m it 2013
B i n g Gordon,
at C h i c a g o I d ea s Wea k
;.>urce: http://chessgrit.com/ and www.pixabey.com
Chess players must also have time management skills. An average

" Time management" � classic game lasts about 4 hours (2 hours per player) and includes
is the process of organ 40 moves. This means that a player should manage time effectively
izing and planning how and spend on average about three minutes per move. Sometimes,
to divide your time be however, time management fails, players do not use their time
tween specific activities. properly and are under time pressure. I remember times when I
Good time management played games and thought about a certain position/move for about
enables you to work 3 minutes (so I thought), while the clock showed that I spent more
smarter - not harder - so than 20 minutes for one move. It was a shock, and I almost called
that you get more done an arbiter, to complain that my clock is not working properly. But of
in less time, even when course, it was just my poor time management, caused by inappro
time is tight and pressure priate decision-making skills. This kind of bad time control leads to
is high. Failing to manage a "zeitnot" situation where there is not much time left for normal
your time damages your thinking and decisionmaking. In this case a chess player must in
effectiveness and causes crease focus and optimize decision making under less than optimal
stress (Mindtools, 2020). circumstances. The practice of decision making and working under
time pressure can help individuals to meet deadlines and perform
tasks with limited resources. This is something that is highly valued
in the management and business world. Good time management requires an important shift in focus
from activities to results: being busy is not the same as being effective.
How long is a minute? (an exercise by Darko Todorovic, https://blog.trainerswarehouse.com/

time-management-activities)
Close your eyes and open them when you think that 1 minute has passed. You cannot rely on a
watch, but only on your gut feeling.
You probably will not get it right. So what is time? Even though everyone has the same 24 hours
a day, we experience it and use it in different ways. Some of us experience it as a shorter time
span than others. Time is relative. The important thing is how we use it.
Have pat i ence
Being active, not wasting time and taking responsibility is not the same as making reckless decisions
for lack of patience.
"f.ack ofriatience is (Jro6a6& the most common reason for fosiYJ_J

aJame, or lrawiYJ_JJames that shoufcfhave 6een won. "
(Bent Larsen, Danish chess grandmaster and author)
Chess is not about quick and easy wins; chess is about long-term goals, hard work and patience.
"One of the qualities of a great thinker is to get the maximum out of a position without overstepping and
trying to achieve more than what is possible." (Kasparov, 2007) .
An average game lasts 40 moves, which must be calculated and planned very carefully because even a
small mistake can cause a winning position to collapse. This is a very stressful process. Chessplayers
experience a kind of fight or flight reaction when a situation is perceived as threatening. In this state,
the primitive brain reacts immediately by activating the physical mechanisms to fight or escape the
threat. Thinking is suppressed because if we thought of different ways of reacting it would be too slow
and the threat would be devastating for us.
There are many cases where a player loses control and tries to fight his opponent by unreasonably
pushing his pieces or making senseless sacrifices. It is a kind of flight reaction in which one player
retreats all his troops. In such actions, which result from the panic state of mind, we only attack
ourselves. It is a kind of self-harming behavior. Such behavior can be devastating to a person if they
cannot control it. However, the position on the board requires rational thinking and not acting out
of desperation.
The same can happen if you lose

Frustrat10n
. is a ciee 1'mg �
. a series of games. For example, Patience is an emo
of agitation and intoler you can become inpatient to tionally freeing practice
ance triggered when your finally win and start forcing of waiting, watching, and
needs are not met; the odds. As Kasparov (2007) knowing when to act. Pa
it is tied to an inability to quoted famous chess player tience is power, not pas
delay gratification. Mikhail Gurevich: "Playing sivity or resignation.
the odds doesn't work like that. https://www.psychologytoday.
When you play the roulette you com/us/blog/ emotional - fr e e
can lose many times in a row dom/20 1 209/the
by betting on black every time".
Kasparov continues: "It is sad
but true; it makes no sense to believe that faring poorly now, automatically means you will do bet
ter later. There are no cosmic scales that will eventually balance out on their own." You need to be
patient and take the time to stabilize after a few losses, then you will be psychologically better
prepared to fight again.

2.2 D u r i ng a c h ess ga m E
:.:ichess situations you often have t o control your inner urge, sometimes even your inner anger; slo�
.:own and think through your options or lose. You cannot let your arm go any faster than your brain
.\ s imilar state of mind can be observed in various occasions in life. For example, when we fight witl
:-ur partner. At that moment we feel threatened and fight beyond reasonable behavior. We might tel
:-ach other things that are not true and we might regret them later. With patience, you are able tc
;:ep back and regroup instead of reacting aggressively or rashly giving up on someone who frustratei
·.-ou. Therefore, the suggestion is: go away, cool down and turn on your mind, think, because that wil
?rotect you from primitive actions and will show you a better solution to the problematic situation
:.n the end, you are always responsible for how you act, no matter how you feel.
?atience and long-term orientation are also very welcome in the business world - they can help an
;:mployee to see the big picture, not to rush into quick and easy solutions, but to tackle every problem
:.y getting to the root of it.
Train patience (https://www.psychologytoday. com/us/blog/ emotional-freedom/20 1 209/the-power-patience)
Find a long, slow-moving line to wait in. Perhaps in a grocery store, a bank or a post office.
Instead of becoming irritable or intrusive, which puts a rush of stress hormones into your
system, take a deep breath. Say to yourself: "I will wait peacefully and enjoy the break." In the
meantime, try to empathize with the overwrought cashier or government employee. Smile and
say a few kind words to the other beleaguered people in line. Use the time to daydream, take
time off from work or other commitments.
Notice the stress reduction you feel and how your body relaxes.
A m i n ute for self- refl ectio n
*Train your patience: Black i s better, but still, the game has
to be won. Would you play 1 . . . Nd3 and take a piece? 9
Muradyan, A vs. Guid, T.

EU-Ch U- 1 2 girls, 2 0 1 9
9 Most players would rush t o get a piece with 1 . . . Nd3. This i s not the best move. Better would b e t o have patience and
play the move b3 keeping the passed pawn structure in tact. In the game, the youngster chose the material and played
1 . . . Nd3. The game continued 2. Rb2-a2, Ra8-a2 3. Ra1 2-a2, Nd3-cl 4. Ra2-a6, Nd6-e8 5. c4-c5, b4-b3 6. d5-d6, b3-b2
7. d6-d7, Ne8-c7 8. Ra6-c6 White is already better and Black eventually lost the game.
1 99
P LAYI N G A TO U R N A M E NT
Take responsibility, forget reg ret
"9(9 win a tournament, 9 win it 63 rrysef{.

9 lo the ffa3in_J. No6of_J he0s me. 11
"Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rath
er must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is ques
tioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life;
to life he can only respond by being responsible."

By Prof. Dr. Franz Vesely, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia. org/w/index.php?curid= l 5 1 53593
In order to lead an active life, one needs to take responsibility for it. You are the creator of your own
life, just as a chess player is the creator of his game. Behind the board, you are on your own.
You need to make the decisions and take responsibility, even if things turn out to be wrong. Even
if you want to blame someone else, you know deep inside that it is your "fault". During a game of
chess, it is always up to you which move you will make, whether it is a mistake or a good move. This
is a good thing. As V. Frankl said: "Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our
power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom. "
"No one saves us hut oursefves. No one can anlno one ma3.
We oursefves must wafk the fath. 11
(Buddha, prince, warrior, meditator, and enlightened teacher)
"In chess, as in life, there are no take backs. So you must think before you move" said Susan Polgar,
former Women's World Chess Champion. Sometimes chess players also start to search for reasons
for their failure outside of themselves - in their opponent, in the bad light above the chessboard, etc.
"I had a toothache during thefirst game. In the second game I had a headache.
In the third game it was an attack of rheumatism. In the fourth game, I wasn't
feeling well. And in the fifth game? Well, must one have to win every game?''
Siegbert Tarrasch, German former elite chess player and physician

Source: jos Sutmuller.
1 00 I M P ROVE YO U R LI F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

lf a player looks fo r excuses too often, h e will b e ridiculed by other players and, most importantly,
he will not make any progress in the future. Nevertheless, I believe that sometimes it is a good solu
tion to find external reasons for a small failure to overcome a painful moment in life. It is a kind of
optimistic thinking in the sense that we do not blame ourselves too much.
You have to learn not to regret too many things and not to look back too often and too far because
\·ou are not going in that direction. It is always the future that one is heading towards and in which
one must invest time and energy. By constantly brooding over past moments, you lose the new
moments that life has given you.
(Jonathan Larson, American composer)
"Attackers may sometimes regret bad moves, but it is much worse to

forever regret an opportunity you allowed to pass you by."
Mikhail Tal, former World Chess Champion and well know as the
magician of Riga
Source: Jos Sutmuller.
Be the captain of your lifeboat and turn it towards new horizons. Remember that being the captain
of your own ship, being able to sail it, is a power and not something to be afraid of. Grab your wheel
of life with privileged determination and do not let others maneuver it.
1 f.i{e is fik..e a3ame ofchess. 9 cannot unlo the moves hut

9 can mak..e the ne;d stef 6efter. 11
(Edwin Tan, Malaysian photographer)

Source: Zilca, 20 1 0 .
Taking responsibility for our own life first requires control over it.
This is more difficult than it seems at first glance.
We often blame others for our reactions. For example, someone upsets us and then tells us to
calm down. Often our thoughts are something like: "I cannot calm down YOU upset me!" It -
often seems easier to change others. We could think, "I will go crazy, and then he will admit he
did something wrong". This however will not change other people's behavior or the bad feeling
inside us.
Normally we cannot influence the way other people act, but we can always control the feel
ings and thoughts that other people's actions trigger in us. It is very useful to take control of
our emotional and cognitive irritation. Then we can realize that it is the responsibility of other
people to deal with the things they may have done wrong.
The next time you start complaining about others or about "bad luck'', try this
simple exercise: Write down on a piece of paper five things you can do and
over which you have full control. Then choose one of them and act accord
ingly.
2.2.5 COU RAG E and O PTI M I STIC TH I N KI N G
H e w h o fea rs a n
I so l ated Q u ee n 's
Pawn s h o u l d g ive
u p C h ess.
(Siegbert Tarrasch, German former elite chess player and physician) Source: www.pixabay.com
Key ta keaways
• Be reasonably brave - do not be afraid of uncertainty
• Use an optimistic explanatory style and positive self-talk

..: .:hess not a single decision i s 1 00% risk free. Even i f you think i t is safe, there may be something
: :l have overlooked. Every move is, to some degree, a leap into the unknown. Unknown is such a
�·: ·.,·erful weapon that players often deviate from the established theoretical lines just to surprise the
�?onent and move him into the unknown field. At any point in the game your opponent will try to
.-_, and you should not allow him to do so. At any point in the game, you must fight to win.
111/ou have to have the fi.JhtirJJ s(Jirif.

1/ou have to force moves an/take chances. 11
.!.. .:: h ess player must be brave, but reasonably brave. He must calculate the risk with the awareness
:.-, at a certain risk must be taken. This is also very important in life. We must be active in unsafe
��·inditions. Sometimes we have to take a certain risk if we want to achieve something. It is like a
;iip that has to leave port if it wants to reach its final destination, even if some storms are inevitable.
When you leave your comfort zone, at first you are afraid, maybe even vulnerable, but then you
face challenges and problems, you acquire new skills and you expand your comfort zone. All this
:Jtimately leads to setting ambitious goals in life and leading a fulfilled life with a defined purpose.
111Jo nottra3 for eas:; fives. Pra3 to he sfrorJJer men. 11
(John F.Kennedy, former US President and politician)
Of course, there are differences in personality between different people. Some have a greater urge for
sensation seeking than others, but one should never be left completely without it. Seeking sensation
often represents courage, but sometimes, courage is confused with aggression. Yes, sometimes you
must bang a few rocks together to create a fire. Yet aggression in this context means "dynamism, in
novation, improvement, courage, risk, and willingness to take an action:' (Kasparov, 2007). Healthy
aggression includes optimism, which makes it possible to take moderate risks. If you want to take
risks, you have to have a positive attitude.
111Jo not he fike the cat who wantela fish hut was
a{railto_Jet his (Jaws wet. "
(William Shakespeare, English playwright, poet and actor)
O pt i m i s m is
t h e best way
to see l i fe .
OMG
I ' m flyi n g ! ! !
Pessimism is safe - expecting the worst is ,,safe" - you can not be disappointed.
In chess, every move is risky to some extent, and yet you have to make it anyway - that means you
have a certain amount of confidence in it - you have optimism.
". . . we learn by Chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad
appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hopingfor a favorable
chance, and that ofpersevering in the secrets of resources."
Benj amin Franklin, American politician

Source: https://www.biography. com, Photo: Getty images
Optimism generally assumes that good things will happen in the future. This leads to more
engagement in the activities in which we are involved. Consequently, this means better care for
oneself and better outcomes of the activities. Seligman's Attribution Theory ( 1 998) said that opti
mism is one way of determining the reasons for the things that happen in a person's life. He called
this "explanatory style" (see Figure 1 3 ) .
1 04 I M P ROV E YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

Problemati c event:
f l
B rea kup with a roma ntic pa rtner
.:.. perso n ' s ex p l a n atory sty l e is
:�e way t h ey exp l a i n eve nts to Explanat i ons of the causes
:- emse lves. T h i s is pa rti c u l a rly
:::-uci a l in the way t h ey i nterpret
Tem porary
••• "leth e r t h ey become Stable
"Th is is h a rd to take, but I wi l l get
:otim istic o r pess i m istic. " I ' l l never get over t h is."
through this."
Global Specific
"Without my pa rtner, I c a n 't seem "I m iss my pa rtner, but t h a n kfu l ly
to do a nyth i n g rig ht." I h ave fa m i ly a n d other friends."
Figure 13. Different

possibilities of explain I nternal
I nternal
ing an event according "It ta kes two to make a relationship
"Our brea kup was all my fa u lt."
work and it wasn't meant to be."
to Seligman's Attribution
Theory ( 1 998).
Source: www.rcgates.com; qui
zlet.com.
Depression Successful coping
When a chess player loses a game, he can blame himself: "How could I have played so badly?" (personal
attribution) and the fact that he is incapable of anything: "I cannot win a single game. I did everything
wrong." (general attribution) and that this will never change: "I will never be a good chess player. It is
a waste of time and energy to even try." (permanent attribution) . Or he can blame the coach for a bad
opening suggestion (external attribution), that this just happened in this variation (specific attribution)
and the fact that he happened to miss a move in a game (contemporary attribution). Obviously, the last
approach to explain the reason for the loss of a game is more optimistic and allows better coping with
failure. The optimistic attribution style is associated with better mental health, absence of depression,
more fulfilling interpersonal relationships, higher productivity and better success in sports and work.
Last but not least, optimism and happiness are conscious decisions, not automatic responses, so each of
us should feel responsible for our own optimism and happiness at least to some extent.
It's n o r m a l to m a ke
m istakes but I w i l l
m e anyway Fig u re 1 4. Positive vs.

00 negative self-talk.
Source: https://sites.google.
com/site/responsiblethinking
room/skills/self- management/
stre s s - m an a g e m e nt - 1 / s t r e s s
management.
(Positive) self-talk:
Positive thinking can be taught. One of the options is self-talk. Self-talk is common in various
physical sports. It is used by athletes to encourage themselves or to remind themselves of the correct
instructions before or during their performance. We have the same thing in chess. I talk to myself
(in my head) a lot during a game of chess (and I am not schizophrenic). I remember, for example,
that once a move with a knight on the last rank of the board was very tempting. However, even if the
calculation tempted me, my soliloquy, which was based on intuition, told me that "a knight on the
edge of the chessboard is half in the grave ". This was an instructive self-talk that steered my actions
in the right direction. I also often encourage myself to "calm down " when time is a problem, "now
is the time to stay focused '', etc., which helps me focus on the game and take it to the highest level.
In general, by talking to ourselves we can turn the (negative) perspective of threats into a (positive)
perspective of challenges.
A negative thinker sees

-:
-
.
a difficulty
-
•
in every opportunity.
A positive thinker sees
an opportunity
in every diffi/cuty.
Source: www. ziglar.com
Let's start thinking positive. Write down 1 0 positive thoughts that might help you to see the
world more optimistically. Do this for the next 9 days. I assure you that there will be a change
in your perception.
Of course, if you are not used to thinking positively at first, it will look like you are pretending
and trying to fool yourself. Do not stop. Sometimes you have to fake it till you make it. This
means that if you continue to consciously think positively, the positive thoughts will eventu
ally become a habit and will appear spontaneously. Let me give you some examples of positive
thinking when you are anxious and try to make your task easier:
1 06 I M P R OVE YO U R LI F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

I d o n ' t h av
e t o d rive
I c a n h a n d l e t h ese mys e lf. I ca . rt u n ity
n m n op po
sy m ptoms a n d fee l i n g s. . ove "1 o rwa rd T hi s is a ve rc o rn
e
wi t h s m a l l h oW to
o
st e p s. w \ ea r n .
rnY fe a rs
a b o ut
w o rr i e d
I ca � be . ne, I c a n ta ke as m u c h
ut it' s f i
at1 o n , b .
thi s s1 t u s n ot t i m e a s I n eed They' re j u st t h o u g hts,
s. i= e a r i
it' l l p as U9h to rel a x. not rea l i ty.
g e ro u s, a lt h o
dan nt
pl e a sa
it i s u n
Eve ryt h · n , .
l gs
o n
m e. My fe l ig i g to b e fi
?
Wel l , I ' m a l itt l e wo r ried r i g ht n ow, b u t e ne .
eason bl 9 s a ren
a e ,, 't lw Wt t h
t h i s i s n 't t h e f i rst t i m e t h i s h a s h a p pe n ed e ve ry h a y
t i n . 1_11 C a irn d o w a s r
to me. "I ' l l ta ke a d eep b reath a n d m ove g n nd
it h // b e fi n _a
W t h e flWtw e· I
o n . I t ' l l h e l p me g et better a n d better. o and . W1 // 9 0
th e f
e a r s u b . Wa t t U n t i l
S i des. "
"Sta3irJ_J positive loes not mean that thin.JS wiffturn out oka3. 1(ather
it is knowirJ_J that3ou wiffhe 0�3 no matter how thin.JS turn out. ff
(unknown)
Find the courage within yourself. You have it, because without courage life is not possible. Life is a
risk - every single moment. How can you live without courage? How can you breathe without cour
age? Why should you be afraid of life? The courage is there, but you are not aware of it. Rise to your
greatness. Do not be afraid!
"�he_y, who woufJ3ive up an essenfiaffi6erf_J for temporat'J securi{_J,

deserve neither fi6erf_J or securi{_J. ff
(Benjamin Franklin, scientist and politician)
2.2.6 C R EATIVE TH I N KI N G AN D F LEXI B I LITY
h 11Creafivi{_J re�uires the courtlje to fet30 ofcertainties. 11
(Erich Fromm, German born American psychoanalyst and philosopher)

/ I
I
Key ta keaways
• Think outside the box. Remember that "outside" does not mean a "bigger box", but unlim
ited space of ideas
• Some problems are not solvable with narrow minded logic, but require a new, creative approach
• Be flexible in your thoughts and actions. You will optimize your adaptation to the environ -
ment and increase your "chances of survival"
Even though a chess game takes place on a limited board, a chess player's mind goes far beyond this "box''.
"I believe every chess player senses beauty, when he succeeds in creating
situations, which contradict the expectations and the rules, and he succeeds
in mastering this situation."
Vladimir Kramnik, former World Chess Champion

Chess is an infinitely complex game that can be played in an infinite number of ways. There arc
9,1 32,484 possible positions after 6 moves. Try to imagine how many different solutions are hidden
throughout the game. Not even a single game of chess is a replica of those already played. Chess is
about thinking ahead and imagining, because on average three moves from any position theoretically
require almost 4 billion different positions (Rice, 2008) impos
-
..,.
"111111 sible to calculate if you are not a machine. The skills of creatiYc
Creativity is a phenom thinking can therefore help to find innovative moves and strate
enon in which some gies with less calculation.
thing new and somehow Playing a game of chess is a creative process. It is essential for in
valuable arises, mostly on novative thinking to create something that does not yet exist. Th.:
the basis of the existing use of creative skills combined with abstract thinking and patterr.
knowledge base. recognition in real life problems, or scenarios, can help a perso::
find innovative solutions to a wide range of problems.

"It's not about being an inventor, with an occasional fl.ash of creativity, but
about being innovative in your decision-making process all the time".

.:=hildren are very creative. However, in the school system they are all shaped in a similar way to fit
_:no the "right forms " according to social norms and conformity.
Fig u re 15. Reshaping

creative thinking.
S ource: Turner, 20 1 9 .
_\fter the educational process we often lose the childlike, creative thinking where anything is possible. ''Too
often we quickly discard apparently outlandish ideas and solutions, especially in areas where the known meth
ods have been in placefor a long time" (Kasparov, 2007). Therefore, we may not see something beautiful or
find solutions that go beyond our narrow horizon. There is an interesting exercise called "Droodles" (Price,
1953) that requires dispersive thinking and imagination (see Figure 16). The instruction is to list what simple
images like the one below might represent. Try to find the most unusual solutions. It is interesting that chil
dren beat adults in this task, both in the number of solutions proposed and in their quality (i.e. originality).
1Q1
-
Fig u re 16.
�
Droodle example.
(Photo: Micha L. Rieser.
S ource: Wikipedia, 2020a.)
P LAY I N G A TO U R NA M E NT 1 09
"9nteff13ence can take3ou from (1oint ;tl to (1oint <JS,

creafivif_J can take3ou eve':Jwhere. "
(Albert Einstein, German theoretical physicist)
The creative process can be blocked by various cognitive and emotional aspects, such as:
• Negative attitude: Some people reject every new option. It often seems that people are afraid of
things they do not know.
• Fear offailure: It is experienced by people who see every mistake as a disruption to life, even if it
can be seen as a side effect of creative thinking and courageous living.
• Stress overload: It reduces the critical attitude towards reality and causes anxiety and rigidity.
• Blind adherence to the rules: Instead of giving instructions for each step that a person should fol
low, you should focus on the goals you want to achieve and encourage people to find their own
creative path.
• Excessive reliance on logic: to be creative you need to go beyond the first (most frequently used)
solution and let your own insight flow through the universe of new possibilities. Being creative
does not mean solving logically difficult problems but going where no one else went and choosing
the new (often simple) solution.
• Confidence not to be creative: If you believe that you cannot be creative, you will not enter the
funny universe of endless possibilities. This will gradually lead you to a very narrow and limited
space for your claustrophobic mind.
In order not to torture our claustrophobic creative mind, we will do an exercise for creative
thinking.
Creative thinking exercise

• • •
Let's see how wide your brain box is. This test is known
as a 9 dot puzzle.
Beside you see 9 dots. The puzzle proposes an intel- • • •

lectual challenge to connect the dots by drawing four
straight, continuous lines running through each of the
nine dots and never lifting the pencil off the paper. 10 • • •
9 dot puzzle.
llO I M P ROVE YO U R L I F E B Y P LAY I N G A GAM E

Flexi b i l ity
"�fe;dhiHf_J makes huifrlirJJs to he sfrorljer,

ima_Jine what if can lo to!}our sou{ 11
(Carlos Barrios, Australian artist)
: Kill start this chapter with Darwin's words: "It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not
:::2 most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change." Being flexible and
�japtable can be understood as a viable basic need.
�-: a game of chess, the position can change from one type to another. An opening transposes into the
:::.i ddle game and further into the endgame. A player must be flexible and not stick to the plan(s) he
'.:as in mind at all costs. He needs to be flexible to recognize when he needs to drop the ideas of the
:!! i ddle game and switch to the "endgame way of thinking".
'f\.s any reader of Darwin knows, the failure to adapt almost always brings
dire consequences." He continues: "The lesson that I have learned from chess is
that flexibility is a top priority. You have to do what it takes to win. You can't
win every game with a thrilling attack. You have to be ready to play a boring
endgame on occasion if that's what the position requires."
Garry Kasparov, former World Chess Champion (2007)

"f.i{e is #ke a!Jame ofchess charJJirJJ with each move. 11
(Chinese proverb)
Flexibility is only possible if we are open-minded, as described above. Tunnel vision is not flexible.
It is extremely focused on one solution, even if it is wrong. In reality, the only thing that seems
permanent is change. Flexibility therefore helps us to adapt to new situations that life offers us and
to be more successful with them.
l O The solution of the 9 dot puzzle: -

..
ct •
(Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher)
Concentration is a good thing if it does not become too rigid. You must allow your mind to be free
to spread its wings . . . at least once in a while.
The 9 dot puzzle seems to be difficult only because one usually imagines a boundary around the edge
of the dot array (de Bono, 1985). The core of the matter is the unspecified barrier that people typically
perceive. The opposite of the creative process is the so-called Einstellung (literally meaning "setting"
or "installation " as well as a person's "attitude " in German). It is the development of a mechanized
mental state. Often referred to as a problem-solving set, Einstellung refers to a person's predisposi
tion to solve a particular problem in a particular way, even if there are better or more appropriate
methods of solving it.
To overcome this barrier, there is a simple technique that can be applied. It's called the Six Think
ing Hats technique. It is a system developed by Edward de Bono ( 1 985) that uses six colorful hats to
describe a tool for group discussions and individual thinking. "Six Thinking Hats " and the associ
ated idea of parallel thinking provide a means for people to plan thinking processes in detail and
coherently, and thus to think more effectively (de Bono, 1985). The premise of the method is that
the human brain thinks in a number of different ways. These ways of thinking can be consciously
questioned and used for different ways of thinking on specific topics. In each of these ways the brain
will identify certain aspects of the issues, take them into consideration and bring them into conscious
thinking.
De Bono defines six different directions in which the brain c an be challenged. These
directions are connected with a color and are as follows:
• M an agi ng Blue When we "put on" a blue hat, we challenge ourselves with questions like
-
"What's the subject? What are we thinking about? What's the target?" When wearing this "hat"
we can see the whole picture.
• Emotional Red -triggers intuitive or instinctive gut reactions or statements of emotional

feelings (but no justification).
• Discernment Black - applies logic to identify reasons, to be cautious and conservative
-practical & realistic.
• Creative Green triggers statements of provocation and investigation, sees where

- a thought
goes. Thinks creatively and outside the box.
1 12 I M P ROVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

:: i s important that we use our knowledge i n a positive way, but d o not let i t interfere with our ability
:.:isee and experience new beautiful things in our lives.
"We must walk a fine line between flexibility and consistency. A strategist
must have faith in his strategy and the courage to follow it through and still
be open-minded enough to realize when a change of course is required"
and find a creative new path."

A m i n ute fo r self- reflectio n
11
What do you see in the picture?
Be flexible and try t o change the perspective o f your

perception.
1 1 Have you managed to see the head of a cow? You have to be flexible and allow yourself to see things from a different
perspective, otherwise you will miss many things.
P LAYI N G A TO U R NA M E NT 1 13
2.2.7 B E I N G I N CO NTROL O F YO U R F E E LI N G S
"JllmorlJ a3reat man_J other thirJJs that chess teacheJ3ou is to controf

the initiafe�citement3ou {eefwhen3ou see somethirJJ that fookJ3ool.
9t traim3ou to think.. 6e{ore3rahhir1J anlto thin k:Just
as o/jjecfive§ when3ou're in trou6fe. "
(Stanley Kubrick, American film director, producer, screenwriter and photographer)
Key ta keaway
• The emotional rollercoaster should be controlled if you want to keep a cool head
During a game of chess there is a lot going on, not only in your thoughts but also with your emotions.
There can be great excitement or disappointment during the game.
Stanley Kubrick described the process of the emotional roller-coaster

during a chess game in the following way "You sit at the board and sud
denly your heart leaps. Your hand trembles to pick up the piece and move
it." He continues with the recognition that "what chess teaches you is
that you must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a good
idea and whether there are other, better ideas." (Source: Brainyquote) .
Source: LOOK Magazine Collection, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division
One of the worst situations in chess is when you miss something. Unfortunately, I can remember
many such situations. One of those situations was when I was 14 years old and I played at the World
Chess Championship in Szeged, Hungary. I played a game very well. At some point I played a move.
got up and walked around. I was confident and expected to win soon. Then I decided to sit down (my
opponent was still thinking) and saw that I made a terrible blunder because of which I was complete
ly lost. The shock was enormous. I felt dizziness from head to toe. In one minute I had to calm down.
reset the winning ideas in my head that I had before this bad move, and start from a different per
spective. This mental hardness is extremely difficult and is also very useful for many life situations.

�Jl.ry natura( normafhuman 6ein.J, when {acecfwith ary kJncfoffoss,

wiff30 from shockaffthe wa3 throU_Jh acceptance. 11
(Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Swiss born American psychiatrist and author)
A m i n ute fo r self- refl ectio n
Remember a very stressful situation. Now try to stop the negative feelings associated with this
situation and transform them into another perspective so that the event looks like a part of your
life that will pass. In this way you will transform stress into personal hardiness.
2.2.8 N EVER STOP F I G HTI N G
11:lln3one can3ive up, it's the easiest thin.J in the worfcfto lo.
13ut fo hokfit tO_Jether when ever:;one e/Se woufcfunlerstanl
if3ou (effapart, that's true stren.J th. 11
(Unknown Author)
Key ta keaway
• Even in situations that seem hopeless at first sight, there are possibilities - fight to the end!
As already mentioned, chess is a very dynamic game where you

have to be courageous and active. Even after a (reasonable) mis
No one ever take, a chess player cannot "throw the weapon on the field ''. "Chess
won a gam e
is above all, a fight!" As Emanuel Lasker, former World Chess
Champion once said.
by resigning.
To have a fighting spirit is something very valuable and is admired
by chess players.
Savielly Ta rta kower
Source: chessfort.com
P LAYI N G A TO U R NAM E NT 1 15
Garry Kasparov was known fo r his fighting spirit, whether i t was a real game o r a simultaneous ex
hibition. He once said: "we must aim to give our best effort at all times and knowledge that doing less is
the realfailure. Platitudes and office posters about "giving 1 1 0 percent" can't inspire us if we cannotfirst
inspire ourselves to give 1 00 percent" (Kasparov, 2007) .
According to Levon Aronian, world class grandmaster, Magnus Carlsen's main secret is his com
posure and the absence of any soul-searching after mistakes during a game. Sometimes you end up
making a mistake and then hate yourself, saying: "You should be ashamed of yourself - children are
watching". Carlsen doesn't have that. He fights to the end, even if he plays badly.
We must learn the attitude of believing that there is always a solution, a way to make a difference -
even if we cannot see it right away.
"Success is not fonaf; {aifure is not {ataf: if is the

courC#Je to continue that counts. "
(Winston Churchill, British statesman, army officer and writer)
Fighting spirit exercise

This is an exercise that will test the limits of your fighting spirit. I do not want to scare you,
but to warn you: The search for this solution may take very very. . . very long. I'm talking about
months even. Do not look for meaningful chess motifs.
Try to solve the following chess puzzle:
"The RizviC chess puzzle''. The final position that should be

reached after four moves of White and Black (four, not three). 12
Source: Rizvic, 2 0 1 6 .
Gorazd Lampic, doctor of physics, inventor and a good chess

player was solving this problem for 10 hours . . . 7 months . . . . and
2 years! ! , before he found the solution one night before he went
to bed. In between, he believed to have found several "solutions'; which turned out to be wrong. He
even found "proof" that the problem cannot be solved... but he dug even deeper and finally found
the solution. He said he had learned that even if you prove to yourself that there is no solution to a
situation, it does not mean that it is not there. The solution exists, you just do not see it. It may be
that only a few clues will help you solve the problem.

'vlother difficult example i s John Nunn's ChessBase Christmas Puzzle from 1 999.
Fig u re 1 7. ChessBase
Christmas Puzzle 1 999.
Source: Friedel, 20 13.
The above is the starting position. All you have to do is to make a few legal chess moves, so that the
game ends on move five with the stipulated knight that takes rook with mate.
�unn gave the problem to Frederic Friedel, the founder of ChessBase, together with a sealed envelope
.:: ontaining the solution. Friedel also enticed Ken Thompson, the famous computer scientist, to join the
painful process of solving the problem. In the end they tore the envelope open and looked at the solu
tion. In 1 986 Friedel did the same "Nunn thing" with Kasparov, before he became World Champion.
For many months, he heard nothing from him. Then one day he came home and found a series of mes-
5ages with a phone number where he should call Kasparov urgently. He did so and found him in a des
perate state. "You are a dead man, Fred," he said, "you have put me in a very embarrassing situation." As
it turned out, he was co-chairing a meeting of his chess school together with Mikhail Botvinnik, and he
had passed the problem on to his students. When they could not solve it and asked him for the answer,
he had told them how important it was to persevere. They should not give up but try for another day. In
the meantime, they could not find the envelope with the solution! When Friedel told him the solution
over the phone, he could hear Botvinnik's wheezing in the background. Garry, who like everyone else
in the chess school was convinced that Friedel had misrepresented the problem, could not believe that
he and his students had missed it (Friedel, 20 13). 13
In life, as in chess, it can be devastating not to look for different options and solutions. The state of
suicidal thinking or depression, for example, is the mental state when a person sees no solution in
life. Everything is wrong and there is nothing you can do to improve it. Such trapped thinking is very
dangerous. It is definitely a way of thinking that a chess player learns to avoid and keep on fighting!
12 Solution of the "RizviC chess puzzle": I . e2-e4, e7-e6 2. Bfl -b5, Ke8-e7 3. Bb5-d7, c7-c6 4. Bd7-e8, Ke7-e8
1 3 The most common error is overlooking a check and the most common line (by far) is I. e2-e4, Nb8-c6 2. a2-a4,
Nc6-b4 3. Ra l -a3, Nb4-c2+ 4. Ra3-d3 (??), Nc2-b4 5. Ng l -e2, Nb4-d3#. Of course 4. Ra3-d3 is illegal since it ignores
a check. Here are 2 common solutions that are too long: l .e2-e4, g7-g5 2. Qdl -h5, h7-h6 3. Ngl -f3, Nb8-c6 4.Nf3-g5,
b7-b6 5. Ng5-f7, a7-a5 6. Nf7-h8#': which checkmates in six moves. Another common six-mover is I. e2-e4, f7-f6 2.
Ngl -f3, g7-g5 3. Nf3-e5, a7-a6 4. Ne5-g6, a6-a5 5. Qdl -h5, a5-a4 6. Ng6-h8#. No, dear readers, the mate happens on
move five. Sorry to say the solution may not yet be revealed.
P LAYI N G A TO U R NAM E NT 1 17
11{join_J in one more rounlwhen3ou Ion 't thinK!Jou can

- thats what makes affthe /;fference in!JOUf' fife. ff
(Sylvester Stallone, American actor, screenwriter and director)
2.2.9 ETH I CS
ff?
have afwa3s thoUJht3ou coufltake the measure ofa man 63 his
Jfarts manners - that is to sa3, the wa3 in which he conlucts himsef{on
the pfa3in_J fe(/, or even over aJame ofchess or cardS. ff
(Graydon Carter, Canadian j ournalist)
Key ta keaway
• Whatever you do, follow your moral values. You will make the world a better place to live.
Aronian's description of Boris Gelfand (another world top grandmas

ter) : "I also love to compete with Borya Gelfand. We've long been friends,
but we constantly end up with bloody battles. Afterwards we make fun
of each other - where would we be without that?"
Even though chess players are competitors among themselves, they often have friends within the
community. Even between their greatest rivals, there is much respect. Even the rivals of the most
intense match in chess history, Boris Spasky and Bobby Fisher, spoke nicely about each other. Spasb·
said that Fisher has enormous knowledge about chess and that his familiarity with the USSR ches;
literature is immense.
Chess players also follow very high ethical and moral standards before, between and after each game.
At the beginning of every game a handshake is a must. The loser offers his hand to the winner as c
sign of resignation and respect. Cheating is severely punished, not only by FIDE (abbreviation for the:
French expression of the World Chess Federation - Federation Internationale des E checs) laws, bu:
l l8 I M P ROVE YO U R LI F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

'· ;.o
by the other players in the chess community. If a chess player behaves unethically, e.g. touches
: ::Je
piece, but then moves another (which is forbidden), even if he cannot be punished (because the
L-biter did not see this), he will be severely criticized by the other chess players.
Fig u re 1 8 . The Russian team shaking hands before the

match at Chess Olympiad in B aku 2 0 1 6 .
Source: https://www.chessbase.in/ news/Carlsen_Inarkiev_controversy
Magnus Carlsen versus Ernesto Inarkiev,

round one World Blitz 20 1 7 I Photo: Ri
yadh20 1 7 official website
In the above position White took the pawn on b7 with Rxb7+. Instead of taking the rook or
moving the king, Black played . . . Ne3+ . Instead of claiming the illegal move, Carlsen played
his king on d3. At this point Inarkiev stopped the clock and claimed victory. In his opinion,
Carlsen's last move Kd3 was an illegal move. The Russian was first awarded a full point and later
the arbiter, invoking Appendix A Article 4.2 asked GM Inarkiev to continue the game. GM
Inarkiev refused, and the game was awarded to Carlsen.
How would you comment on Inarkiev's actions and how would you react in his place?
P LAY I N G A TO U R NA M E NT 1 19
"Nothir>J is enoUJh for the man to whom enoUJh is too f;ttfe. "
Epicurus
3. A FT E R TH E GAM E
3. AFTE R TH E GAM E
"7he most interesfir>_J thiYIJ to me in chess are not theJamhits.

Or the moves. 9t's the mentaftoU_Jhness. "
(Edward Zwick, American director, screenwriter and producer)
Cha pter su mmary

• Distinguish between stress and burnout.
• Use different techniques to cope with stress: cognitive, relaxation and behavioural.
• Do not avoid challenges and do not take losses too disastrously.
• Be objective when assessing risks.
When you win a chess game life becomes pure pleasure but when you lose life is not so good any
more. It is like Edmar John Mednis, American Grandmaster, said: "Winning isn't everything. . . but
losing is nothing". The statement of Ivan Sokolov after he had drawn a winning position against
�akamura in round 2 in the Tata Steel Chess 20 1 3 , ironically describes the state a chess player can
be in after a bad game. He said: "J was completely winning. If I don't kill myself tonight, I am going
to live a 1 000 years."
"1Jon 't even mention fosiYIJ to me. 9 can 'tstanlto think., ofit':
Imagine you play a game of chess, football or any other sport. You lose. The next day you go back to
play and lose again. Repeat this for 5 days (that was my biggest losing streak) . I do not believe you
would feel good. The next day, however, there will be another game. Chess tournaments last at least 9
days. When a "loser train " begins to accelerate, it is not easy to stop. Of course, nobody likes to lose.
However, you WILL lose and if you want to be successful in life you need to learn how to overcome
the losses. Once we have learned how to minimize the impact of past negative events on our future,
we have done an amazing job for our lives. This is the crucial difference between the loser and the
winner who loses.
I M P ROV E YO U R L I F E BY P LAY I N G A GAM E 1 23

3. A FT E R TH E GAM E
A g a m e is l ost.
C h ess p l aye r
l oses a b i t of
s e l f-co n f i d e n ce,
but i s st i l l a b l e to
control h i s
Game 1: fee l i n g s. W i t h
so m e re l a xa t i o n
A n ot h e r l ost
lost tec h n i q u es h e
game has c a n sta rt a n ew
a l ready ca u sed game in a
so m e c r a c ks i n n o r m a l state.
t h e m i n d of t h e
c h ess p l aye r.
I f syste m a t i c
psyc h o l o g i c a l
In t h e t h i rd g a m e , t h e
t ra i n i n g i s n ot
c h ess p l aye rs' m i n d
ca r r i ed o u t t h i s
was a l ready on s h a ky
d efea t c a n
g ro u n d . H e beg i n s to
a l ready h ave
d o u bt h i mse lf, fee l s
so m e effect o n
stress, i s a f r a i d , p l ays
t h e n ext g a m e .
passive ly, d oes n ot
e nj oy t h e g a m e , etc . .
T h e refo re i t ca n e a s i ly
h a p p e n t h a t h e l oses
d u e to c a r e l essn ess
a n d b l u n d e rs. T h i s
s p i ra l i n te n s i f i es i n
t h e n ext g a m es.
Fig u re 19. The progressive change of a chessplayer's psy

chological (in) stability after losing some games.
"f.ook at {jar'J 1<asparov. :After he foses, invaria6& he wins

the next3ame. 1-fejust {j(fs the nextjUJ· 7hat's somethiYJ_J that
we have to fearn to he a6fe to lo. "
(Maurice Ashley, Jamaican born American chess grandmaster, commentator and author

3.1 Copi ng w i t h st ress a n d l osses
3.1 CO P I N G WITH STR ESS AN D LOSS ES
"9 refielon a fremencfous store ofene'JJ to3et me hack on track for

the next3ame, exfe(/jn.J arrYnJ arJ_Jer anlrtJ_Jret in a 6urst 6efore
rechar:JirJ_J tljain. We arrhave to {inclthe 6est wa3 to leafwith failure,
to fearn from if anlto come 6ackfiJhtirJ_J twice as hard."
Key ta keaway
• Coping with stress and negative emotions is essential if
we want to eliminate the influence of a negative past on
our future
Playing a game of chess and even more so losing is always a stressful thing. During the tournament
the stress level can be enormous, especially if the tournament is of great importance to individual.
Stress has a useful function at its source - it triggers an alarm reac

Stress is your body's � tion that prepares our body for fight or flight: Adrenalin is released,
way of responding to any cortisol supplies our muscles with energy, we start breathing quick
kind of demand or threat. ly and shallowly to get as much oxygen as possible, the heart starts
When you sense dan beating fast to pump as much blood as possible to the vital parts,
ger-whether it is real or higher cognitive functions are blocked so that no energy is wasted
imagined-the body's de thinking about the decisions that have to be made in fractions of
fenses kick into high gear a second. From an evolutionary perspective, stress reactions occur
in a rapid, automatic pro when our lives are in danger. Nowadays, such situations are very
cess known as the "fight- rare but, paradoxically, stress has never been so frequent.
or-flight" reaction or the
"stress response:' If the stressor persists for a longer period of time, the alarm
reaction changes into a resistance phase. In this phase a person
h t tp s : / / w w w. h e lp g u i d e . o r g / must resist the source of stress and try to eliminate it. Nowadays,
articles/ stress/ stress-symptoms however, this is often skipped. The next phase is exhaustion. At
signs- this stage the reserves are exhausted and the organism cannot
maintain the normal basic functions for a normal life.
AFT E R TH E G A M E 1 25
3.1 Copi ng with st ress a n d l osses
In modern life you are attacked by stressors around every corner. That is why you have to learn how
to avoid being under constant stress reaction. I am sure that there is a limited amount of energy in
life that can be used up. Something like a battery. If we constantly push our body to the limits of its
ability to function, it will break - you will get sick. Normally, it is only when we get sick that we real
ize that we have no choice but to stay in bed and rest. The more we overload our body, the longer the
regeneration phase will be. There are no shortcuts - you cannot save time and energy by hurrying
and exceeding the upper limit. As J.R.R. Tolkien said: "Short cuts make long delays." Such a "delay" is
caused by burnout.
�
Burnout is a common topic these days. It causes emotional,
physical and mental exhaustion. Burnout reduces productivity
Burnout is a state of emo and weakens your energy, making you feel increasingly helpless,
tional, physical, and men hopeless, cynical and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you
tal exhaustion caused by have no vital energy left. Burnout is not only the result of long
excessive and prolonged working hours or demands at home. What you do during your
stress. downtime and what your life perspective is can also contribute to
the development of burnout. Work overload is usually only the tip
of the iceberg, a trigger that breaks the dam. The real cause lies
deep inside the person in the so-called "internal coercions" that he has built up in childhood.
These are inner compulsions that have their origin in the early relationship with our parents. They
reflect the early behavioral patterns that are still present in the life of an adult and that determine his
behavior. There are several typical patterns between children and parents that can lead to burnout
later in life:
• People whose parents have always expected extraordinary achievements. In this case, their inner
compulsion is that their results should always be perfect and exceptional. They often complain
about unreal demands, particularly difficult tasks and the lack of free will in decision-making.
• Another type of inner compulsion is that "others must always be satisfied with me". This occurs
when parents express inconsistent and contradictory expectations. Such people often complain
about unclear and conflicting expectations of their superiors, as well as a lack of feedback and
social support.
• The third group of inner compulsions are those where people have the urge to do all the work
themselves. This usually comes from families where children only prove themselves to their par
ents if they are good. These people often feel overwhelmed without adequate rewards, without a
sense of control over circumstances, and often find their employees contradictory.
• Last but not least, there are cases where people have grown up in an environment where their par
ents were intrusive or emotionally distant. In these cases, work and stress make these people feel
that they exist. However, they often complain about demanding customers, lack of feedback and
lack of control.
Good coping strategies to deal with such situations are the only solution for stress management.
To learn how to deal with stress efficiently is essential to survive in the (chess) world. The next chap
ters describe some of the stress coping techniques.

3.1 Copi ng with stress a n d l osses
... ; �
-
S ress Bu rnout
: a ra cte r i ze d by ove r-e n g a g e m e n t C h a r a cte r i z e d by d i se n g a g e m e n t
=-notions a r e ove rreactive E m o t i o n s a re b l u nted
.J rg e n cy a n d hy p e ractivity Prod u ces h e l pessn ess a n d h o p e l essn ess
_:iss of energy Loss of moti va t i o n , i d e a l s a n d h o p e
_eads to a n x i ety d i so r d e rs Lea d s to d et a c h m e n t a n d d e p ress i o n
='i mary damage is physical P r i m a ry d a m a g e i s e m ot i o n a l
May ki l l you p r e m a t u rely M ay m a ke l ife s e e m n ot wo r t h l iv i n g
;: ...; rce: Stress a n d Bu rnout i n M i n istry
A m i n ute fo r self- reflectio n
Work-related causes o f burnout

• The feeling that you have little o r n o control over your work
• Lack of recognition or reward for good work
• Unclear or overly demanding job expectations
• Doing work that is monotonous or unchallenging
• Working in a chaotic or high-pressure environment
Lifestyle causes of burnout

• Working too much without enough time for socializing or relaxing
• Lack of close, supportive relationships
• Taking on too many responsibilities without enough help from others
• Not getting enough sleep
Personality traits can contribute to burnout

• Perfectionistic tendencies; nothing is ever good enough ("I have to do everything right and 1 50
percent. I can't afford to make any mistakes. I'm responsiblefor everything. I have to satisfy everyone.
I have to have everything under control.")
• Pessimistic view of yourself and the world and low expectation of competency ( '1 can't make it. 1
don't stand a chance.")
• The need to have everything under control; reluctance to delegate to others
• Very pronounced need for harmony (''Everyone must be satisfied. I mustn't offend anyone. I can't say no.")
• Belief that they are being controlled from outside ("I am only a very small cog in a large machine.
Others decide about me. I'm just a puppet.")
• High-achieving, Type A personality
Source: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm
Do you find some of the above listed causes and signs of burnout in yourself?
If so, try to do something to reduce their negative impact on your life.
AFTE R TH E GAM E 1 127

3.1 .l COG N ITIVE TECH N I QU ES
(Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and a Stoic philosopher)
Key ta keaway
• Stress often begins in our thoughts and their representation of "dangerous" situations.
Therefore, our thoughts can also be the starting point for lowering the stress level
If things d o not g o your way, it

is not hard to think negatively.
Negative thinking usually oc
curs when we are afraid of the
future, doubt our abilities or
expect failure. It reduces self
confidence, efficiency and
deactivates mental strengths.
To stop such rumination, one
must first b e aware of these
negative thoughts. Sometimes
a simple diary of thoughts
helps. When we have a list
of frequently used negative
thoughts, we need to rational
Cognitive distortions are exaggerated or irrational thoughts ize them and decide whether
that lead to the individual's inaccurate perception of reality. they are obj ective and real or
According to Beck's cognitive model, a negative view of real not. For example, if we lose a
ity, sometimes referred to as negative schemas (or patterns) , game, we may begin to think
is a factor in symptoms of emotional dysfunction and poor that we are useless, pathetic
er subjective well-being. Specifically, negative thinking pat and incompetent. When such
terns reinforce negative emotions and thoughts (Beck, 1 997; a thought is recognized, we
Helmond et al. , 2 0 1 5 ) . can challenge ourselves to
find evidence to support our
statement. Most likely, we can
see that most people have sometimes lost a game, that we have had some successes, and there
fore our statement is obj ectively not true. Or, for example, if we think that we will lose all the
following games. Is that really true? Does that happen all the time? What are the odds that our
prophecy will be fulfilled?

Fig u re 20. Intercon

nection between a per
son's thoughts, feelings,
emotions and behavior.
WHAT IT SEEMED LI KE We can look for facts like: " We have trained hard, we have not
forgotten how to play chess ... " so there is no real reason to believe
THE E N D OF
• that we will not win any other game. When we worry about
T H E WO R L D other people's opinions, we have to think about the reasons for
someone's criticism. We can think like "We 've been training
and doing our best, so who has the right to criticize us? If people
are mean and want to hurt us, we really should not pay much
attention to them. Ifpeople are good, they will not make you feel
guilty, and such people are worth worrying about." Perhaps most
WHAT IT WAS importantly, in a situation where we lose a game, we should not
make the defeat too dramatic or overstate the importance of it
U N P LEASANT
()•
(as shown in the figure ) . It's very welcome to hear encouraging
words like "Don 't worry, it's okay, there will be other opportu
A LESSON TO nities." from a coach or family member. Of course it is always
B E LEAR N E D
better to win, but crying over defeat or being angry is not the
solution. The solution is to forget about the game and move on
as best you can. Cognitive behavioral psychotherapy calls this
decatastrophization.
A FT E R TH E G A M E 1 129
�
There are some other so-called CO GNITIVE DISTORTIONS that happen in our heads and
that we should be aware of and change them. Just to name a few:
Overgeneralization: generalization of one event, e.g. loss of

a game, too broadly, e.g. "I will never be successful anywhere''.
Black and white thinking: you see complex things too de
finitive, e.g. "if I win a tournament it's ok, otherwise it's bad."
Jumping to conclusions: draw preliminary conclusions

(usually negative) from little (if any) evidence. Two specific
subtypes are identified:
Mind reading: Inferring a person's possible or probable (usu
ally negative) thoughts from their behavior and nonverbal
communication; taking precautions against the worst reason
ably suspected case or some other preliminary conclusion,
without asking the person. For example: chess player assumes
his coach does not like him because he failed to win a game.
Fortune-telling: predicting (usually negative) outcomes of
events. Example: Being convinced of failure before the game
when the chess player is in fact prepared.
Personalization: you see yourself as the center of the world,

mostly when you have to blame yourself, e.g. "it was because
of me that the team lost and it will be myfault that we do not
get the things we deserve", etc. The other extreme is when we
blame other people for all our pain.
Selective thinking: say a trainer tells you that you are good in
tactical positions and openings, but you should improve your
endgames. A selective thinker would only focus on the nega-
tive aspect and overestimate its importance which would lead
to bad mood, loss of self-confidence etc.

3.1 Copi ng w i t h stress a n d l osses
Should statements: involve thinking that includes state

ments such as "I have to win a game, otherwise ." This puts
. . .
a lot of pressure on a person, and living in such conditions

can easily lead to burnout.
Labelling: represents the automatic labelling of one's per

sonality without any objective causes. For example, "I lost
the game, so I am a stupid moron." Due to the importance
of achievement, athletes may unjustifiably judge their own
(un) worthiness according to a certain sports result.
Fallacy of fairness and ideal conditions: one may postpone

his goal (e.g. making a particular move) with the explanation
that he is waiting for better conditions. However, this can of
ten only be an excuse to avoid activities and remain passive.
This way of thinking encourages us to use avoiding strategies
that will never get us closer to the goal.
Such thoughts are typically based on our subjective opinions which are derived from deep inner core
beliefs caused by some negative past life experiences. Usually they arise from a feeling of incompe
tence or lack of social value. They are not easy to change, but it is possible.
Often we are not really aware of all the thoughts rushing through our mind. Therefore, you must try
to pay attention to your thoughts for a while. Write them down and if you notice a surprisingly high
amount of negative thoughts do something to turn them into positive ones.
A FTE R TH E GAM E 131

Thought changing exercise
In the following sentences, try to imagine an example of your less optimistic thinking (first sen
tence) and replace it with a more optimistic one (second sentence) .
'1t is so hardfor me to do ____ "It is a challenge to do ______
'1 hope to achieve _______ "I believe I will achieve ______
"If , then_____ "When , then _____
'1 will try

_________ "I will__________
'1 can't
___________ "I don't want to _________
Reflect on your inner state in both versions of thinking. Which one gives you a better feeling and
more inner strength?
If it is difficult for you to change your thoughts, try to imagine what you would advise your friend in
such a situation. We take our own thoughts and issues too personally and subjectively, so it can be
useful to look at them from a distance.
In a chess tournament, the thought of losing a game can ruin the whole tournament. A new game is
just around the corner, and if we only thought about what went wrong in the previous game and felt
sorry for it, we would be prevented from continuing the tournament in its normal way. This is a very
important thing that we can learn and apply in everyday life. How to stop the rumination of negative
thoughts is one of the main tasks in various psychotherapies (KVT, NLP, etc.). Knowing how to stop
ruminating is something that can lift us off the ground when we fall. We should always remember
that it is not important how often we fall, but how often we rise. Think of a successful person. Do you
know what he has achieved or what he has not achieved?
3.1 .2 B E H AVI O RAL TEC H N I Q U ES
Key ta keaways
• Social support is important when coping with stressful situations
• Relaxation techniques refocus your attention from stressful situations to your body and re
lax the physiological functions of your body. Such techniques need practice to be successful
Besides regulating our thoughts, we can also cope with stress and failure by changing our behavior.
In the following chapter we will speak about different behavioral techniques.

3.1 Copi ng w i t h st ress a n d l osses
Soci a l support
"n " " ,, "
rvnen , 10ecomes rve , even 111ness 10ecomes we1mess .
"�" 1f
J
f "�" , " . ff f " ff "
(unknown)
The social network is very important for mental health. The isolation of people deepens the de
pression mode. It is interesting that psychotherapists suggest that people who are depressed should
go out even if it is the last thing they want to do. They should counteract their basic (depressive)
mental state and feelings. Chessplayers use social support more than other people (Krivec, 2004).
":Alone, we 're sfron_J. 7OJether, we 're unstoppa6fe. "

(unknown)

• Name at least three people you can rely on if you get into trouble.
• Does this give you a sense of security?
Relaxation techniques
"7he time to refa;c is when3ou Ion 't have fime for if. "
(Sidney J.Harris, American journalist)
Relaxation techniques are primarily focused on relaxing your body, usually with calming the breath
ing and relaxing the muscles.
a) B reat h i n g
Under stress, breathing i s shallow and fast. Therefore, one o f the most basic relaxation techniques i s to
make the breathing slow, calm and deep. To achieve this we need to learn how to breathe with the dia
phragm. Let's do an exercise: inhale deeply through your nose and exhale through your mouth. When
you inhale, lightly spread your mouth and count to 5. When exhaling count to 7 or 10. Repeat this 5 times.
A method comprising counting includes concentration on respiration and counting from 1 to 10 (or
more) and back. In this way, we control the rhythm of our breathing and consequently we can control
the breathing itself. We can inhale with the rhythm 4-2-4 (or 6-3-6). Let's go...take a deep breath (count
to four; one, two, three, four), hold your breath (one, two) and exhale (one, two, three, four). Think of the
breathing, imagine how the air fills your lungs. You can also add some suggestions like ''My body is full of
peace". When you exhale, squeeze out every inch of air, empty your lungs down to your stomach. Try to
feel how your body relaxes and the tension decreases. Repeat the exercise at least 5 times.
A FT E R T H E GAM E 1133
3 .1 Copi ng with stress a n d l osses
Colourful breathing
You can also try to integrate some colors into your breathing. For example: imagine that you inhale
the color you associate with positive or useful feelings and you exhale the color associated with nega
tive things. For depressed moods, imagine inhaling the color orange (positive energy) and exhaling
black/blue. If you are anxious, inhale blue (calming), exhale red. If you are angry, inhale blue (calm
ing) or green (balancing) and exhale red.
Lewin's relaxation exercise

This is a simple relaxation exercise in which we concentrate on a certain part of the body and
try to relax it.
Make yourself comfortable. Place one hand on your forehead and the other on your heart (see Figure
a). Pay attention to the area between the two arms, the entire area between your head and heart. Try
to feel everything that is going on in this part of your body. Stay alert until you feel a change (in tem
perature, feeling, breathing, ... ). Now place the arm that was on your forehead on your stomach (Figure
b) Concentrate on the chest area between both hands and wait lovingly until you notice a change.
.
(a) (b)
Hands position for Lewin's exercise. Source: Stepisnik Predih 20 1 5; Photos: Heidi Hanson.
,
b) P rog ress ive m u scle relaxation

If you have anxiety or stress in your life, one of the ways your body reacts is with muscle tension.
Progressive muscle relaxation is a method that helps to release this tension. In progressive muscle
relaxation, you tense a group of muscles as you inhale, and relax them as you exhale. When exhaling,
try to feel every little change in your body. By concentrating on certain areas and tensing and then
relaxing them, you can better perceive your body and your physical sensations.
During this exercise you work with almost all the major muscle groups of your body (feet, lower legs,
upper and lower legs, ... ). To make it easier to remember, start with your feet and move systematically
upwards (or if you prefer, you can do it in reverse order, from forehead to feet) .
• The first step includes the sensation of the muscle tension of the specific part of the body. This
step is essentially the same regardless of which muscle group you are concentrating on. First focus

on the target muscle group, e.g. your left hand. Next, breathe slowly and deeply and squeeze the
muscles (e.g. making a fist) as tight as possible for about 5 seconds. It is important to really feel the
tension in the muscles, this can even cause slight discomfort or trembling.
• Step two involves a quick relaxation of the tensed muscles. After approx. 5 seconds, let all the tight
ness flow out of the tensed muscles. Exhale while you make this step. You should feel the muscles
loosen and sag as the tension subsides. It is important to consciously focus on the difference be
tween tension and relaxation and to notice this difference. This is the most important part of the
entire exercise (anxietycanada) .
• Hold in this relaxed state for about 1 5 seconds and then move on to the next muscle group. Repeat
the tension-relaxation steps for all muscle groups: 1 . hands and forearms (make a fist); 2. upper arms
(bring your forearm up to your shoulder); 3. forehead (raise your eyebrows as high as possible); 4. eyes
and cheeks (squeeze your eyes firmly); 5. mouth and jaw (open your mouth as wide as you can as if you
were yawning); 6. neck (face forward and then slowly tilt your head backwards and look at the ceiling);
7. shoulders (tense the muscles in your shoulders and pull them up to your ears); 8. shoulder blades/
back (push your shoulder blades back as far as possible and your chest forward); 9. chest and stomach
(inhale deeply and fill your lungs and chest with air); 10. hips and buttocks (compress buttock muscles);
1 1 . thighs (tighten them); 12. lower legs (pull your toes towards you to stretch the calf muscle); 13. feet
(bend toes down).
• After you have completed all muscle groups, take some time to enjoy the deep state of relaxation.
c) Autog e n i c t ra i n i n g
Autogenic training (AT) i s the best known desensitization-relaxation technique developed by the
German psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz (Laci, 20 1 5 ) .
Autogenic training i s based o n 3 main principles:

• Reduction of afferent stimulation (both exteroceptive and proprioceptive)
• Mental repetition of verbal formulae
• Passive concentration
First find a quiet place, put yourself in a comfortable position, take a few slow, even breaths. Spend a
few minutes practicing diaphragmatic breathing. Say softly to yourself, "I am perfectly calm.".
The AT technique consists of six standard exercises according to Schultz (Stetter, 2002):
• Muscular relaxation by repetition of a verbal formula, ''My right arm is heavy", emphasizing heavi-
ness. The same feeling can be experienced in the other extremities.
• Passive concentration focuses the feeling of warmth, initiated by the instruction ''My right arm is warm".
• Initiation of cardiac activity using the formula ''My heartbeat is calm and regular".
• Passive concentration on the respiratory mechanism with the formula ''My breath is deep and calm".
• Concentration on the warmth in the abdominal region with the formula ''My solar plexus is warm".
• Passive concentration on coolness in the cranial region with the formula ''My forehead is cool".
To maintain your performance, practice the autogenic training at least once a day. You may consider
using a voice recording, such as the free MP3 audio file offered by McMaster University in Ontario
Canada, with instructions for practicing AT (Mindfulness & Relaxation, 2020). If you remain faith
ful to your practice, you will find that with only one or two daily cycles of this routine you can achieve
a pleasant and calm state of mind under almost all circumstances.
A FT E R T H E GAM E 1 35
Techn i ques focused on chang i ng emotions
C h a n g i n g the ' b a d ' fee l i n g

Sometimes there i s a bad feeling i n our bodies. We cannot get rid o f it. I n this case w e can try t o re
lease it using the visualization technique (Stepifaik Perdih, 20 1 5 ) .
Changing the negative feeling

Ask yourself:
• Where in your body is the bad feeling located?
• If this feeling had any form, what would it be?
• How big would it be?
• What would be its color?
• What kind of texture and resistance would it have?
And now try to imagine:

• In order for this feeling to improve, what form should it take?
• How big would it be if it improved? Would it be smaller?
• Then, what color would it be? It would probably be brighter and more colorful.
• Try to imagine the new texture. Would it be softer?
Look at yo u r p ro b l e m f ro m a d ista n ce a n d a ccept it

Stress relief techniques can also be designed to control the attitude towards a problem. Some of them
are promoted by the so-called third generation of cognitive behavioral techniques, which include
meditative techniques such as mindfulness. The point is that we do not try to fight negative thoughts
by all means, but try to lead them out of our minds. If you cannot solve the problem, accept it. Try
to let it go without getting too involved. The point is not to focus too much on how to overcome the
negative thoughts, because in this case we would still be circling around them. Instead, we should
ignore them as much as possible, and they will eventually vanish. We have to live the life we want to
live and accept negative thoughts that pass through our minds as temporal intruders. Suppose you
are afraid of heights. If you just remember that you should not be afraid of heights when you look
down from a 20-story building, you will be even more afraid. However, if you try to minimize the
importance of this feeling and continue with your daily activities, the fear will diminish.
3.1.3 YOU DO N OT FAI L, YO U LEARN
"9 haven 'f {aifec{ 9'vejusf {ounlfen fhousanlwa3s fhaf liln 'f wor�. "
(Thomas Alva Edison, American inventor and businessman)
136 I M P ROVE YO U R LI F E B Y P LAYI N G A GAM E

Key ta keaways
• Do not be afraid of challenges and take the risk of failure. Self-respect is built on courage,
values and achievements, not on failures
• Try to evaluate risk obj ectively and avoid biases
.\s Wilhelm Steinitz, former World Chess Champion said: "Chess is not for timid souls." Some tourna
ments can be a disaster. You lose a lot of games, a lot of ELO rating points. Sometimes it scares you
how you are going to play the next game. After many losses you feel vulnerable. You fear the next
game and possible loss as if you were sprinkling salt on a fresh wound. It is a severe blow to your
self-esteem. Grandmaster Rogozenko explains that lack of self-confidence is very, very widespread,
especially in women's chess.
"There are a lot of talented young players who cannot handle other things.
They lose a game and cannot play anymore. You lose your concentration and
have a hard time dealing with this negative experience."
Dorian Rogozenko, Romanian grandmaster, chess coach and author

";t( smooth sea never male a skJffelsaifor. "

(unknown)
It is in man's nature to do everything possible to maintain his "positive " self-esteem. For this reason,
people often stay away from their fears and things that can affect their positive self-esteem instead of
dealing with them. As a result, they become increasingly passive and sleep in their tiny safety net that
protects them from experiencing life to the fullest.
Kahneman (20 1 1 ) developed

the Prospect theory (the basis
Prospect theory (Kahneman & Tversky, 1 979) explains three for his Nobel prize), in which
BIASES PEOPLE USE WHEN MAKING DECISIONS: he addressed the cognitive bi
• Certainty: This is when people tend to overweight op ases in people's choice of risk
tions that are certain and risk averse for gains. taking and questioned the
• Isolation effect: Refers to people's tendency to act on in propositions of the Expected
formation that stands out and differs from the rest. utility theory (Neumann &
• Loss aversion: When people prefer to avoid losses to ac Morgenstern, 1 953). One ex
quire equivalent gains. ample of his theory is that
people are loss-averse: they act
more to avert a loss than to make a profit. According to Kahneman and Tversky ( 1 979), losses and
gains are valued differently, so that users make decisions based on perceived gains rather than per
ceived losses. For example, most people would prefer to win $50 for sure rather than make a risky
bet where they flip a coin and win either $ 1 00 or nothing at all. The opposite situation is when they
may lose money. In general, people would choose to gamble between losing $ 1 00 and not losing at
all, rather than taking the sure loss of $50.
Another example is that the value that people attach to a change in probability (e.g. to win something)
depends on the reference point: People seem to place greater value on a change from 0% to 1 0% (going
from impossibility to possibility) than from, say, 45% to 55%, and they place the greatest value of all on
a change from 90% to 1 00% (going from possibility to certainty). This happens despite the fact that, ac
cording to traditional Utility Theory, all three changes result in the same increase in utility. In line with
the loss aversion, the order of the first and third changes is reversed when the event is presented as a
loss rather than a gain: there, the greatest value is placed on eliminating the probability of a loss to zero.
The prospect oflosing something is far more important than winning if there is a risk involved. Psycho
logically, the pain oflosing something is twice as strong as the pleasure of winning. This also happens in
chess. Grandmaster PavasoviC said that chess is a very interesting social experiment - it allows the pos
sibility of (arranged) drawing. This is a safety net against losing a game. Although it is a known fact that
draws do not put you in the lead, defeat is so painful for many players that they are looking for a draw
in any case. FIDE even introduced the "Sofia rule ", which prohibits (offering) draws before the 30th
move. What does a draw protect chess players from? From the loss of their self-respect and self-worth?
WRONG!
Kahneman and Tversky ( 1 979) found that if a group of people are offered the choice between:
What would you choose?

Source: pngfuel
'' \ I I A 1 00% chance of receiving $3000

...
An 80% chance of receiving $4000, but

a 20% chance of receiving nothing.
About 80% of the subjects will choose option (a). In other words, when it comes to making
money, the average person prefers a guaranteed gain rather than gamble on the possibility of
winning a greater amount of money but with a threat ofgetting nothing.
However, when given a very similar choice:
1 38 I M P R OVE YO U R LI F E BY P LAYI N G A G A M E
. fl c
What would you choose? 1 1 1,
...
..
� A 1 00% chance of losing $3000.
•
An 80% chance of losing $4000,
but a 20% chance of losing nothing.
Some 92% of the subjects will choose option (d). In other words, they would rather risk losing
more money with a small chance of not losing anything.
From a logical perspective, of course, this does not make sense. Assuming people are using
the same internal value to evaluate the risk in both cases, we should see similar results. But, of
course, humans are not logical. Moreover, most people are extremely poor at evaluating risk
and especially threats.
11Vicfor_y introluces:;ou to the work( 6ut le{eat

introluces the worflto:;ou. "
(unknown)
By being afraid to do something wrong, you might not "lose a battle'� but you will "lose a war'� It
is a paradox - by defending self-esteem from fear you will not face loss in the short term, but it will
bring you defeat and low self-esteem later in life. One should not see the small failures only from a
negative point of view. Falls and failures are part of the life process and nature. They are the natu
ral learning mechanisms through which we gain wisdom for life.
(Joolju'Jment comes from experience,

II
an/experience comes from 6alju'Jment 11

(Rita Mae Brown, American writer)
Defeat is the path to development, the way to a rich life. Without defeats one would not know success,
just as one would not know laughter without crying. Without sadness one would not know happi
ness. Do not be afraid of falling. Be afraid to pity yourself and blame others for all your grief.
"9 never saw a wiflthirJ_J sorr_y for ifsef{. ;tl smaffhirlwifflro(' frozen
lealfrom a hoUJh without ever havirJ_J {eft sorr_y for ifsef{."
(D. H. Lawrence, English writer)
In order to be more willing to take risks, it is very important how the information is presented.
We tend to avoid risks when a positive framework is presented, but when we find ourselves in a nega
tive situation we are more open to take risks (see figure below. Source: https:// www.invespcro.com/
blog/prospect-theory) .
66%
E M PlY 33%
F U LL
What would you choose?
. . ·�
." . ·"'.•. . . . . .
•
··-
:�.
� �Q]
�:
c
-� ·'·"'
�.�- - •' ...
.·-' •""
·
�· �. "In my career, I missed over 9, 000 shots. I lost almost 300 match
... . •·
"'
·.···
f
- _
••.· · ·
·.··. es. 26 times I was entrusted with a decisive winner. . . and I missed.
fy
..
I missed and lost again and again. And that's why I succeeded!"
"" L. - •
A
�--,., ..Gt> _
·��L
�
.· ·
Michael Jordan, American former professional basketball player
Source: Insider
It is always fascinating how successful people understand this. Jose Raul Capablanca, former World
Champion said: "You may learn much more from a game you lose than from a game you win. You
will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player." I won't say that losing a game is a
blessing, but it is definitely not a disaster. Garry Kasparov (2007) said that it is up to each individual
to find the right balance between confidence and correction. "Lose as often as you can take it" should
be a good rule of thumb, because only losing can empower your spirit. It is good to win some games,
but a temporary defeat can lead you to more long-term victories.

This approach would also be useful in daily life. If we are confronted with a negative experience or
failure, we should not feel sorry for ourselves and avoid such situations in the future. Instead, we
should consider failure as a valuable experience from which we can learn how to become better and
improve our skills. Even Carl Jung said: "Knowledge is not only based on truth, but also on error." Some
people make great efforts to show themselves how perfect they are. Such people surround themselves
with blind supporters who only praise them. They choose very simple tasks in which they cannot fail,
or even too difficult tasks in which no one succeeds. They rest on their fake perfect level and deterio
rate over time. Chessplayers are always confronted with uncertain situations where winnings are far
from guaranteed. A loss is on a weekly menu. However, when a chessplayer loses a game, he analyses
it, talks to other players or coaches about the things he could have played better in the game. Often
opponents analyze the game immediately after it ends.
"When3ou pfa3 ary opponent,3ou 'rejustpfa3in_J a3ame.

1/ou can fose, 6ut so what?... if3ou Ion 't3et intimilatel,
no6o'J can infimilate3ou. "
(Vladimir Kramnik, former World Chess Champion)
For me personally, not to be afraid of new challenges is something very important that I have learned
by playing chess. I do not see new situations as a threat, but as a challenge. This is one of the signs
of personal hardiness as a basis for resilience. If life gives me an opportunity, I will go for it. I would
feel terrible if I said, "No, I will not do this (because I am afraid offailing or embarrassing myself) ". If
I say no to the opportunity I am failing, there is no doubt about it, but if I try, there is a chance I will
succeed or learn something. In any case, it is better to try and fail than not to try at all. Besides, the
feeling of not trying and just thinking about what you could have achieved is the worst feeling of all.
"£.ventuaf!J3ou3et over thin_Js3ou swore3ou 'cfnever3et over

anlit's the 6est {eefin_J in the worfl."
(unknown)
Confront your fears and feelings of danger.
I challenge you to make a list of things you have postponed because of fear of failure or rejection.
Then make a plan of how to deal with them. Begin to realize them one by one. Start today.
AFTE R TH E GAM E 141

3 .1 Copi ng with stress a n d l osses
"9(3ou focus on the hurt,3ou wiffcontinue to suffer.

9{3ou focus on the fesson, 3ou wiffconfinue toJrow. "
(unknown)
The same applies for the education of our children, for our future generations. Do them a favor and
let them fail without feeling like the worst people in the world. Richard Branson said that it is not
wise to teach children that they will always win - in real life you have highs and lows. Do not wrap
them in cotton wool, they will choke in there. Let them fly, let them sail out into the world.
Source: https://www.quotesvalley.com/ a-ship-in-a-harbor-is-safe
1. Choose:
A: 50% chance to win a three-week tour of England, France, and Italy;
B: one-week tour of England with certainty.
2. Now choose:
A: 5% chance to win a three-week tour of England, France, and Italy;
B: 10% chance to win a one-week tour of England
Do not always dare to hope for big things only when there is little chance for them to come true.

-�:··
. :V� ·>'
).;'1"
,,,. .
"9t fr 6etter to chaYJ_Je an opinion than to persist in a wroYJ_J one. "

Socrates
4. A FT E R T H E TO U R NA M E NT
4. AFT E R TH E TO U RNAM ENT
After a tournament the players return home where their real work and development begins. This
is the phase when a chessplayer carefully analyses the games of the previous tournament (probably
with his coach) and draws up a plan for improvement. The right constructive perspective must be
developed for this process.
Chapter su m mary
• Complaining will not make things better, change will.
• Be positively aware of what you are.
• Do things that you like.
• Negativism will not only affect your mind but also your body.
4.1 A wi l l to c h a n e
4.1 A WI LL TO C H AN G E
(unknown)
Key ta keaways
• Be open to constructive criticism and use it for your
growth
• Change is not a sign of defeat, but a sign of growth
If you do something wrong when playing chess, there is no other way to improve than to change and
eliminate the imperfection you have found. Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer and philosopher once said:
"Never let me fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted."
It is similar with chess players. Viswanathan Anand said that he is generally most open to ideas when
he has had a bad result.
"During the game I question my moves and after the game I ques
tion how accura te my evaluations were in the heat of the battle. Were
my decisions good ones? Was my strategy sound? If I won, was it due
to luck or skill?"

"fJon 'f live in knowfe'Je, live in wonler. "

(Osho, Indian philosopher and founder of the Rajneesh movement)
The willingness of all athletes to change (to improve the sport) is incredible. It is much higher than in
everyday life. However, there is no reason why an important relationship should be less valid than a
sporting activity. There is no logic to get caught up in wrong or inefficient or even harmful behav
ior/thinking . . . . Be ready to change! It is the only way to improve.
A FT E R TH E TO U R NAM E NT 1 47
4.1 A wi l l to c h a nge
"1/our heHefs Ion 't make3ou a free thinker. 7he ahiHt:J to cha11.Je
3our heHe{s 6aselon new information loes. 11
(unknown)
"When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to

change ourselves."
Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist
Negative imbalances and bad habits arise when we rely too much on one area, usually because it
has worked well. We stick with what we know best instead of looking for better ways. If we regularly
challenge ourselves with something new, we build up cognitive and emotional "muscles " that make
us more effective in every respect. If we overcome our fear of speaking in public, this confidence will
flow into every area of our lives (Kasparov, 2007) .
"Sta:; awa3 from "stiff' feoffe. �Yiffcomffaini11.J.

S'tiffhati11.J. S'tiffnowhere. 11
(unknown)
• Name a few things that you love.

4.2 W h o a re o u '
4.2 W H O ARE YO U?
"Never fetsuccesJ3ef to_Jour healcmlnever

fet {aifureJet to.JOur heart. "
(Ziad K. Abdelnour, financier, author, philanthropist, activist)
Key ta keaways
• Identify yourself with several different roles in your life
• Build your self- esteem on achievements not on failures
After the tournament a chessplayer reconciles with what happened at the tournament, and that is
very challenging if the tournament was not good. If a player has lost ELO rating points it can be very
damaging to his perception of who he is. Usually a role as a chessplayer is an essential part of the
player's identity. If this part is wrecked, who is he then?
List 1 0 answers to the question "Who are you?"
Source: https://www.atlassian.com
A FT E R TH E TO U R N A M E NT 1 49
4.2 W h o a re o u 7
FOC U S O N YO U R AC H I EVM E NTS N OT O N YO U R FA I L U R E S
11f.i{e can show uf1 no other wa3 than that wa3

in which3ou (1erceive if. 11
(Neale Donald Walsch, American writer)
Self is the organ-

� Carl Rogers believes that self-awareness is the foundation of
human behavior because self defines and shapes our behavior.
ized, consistent set of Self includes perceptions, attitudes and values. It is constructed
perceptions and beliefs from a person's previous experiences and capabilities. Self acts
about oneself. like a filter through which a p erson sees the world and orien -
tates himself in it.
A good self-esteem is crucial for success in life and psychological well-being. All too often, people
forget that they have the power to influence their behavior through adequate self-perception. "In
adulthood we rarely test our resources, and without such testing it is impossible to discover our gifts".
(Kasparov, 2007)
11.Sef{-esteem is theJreatestsickness known to man or woman because

it's conlifionaf 9Jef(1eo(1fe to tru& acce(1t themsefves unconlitionaf(IJ,
whether or not their thera(1ist or aY>!Jone foves them. 11
(Albert Ellis, American psychologist and psychotherapist)
Challenging your perception

Try to explain the sentence: '1fyou think you can do something, or ifyou think you cannot do some
thing, you are right in both cases."
111ltfitule is a Httfe thirJ_J that makes a 6f_J li{ference. 11
(Winston Churchill, British statesman, army officer and writer)
1 50 I M P ROVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A G A M E
4.2 W h o a re o u ?
Th e thing i s that we usually act according t o our own self-esteem, e.g. i f w e trust ourselves, w e set
ourselves higher goals, if we do not appreciate ourselves enough, our goals are lower.
"Our confidence level is reflected in

how we move and talk, not just what Self-esteem is an indi
we say, but how we say it." vidual's subjective evalu
ation of their own worth.
Kasparov (2007)
Learned helplessness
� Self-esteem influences the way we process information. The
perception we have of ourselves acts like a filter through which
is a mental state in only information congruent with the filter passes, while other in
which an organism forced formation is overlooked, misinterpreted, or completely rej ected.
to bear aversive stimuli, or For example, the chess player who is convinced that he does not
stimuli that are painful or understand the Sicilian Defense will rarely play it, avoid similar
otherwise unpleasant, be positions, never practice such positions and in the end will actu
comes unable or unwill- ally not understand these kind of positions. This is called a self
ing to avoid subsequent fulfilling prophecy. A similar construct is learned helplessness.
encounters with those There is a story about a little elephant that was tied to a small stick
stimuli, even if they are with a rope. As the elephant grew and gained strength, it could
"escapable;' presumably easily break the rope and free itself. However, he learned that he
because it has learned that could not escape, he learned to be helpless, so he did not even try
it cannot. to escape. As elephants, humans also react to their own interpreta-
tion of reality, not to reality itself. Each person has his own map
of reality, and no map is a perfect reflection of objective reality. It
is a great achievement to recognize the inner maps, to respect them and to change them so that they
suit us and others best.
If you play chess badly, you often start to blame yourself, all too often subjectively. I bet at some point
we all thought how incompetent, stupid and so on we were after a failure or two. Or if a coach makes
an unpleasant remark, we can easily conclude that he does not like us or that our teammates do not
like us if we lose a game. Well, is that really true? Probably not. Probably we have just constructed our
inner reality a little distorted. Let us take an example: A friend does not say hello when we meet on
the street. You can be angry with him without asking him what really happened. You are "satisfied "
with "your story" that he did not say "hello " to you because he is angry with you about an earlier
event. Or you can ask him why he acted that way and maybe be surprised by the explanation. He
might say that he did not see you because he had a hard day and was deep in his thoughts. The second
way brings you closer to the truth. The closer our inner truth is to the objective reality, the better
and more accurate our functioning will be. Therefore, try to remember that we often draw conclu
sions about opinions and do not gather all the information necessary to confirm the facts. You have
to distinguish an opinion from a fact. Opinion is guided by emotions and is influenced by individual
traits, culture, etc. Facts are guided by rational thinking and support the truth.
A FT E R TH E TO U R N AM E NT 151
"Everything we hear i s a n opinion, When creating the "Reality Map'� people often forget what we
not a fact. Everything we see is have achieved in life. If chess players concentrated only on the
a perspective, not the truth."
- M ... �CUS •\!ll H llJS games they lost, their self-esteem would be devastated. Therefore,
they have to learn to be aware of their strengths.
You always have to keep a sense of obj ectivity. If the chessplayer's

belief in himself is too high, sooner or later he will fall to earth. As
we know, the higher we fly, the harder we fall. If a chessplayer has
unrealistic wishes, it is not healthy for his self-esteem - the desires
will not be fulfilled and the player will be disappointed, his self
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/ esteem will drop.
pin/7967853 590466 1 3444/?lp=true
We can clearly see the obj ectivity from the Magnus Carlsen commentary of a match with Anand that
led him to his first chess world champion title: "Even though it was my best world championship match
until now, the first three games sucked. If Anand had used his opportunity there, history could've been
very different. « (ChessBase, 20 1 8 ) .
"9 haven't lisattearel, 9 have 6eenjusftfaJirJJ {ee6§. 9t hattens

sometimes - 6ut now 9'm {ocuselon sfottfrJJ tfaJirJJ {ee6§. "
(Levon Aronian, world class grandmaster)
As in chess so in life, the differences between the realistic and ideal self should be low to moderate.
Only in this case we will have a realistic and good self-esteem, strong inner motivation and high but
achievable goals.
A good self-esteem can be established when a person can accept constructive criticism.
There are often situations where people could criticize your failure. It is up to you to distinguish
between good and bad criticism. Next, you need to learn not to pay too much attention to other
people's non-constructive opinions, but to be open to constructive criticism at the same time,
because it can help you improve. Positive criticism is also an opportunity to get to know yourself
better. Namely, there is a social part of our personality that is not accessible to our conscious
ness, but can be seen from the perspective of other people. Garry Kasparov admitted that his
improvement in quality would never have happened without the willingness to accept criticism
and the will to do something about it. He took it as a challenge not as an insult. He realized that
he had to fight his own ego and defensive instinct to realize that some constructive criticism is
deserved and that it can be used as a tool. Ha said that it is very dangerous to try to avoid criti
cism and protect yourself from its effects (Kasparov, 2007) .
Even if we have to take other people's opinions into account, we have to build our inner per
sonality, which is mainly based on our own perception of our abilities and qualities. This is
the only way we can have a stable personality and self- confidence and not be shaken by random
rumors. Other people know only a part of you, you are the one who knows yourself best. One
aspect of low self- esteem is the pursuit of too much attention and external recognition. You can

find chessplayers who like t o play with weaker players just so they can win. People with these
symptoms usually react on the basis of fear and anxiety and are unsuccessful in dealing with var
ious life situations. They have little confidence in their abilities and doubt their true worth. They
constantly try to prove themselves and use others to their own advantage. They often appear ar
rogant and contemptuous to others, but in reality they lack self-confidence and doubt their own
value and acceptance. Instead of taking responsibility for their own actions, they blame others
for their mistakes. A person with low self- esteem usually suppresses anger, which leads to even
greater frustration and misery. Anger is a natural human emotion. Just as the constant expres
sion of anger is harmful, it is also detrimental to its oppression. It is best to relax anger in a way
that is not harmful to us or to others.
"1-low we perceive oursefves is aGo a crificafefement

in how we are perceive/63 others. "
The foundation of self-esteem is created in the primary family through education, support, security
and love. Self-esteem develops with experience and achievements. Last but not least, no one is im
mune to society and other people's feedback. Psychologist Marisa Peer pointed out that exclusion
from the social group is a severe blow to a person. Namely, that acceptance is historically very im
portant because it has increased the chances of survival. First you have to accept yourself - if you will
not love yourself, no one will.
• Do you remember when I asked you at the beginning of this section to name a few things that
you love? Did you mention yourself?
The next thing to understand is that you are not always loved by all people and that you are never
loved by all people. No statue was ever raised without criticism. And, it is all right.
"Not everyone iJ3oiYIJ to fove3ou.

Mostpeopfe Ion 't even fove themsefves. "
(unknown)
A FT E R TH E TO U R NAM E NT 1 53
"You cannot become a great chess player before you get into some kind of a
conflict with the common opinion, or with the players of the past and their
concepts. It's very important to believe in your own opinion, that's what I
mean. And indeed, one can notice that all of the players who achieve anything
significant, who win tournaments - all of them have strong personalities. My
sincere opinion is that this factor is of huge importance."

Through chess you learn to stand up for yourself, for your beliefs and actions, without being rude and
aggressive. Defend yourself firmly against the selfishness of others.
Chess also teaches you to be objectively humble, even if you win or play a good tournament. Every
chessplayer is aware that the next tournament may not be as good and that he should not rest on
previous successes. "Taking pride in our achievements mustn't distract us from our ultimate goals"
(Kasparov, 2007) .
(Siegbert Tarrasch, German former elite chess player and physician)
_.
F.;i
WHO
AM I?
1541
I M P ROVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E
4.3 M i n d a n d body wo r k toget h e r
4.3 M I N D AN D B O DY WO R K TOG ETH E R
"I a ttend to my fi tness. I go to the gym every day and try to maintain
my physical fitness; without that, it is tough to take challenges on the
chess board."
Viswanathan Anand, former world chess champion

Key ta keaway
• Man is a psycho-physical whole. B oth parts are intercon
nected and should work in harmony and balance
As suggested by neurolinguistic programming, mind and body influence each other. The inner state
is visible through the physical state. This interconnected system is clearly visible in chess. If you are
not physically well prepared, you cannot think properly - at the end of a long, 5-hour game, you lose
your ability to concentrate and begin to overlook things. All the more so, at the end of the tourna
ment. For chess amateurs it is very funny when they hear that chess players are physically trained.
Nevertheless, try to concentrate for 6 or 7 hours a day, for 9 days. This is very exhausting, mentally
and physically. "The loss of mental energy is reflected in the physical as well as vice versa" (Kasparov,
2007) . The calories that an average chess player burns per game often exceed those of a player playing
ball games. During a five-hour game, a chess player can lose more weight than a boxer in a 12-round
bout. He can lose up to 3-4 kilos during a tournament if he eats the same food as usual. Leroy Dubek,
a physics professor at Temple University, found in a 1 970 World Cup match between Fisher and
Spassky that the players' blood pressure, respiration and heart rate rose to a level comparable to a
professional footballer while playing a football game.
Chess is a good example of how body and mind are connected. Often this connection is not visible at
first sight, but it is there and can cause problems in the long run if we neglect it. During a tournament
game there is stress in the player's mind.
The connection between mind and body is very important in stressful situations. Stress has a func
tion that is present in prehistory - a survival function. Stress is a perception of the situation that is
assessed as life-threatening. Nowadays too many situations are perceived by people as threatening.
What happens on the physical level? The main task of the stress response is to prepare a person to
fight and escape the perceived danger. To enable this reaction, the threat perception releases hor
mones into the bloodstream which eventually trigger the excretion of cortisol, a muscle nutrient
needed for combat or escape. In addition, the stress response includes various reactions such as
A FT E R TH E TO U R N A M E N T 1 55
4.3 M i n d a n d body wo r k toget h e r
rapid heartbeat, shallow breathing, etc., which enable rapid energy mobilization. However, a s we
have already said, today there is no real threat, no tiger chasing us and trying to kill us, so we do not
fight and we do not flee. The cortisol released during the stress reaction remains in our body. We, on
the other hand, often pretend to be calm and the energy overload remains in our body, which leads
to the accumulation of harmful substances such as cholesterol. This also happens to social animals
such as monkeys. Figure 21 shows the arteries of two monkeys. On the left side we see the artery of
a monkey that is lower in the social hierarchy, i.e. one under more stress, and on the right side the
artery of the less stressed monkey.
Fig u re 21 . Cholester-
�
ol accumulation in the
veins of a stressed mon
key (left) and relaxed
monkey (right) .
Source: National Geographic:
Stress: Portrait of a Killer.
We can see how stress causes cholesterol accumulation in the veins. Even more, scientists have dis
covered that stress can even kill neurons. An example of this is shown in Figure 22.
( Fig u re 22. The neurons of a mother
,
who had a healthy child, i.e. less under
stress (left) and a mother who had a
chronically ill child, i.e. more under stress
-
3TE E S 3.'.:!:J
(right) .
S ource: National Geographic: Stress: Portrait of a
Killer.
1561 I M P ROVE YO U R LI F E BY P LAYI N G A G A M E

4.3 M I nd a n d body wo r k toget h e r
Some scientists say that depression i s caused by the constant overexcitation o f the stress response. We
need to listen to our body and respond to malignant changes. Otherwise, psychosomatic problems
may occur. Interestingly, they are most common in families where there is no communication about
the emotions and feelings of family members, where family members are too closely connected,
where everything seems too perfect or where there is a high productivity motivation. In the chess
world there are many cases where parents push their children to succeed because they want them
to fulfill their unfulfilled wishes. They often criticize children and put them under enormous stress.
This is clearly visible in a chess game. Children who are afraid of their parents play very passively,
they don't risk much because they are afraid of loss, and they feel useless and guilty when they lose a
game. That is why they draw a game as soon as possible. This is definitely no way to be a good chess
player or to enjoy chess or life.
Monitor your body reactions in different psychological situations (i.e. when you are relaxed, anx
ious, under stress, angry, etc.) . Make a sketch of your body. On it, indicate the location, size and
direction of the emotion you feel, as shown in the figure below.
Source: Live science.
Fear Sadness
•
•
•
CJ 0 CJ
Jo y love
In this way you become more aware of the connection between your body and your emotions.
A FTE R TH E TO U R N AM E NT 1 157
4.4 Posi t ivit
4.4 POSITIVITY
HAP P I N ESS I S A C H O I C E.
' • • • ,/'
• •
,,--..._
Key takeaway
• Be kind to yourself
and choose a positive
life perspective
Source: Steemit.com
"7-fappiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. "

(Mildred Barthel, American author)
Albert Ellis said: "You largely constructed your depression. It wasn 't given to you. Therefore, you can
deconstruct it." You must have a positive approach to both your chess career and life. Both negativ
ity and positivity are cannibalistic, as Bobby Darnell would say: "The more you feed them, the big
ger and stronger they become." It is like an exercise - if you repeat a thing often enough, it becomes
routine - recalled quickly, unconsciously, with the slightest trigger. This leads to implicit knowl
edge and behavior that also influences our social interactions. For example, a miserable mind likes
miserable company. If we are unhappy, we will be with people in a similar mood, which makes us
even sadder and the spiral will deepen further. We need to make a decision and start nurturing the
positive aspects of our lives.
"Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words.
Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep
your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep
your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your
values positive because your values become your destiny."
Mahatma Ghandi, Indian politician, lawyer, social activist and writer

Source: pixabey.com
A FT E R TH E TO U R NAM E NT 1159
4.4 Positivit
Try to be practical, even though it is easier said than done. Choose things that will be beneficial
for you. When your thoughts go in a negative direction, ask yourself, "Is this kind of thinking
useful or harmful for me?". Just acting according to this rule will make your life brighter and
easier, believe me.
When you approach the world with a negative attitude, ask yourself, "Do I have any benefit when I
am negative and depressed, when I see the bad sides of life?"
"StCIJ (Josifive, affother choices are (Jointfess

(Junishments to3our {JS!Jche. "
(Joe Peterson, Chancellor, Utah State University)

4.5 Do w h a t yo u l i ke
4.5 DO WHAT YO U LI KE
"When3ou are fone§, when3ou fee0Joursef{an a#en in the worf/,

pfa3 Chess. 7his wiffraise3our spirits anlhe3our counsefor in war. "
(Aristotle, Greek philosopher)
Key ta keaway
• Discover and pursue your interests. You will do things
better if you enjoy doing them
So far you may have seen that chess is a serious mental game, but it can be very entertaining too! I
am sure that if you ask any chessplayer whether he enjoys the game, you will get the same answer: I
love it! It is very important to do what you like, to enjoy what you do. Osho, an Indian Philosopher,
said that the more you enjoy this moment, the more you are able to enjoy the next. The passion and
intrinsic motivation for a bafflingly complex game is what distinguishes chessplayers from other ath
letes (Unterrainer et al., 20 1 1 ) . In the end, finding the thing that fulfills you and that you enjoy doing
is an achievement in life that should always be pursued.
You also need to believe in your passion and follow your path. Just make sure it is something you
want to do, not something you think you should do. I was very impressed by the story of Magnus
Carlsen's father, Henrik, for a ChessBase article (Shah, 20 1 9 ) . He spoke about Magnus's brief col
laboration with Kasparov when he was fourteen years old. At one point Kasparov gave Magnus some
tasks which he refused to complete. This was the beginning of the end of their relationship as the
1 4-year-old boy always wanted to keep control over what he was doing. Despite the possibility of
working with a former world champion, Magnus' father supported his son's decision. He realized
that there should be no pushing, as chess is Magnus' domain. Gradually he began to accept that Mag
nus seemed to understand what suited him best.
(Siegbert Tarrasch, German former elite chess player and physician)
A FT E R TH E TO U R N A M E NT 161
4.6 G e n s u n a su m u s
4.6 Ci E N S U NA SU M U S
"?f's eaSJ for me toJet afoYIJ with chess tfa3ers. �ven thotA_Jh we are arr
very lif{erent, we have chess in common. "
(Magnus Carlsen, current World Chess Champion)
Key ta keaway
• People are social be
ings who need to be
part of a group
Fig u re 23. My Slove

nian team and I, ready
for the European team
championship 20 1 5 .
Being a chessplayer makes you part o f the chess family. Th e motto o f FIDE, the World Chess Fed
eration is "Gens una sumus", which literally means "we are one people", but is usually translated into
English as "we are one family". This shows the strong the connection between chessplayers.
Fig u re 24. A chess

tournament in Hawaii.
Whether you go to a tournament with teammates of a national team or go on vacation to Hawaii, you
will always feel at home among chess mates. It is a good feeling to have a second family that spans
the world.
162 I M P ROV E YO U R LI F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

"r.cfucate the chi/lren anlit won't 6e necessar:; to punish the men. "
Pythagoras
5. POTE N T I A L N EGATIVE AS P E CTS O F C H ESS
S. POTENTIAL N EGATIVE AS P E CTS

O F C H ESS
Chapter summary
• Whatever you do, be aware of potential negative aspects.
It is not my intention to turn this book into a biased chess advertisement, so I would like to highlight
some negative aspects of chess.
Despite my strongly positive opinion about chess, I will address some potential issues you need to
consider when training to become a chessplayer or any other activity.
1 . EGOCENTRISM: When dealing with professionalism at the highest chess level, you have to con
centrate primarily on yourself and do everything in your power to achieve the desired state and
result. A chessplayer is often the center of attention - firstly from the coach and other supporting
teams, then from the media and fans. This can sometimes lead to egocentric attitudes and behav
ior. Such an attitude can be good for the chess result, but can be disturbing in everyday life, like in
interpersonal relationships where not everything revolves around one person.
2. WIN AT ALL COST ATTITUDE: The chessplayer's objective is to win each game and the tour
nament. Coaches spend an enormous amount of time perfecting drills and players devote their
lives to gaining a competitive edge. Without supervision, the triumphant drive can quickly turn
into a "win-at-all-cost " mentality, which can lead to attitude problems. The attitude needed to win
can encourage cheating and difficulties in dealing with others on and off the field. Garry Kasparov
(2007) said: "I was always convinced that if I worked as hard as I could and played to the best of my
ability, no one could defeat me."
3. LACK OF IDENTITY COMPLEXITY: Chess, as all other sports, can be so time consuming that
some chessplayers have little time for study or social life. Confusing commitment with exclusivity
can be a real threat to a chessplayer's life. Although concentration in chess is crucial, this can take
a negative turn for chessplayers who are not willing to participate in activities other than chess.
Because of the dedication and time required to perfect the skills that contribute to victory, players
may lose the desire to do something else because it pales in comparison to practicing and playing.
This extreme level of exclusivity can be detrimental because it limits the players' ability to practice
in moderation, expand their horizons and become versatile athlets. In the case of professionals,
there is a risk that they will identify themselves as chessplayers and nothing else. In this case, being
a chessplayer is the only role that defines their identity. This can be a problem if they face a period
of time in which they are not successful in chess. This then shakes their whole identity, their self
esteem and can lead to severe depressive thoughts. Therefore, it is good to have a so-called "com
plex self'', i.e. to identify several different roles that define who you are, such as mother/father/
I M P ROVE YO U R LI F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E 1 65

5. POTE N T I A L N EGATIVE AS P ECTS O F C H ESS
brother/sister/friend, student, pianist, etc. This will help you when you have difficult moments in
one area, because you will know that this is not all you are. Having a complex self will also make it
easier for you to withdraw from a professional career. If you know how to do one thing only and it
is taken away from you, it is almost as if you disappear. You do not know what to do with your life,
what to do with yourself. On the contrary, if you have a complex self (consisting of past, present
and future roles) , it is easier to move from one to another, from one phase of your life to another.
One is confronted with the same threat when a person exclusively masters a very narrow special
ized activity. It is therefore very important to educate oneself in different fields, to read books, to
experience various things that promote personal growth and mental stability. I believe that in the
end, these are the things that will also improve sport results.
4. ADDICTION:
"F.vef'J form ofallicfion is 6al, no matter whether the narcotic he

afcohofor mor(1hine or irlea#sm. "
Chess, like many other activities, can be very addictive. Once you start enjoying it, it is hard to live
without it. When you win, dopamine (reward neurotransmitter) gives you a good feeling and you
want to experience this feeling again and again. When you lose, you want to take revenge. If you seek
that, you will have no peace. You have to be careful not to fall too deep into what can take you away
from real life. Moby, an American Musician, puts it this way, "What fascinates me about addiction
and obsessive behavior is that people would choose an altered state of consciousness that's toxic and
ostensibly destroys most aspects ofyour normal life, because for a brief moment you feel okay."
5 . URGE TO HAVE EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL, PERFECTIONISM: These psychologi

cal traits are mastered during training in all competitive sports. A team around an athlete helps
him to structure his environment and concentrate on the "perfect result ". In life outside the play
ing arena, however, things are a bit more chaotic and unpredictable. For example, chess players
can find themselves in a critical situation when they realize that things are not 1 00% under their
control, cannot be done perfectly, etc. The combination of such personality traits, perceptions and
work habits can therefore lead to outbursts or a variety of anxiety symptoms.
Things like parental pressure, bad coaching, inj uries and the like are not mentioned here because
they are not the result of the game but are secondary factors which in many cases cannot be con
trolled and can occur in every activity in life.
How to avoid negative aspects?

A chessplayer or athlete must first be aware of the potential drawbacks of professional sport and
develop a personality capable of dealing with all the potential threats mentioned above. How do you
do that? With the right attitude, education, reading and thinking outside the sporting framework.

6. TH EO R I E S A N D STU D I ES O N B E N E F ITS O F C H ESS
6. TH EORIES AN D STU DI ES O N B E N E FITS

O F C H ESS
So far, things have been presented mainly from the perspective o f my chess playing i n combination
with the psychological knowledge I have acquired through my studies and work.
Now, I will present some scientific facts about chess.
Chapter summary
• Chess is a good educational tool due to its endless possibilities, clear rules and well-defined
measure of expertise (Elo rating) .
• Chess can be beneficial for various health problems such as dementia, schizophrenia,
ADHD, autism spectrum disorders and addictions.
• Chess can serve as a means of rehabilitation and socialization.
6.1 C H ESS AN D E D U CATI O N
"9 th;nkthe future ofp53chotherap3 anlp53cho{o_J3 fr jn the schoof

53stem. 1Ue nee/to teach ever_J ch;flhow fo rare§ serfous§ distur6
h;msef{or hersef{anlhow to overcome distur6ance when ;t occurs. "
(Albert Ellis, American psychologist and psychotherapist)
The cognitive and educational benefits of teaching chess have been acknowledged worldwide:
• In 30 countries all over the world chess is a part of the school curriculum (among them The
United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Italy and Slovenia) .
• The European Parliament and the Spanish Parliament have supported the use of chess instruction
in schools as an educational tool. The basis of this decision is the explicit assumption that skills ac
quired through chess instruction are transferred to other fields: They improve mathematical and
reading skills, and they enhance general cognitive abilities such as concentration and intelligence
(Sala & Gobet, 20 1 7) .
• I n Vancouver (Canada) mathematical textbooks (Challenging Mathematics) fo r pupils from the
2nd to the 7th grade contain chess problems. The results showed an increase in problem solving
efficiency from 62% to 8 1 % (Ferguson, 2006) .
I M P R OV E YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E 1 67
6.1 C h ess a n d ed u c a t i o n
• I n "Educate America Act, public law 1 03-227, Section 308. b.2.E." (What i s Goals, 2000), it i s stated
that "Supporting innovative and proven methods of enhancing a teacher's ability to identify student
learning needs and motivating students to develop higher order thinking skills, discipline, and crea
tive resolution methods." The original wording of this section included chess as such and passed
the Senate that way, but the phrase was deleted later by the Conference Committee.
• Governor Jim Florio from the state of New Jersey ( 1 992) signed a bill to introduce chess instruc
tion in public schools. A quotation from the bill reads: "In countries where chess is offered widely
in schools, students exhibit excellence in the ability to recognize complex patterns and consequently
excel in math and science. . ." (Quadcitychess) .
• The golden rule in life is to be a good listener. Many sales managers recommend the 80-20 rule,
where you listen 80% of the time and speak 20% of the time. Chess teaches you to listen, says Evan
Rabin chess teacher in several projects of educating children through chess (Rabin, 20 1 9) .
• There are many scientific conferences and books about the benefits o f chess i n schools (e.g. The
Benefits of Chess in Education, 2020)
6.1 .1 C H ESS AS AN ACTIVE TEAC H I N G TOO L
This leads t o a comprehensive acquisition and development o f higher qualifications, independent

learning methods, comprehensive acquisition and higher work motivation. However, it is extremely
important to create a classroom environment in which students feel safe and accepted, respect diver
sity and differences, allow different opinions and criticism, and where mistakes challenge learning
and collaboration. The way in which knowledge is acquired in chess is shown in Figure 25.
ACTIVE EXP E R I M E NTATION: I n n o n

i m porta nt g a mes w e ca n test n ew i n
s i g hts, i d ea s a n d ski l l s t h at w e h ave
g a i n e d i n ea r l i e r l e a rn i n g p h a ses.
Fig u re 25. Scheme

of circular experien
tial learning from criti
cal games (Etkina, E.,
CONCRETE EXPERIENCE
C r i t i c a l g a me, w h e re we e n co u nte r Brookes, D. T. , & Planin
p r o b l e m s o r l a c k of u n d e rsta n d i n g . sic, 20 1 9; Root, 2006).

6.1 C h ess a nd ed u ca t i o n
According t o the studies presented b y McDonald (2008), chess develops:

• Concentration, patience and perseverance (with careful and concentrated observation)
• Visualization (imagination of the sequence of moves before they actually happen)
• Planning (thinking one move ahead; in chess you have to think first and then act. There should be
no impulsiveness. You have to see the possible consequences of your actions) .
• Weigh options (you do not need to do the first thing that comes to mind. There are other options.
We have to check them out.)
• Concrete analysis, systematic, scientific thinking, precision
• Logical reasoning
• Abstract thinking (a chess player needs to see the bigger picture)
• Curiosity
• Self-esteem
• Hard work and discipline
• Respect for others
• Socialization: Roberto Clemente School (New York) , East Harlem (New York) and Oakland (Cali
fornia) introduced chess for children with special needs. In 2 years 398 pupils were included.
Suspensions due to misbehavior decreased by 60%.
Why is it so? Because:

•Chess requires the integrated use of several skills simultaneously.
•It is an endless field of problem situations for training. "70-90 % of the perceived situations in a
game of chess are new." (Langen, 1 992)
•It provides immediate punishment or reward for your actions on the one hand (during the game) and
on the other hand, it requires the ability to delay the reward between training time and game playing.
•Competitiveness in chess increases motivation and mental alertness.
•The learning environment is a game, but the effects can be transferred to other areas.
•Chess is brain training and develops new dendrites and synapses.
•It develops both sides of the brain - analytical thinking and imagination.
•Today, chess is becoming more and more popular because of role models like Magnus Carlsen.
Playing chess is "cool ", which strengthens the self-confidence of young people.
Fig u re 26. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese profes

sional football player & Magnus Carlsen, current
World Chess Champion.
Poto: Real Madrid. S ource: Vavel.
T H EO R I ES A N D STU D I ES ON B E N E F ITS O F C H ESS 1 69

6.1 C h ess a n d ed u ca t i o n
6.1 .2 M ETA-ANALYS I S OF T H E B E N E F ITS OF C H ESS I N ST R U CT I O N

ON E D U CATI O NAL OUTCO M ES
Sala and Gobet made a meta-study (20 16) to verify the validity of various previous studies that show
the beneficial effects of chess and its transfer to other domains. In order to be convincing and offer
real educational benefits, a study should reach an effect size higher than 0.40 - "zone of desired ef
fect". The criteria were met by 24 studies with a total of 5,22 1 participants (2,788 in the experimental
groups and 2,433 in the control groups) .
The main conclusion of their meta-analysis was that chess exercises promote some general cognitive
skills, such as short and long term memory, executive functions, meta-cognition, visual-spatial skills,
critical evaluation and general intelligence, which in turn improves students' academic performance.
Chess also promotes some academic skills, such as mathematics, because it shares several elements
with the target domain (e.g. the value of chess pieces and basic arithmetic, the movement of the
pieces and geometry) .
They found that chess lessons seem to have a positive effect on the cognitive and academic (especially
mathematical) abilities of the children, but the effect is no more than moderate. The overall effect size
was 0.34, indicating a moderate positive overall effect of chess instruction. More precisely, the effect
size was 0.38 for mathematics, 0.33 for cognitive skills and 0.25 for reading (see Figure 27).
Overa l l Effect Sizes
Fig u re 27. The Overall �

effect size of chess benefit
on cognitive, mathemat-
ics and reading skills.
Source: S a l a & Gobet, 2 0 1 6 .
• Cogn itive • M athematics • Read i n g
Finally, the analysis showed a direct correlation between the duration of the chess intervention and the
extent of the effect. When considering only the studies with more than 25 hours of chess instruction, the
effect size was 0.43. All these effects were statistically reliable, with p < .05 or less (Sala & Gobet, 20 16).
This result may be important for the study of the transfer of skills in psychology, but it raises some
doubts about the usefulness of chess as an educational tool. In fact, since the median effect of inter
ventions in educational contexts is 0.40, there are other good or even better ways to improve chil
dren's skills besides chess lessons. Moreover, almost all the studies reviewed lack a different control
group, making it impossible to exclude the presence of confusing variables such as placebo effects,
teacher motivation, teacher expectations and student enthusiasm induced by a novel activity.
1 70 I M P R OVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

6.1 C h ess a n d ed u c a t i o n
However, the fact that the duration o f chess lessons correlates positively with the size o f the effects
is an encouraging result. If the advantages of chess lessons were to be attributed only to placebo ef
fects, these effects would probably occur regardless of the duration. This is because the occurrence
of placebo effects depends on participation in the activity, not on the side effects of the activity. A
concrete possibility is therefore that chess lessons require a certain minimum time (approx. 25-30
hours) to achieve noticeable effects (over 0.40) . Costello (20 1 3 ) argued that positive effects of chess
also depend on the appropriateness of the approach and the developmental period of the training
(the best period being early childhood) . Nevertheless, the lack of control over placebo effects remains
a major limitation in this field of research.
What is the most important skill you have learned in your life?
T H EO R I ES A N D STU D I ES O N B E N E F I TS O F C H ESS 171

6.2 C h ess a n d hea l t h pro b l e m s
6.2 C H ESS AN D H EALTH P R O B L E M S
"Chess is infeffecfua{_J3mnastics. "

(Wilhelm Steinitz, former World Chess Champion)
Key ta keaways
• Chess keeps your brain active, which prevents early cognitive deficits
• Chess can have positive rehabilitation effects in schizophrenia, ADHA and autism spectrum
disorders as it is a special medium that can adapt to different types of players
• Chess is a peaceful yet powerful tool, a projection medium that can bring out the worst
and the best in people. As such, it also serves as a therapeutic method in cases of addiction,
prison rehabilitation, socialization, etc.
6.2.l D E M E NTIA
Dementia is a major problem in today's society. Alzheimer's dementia is the most common. Every 68
seconds someone in the USA falls ill with Alzheimer's disease. Fourteen and a half million caregivers
have provided more than 1 7.5 billion hours of unpaid care, and the total cost of Alzheimer's disease
is proj ected to balloon from $203 billion in 20 1 3 to $ 1 .2 trillion by 2050 (Alzheimer's Association,
20 1 3 ) . The total number of people with AD dementia is expected to be 1 3 . 8 million in 2050, with 70
million people aged 85 years or older (Hebert et al., 20 1 3 ) .
Heal thy Bra i n Severe A D
Fig u re 28. A healthy

brain (left) compared to a
brain suffering from Alz
heimer's Disease. Photo:
National Institutes of
Health (NIH ) .
1 72 I M P R OVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

6.2 C h ess a n d h e a l t h pro b l e m s
Researchers from Harvard Medical School said that chess seems like a treatment that works. I n fact,
people over the age of 75 who participated in recreational activities that stimulated the brain were
less likely to develop signs of dementia. Chess is a fairly easy game to learn. It takes a little practice,
but you can play it very quickly and the possibilities are endless. "Such activities may protect the brain
by establishing 'cognitive reserve,' the brain's ability to operate effectively even when it is damaged or
some brain function is disrupted." Harvard Medical School noted that "exposing the brain to novel ac
tivities in particular provided greater protection against Alzheimer's disease than just aerobic exercise."
The document affirms that, "Staying cognitively active through mentally stimulating activities such as
playing games are linked to keeping the mind sharp." ( Ciamarra, 20 1 3 )
�
Fig u re 29.Check-
mating Alzheimer's: Bir
mingham VAMC uses
'brain games' to promote
sharp minds in older Vet
erans.
Source: Ciamarra, 2 0 1 7 .
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) (part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH, Early
Alzheimer s : "Stay Active!", 20 10) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) states that
'
we all know that games can be fun and challenging, but if we are interested in actually maintaining
brain fitness, then mind sports stimulate all six cognitive areas of the brain simultaneously and are
most beneficial. These six cognitive areas are (Ciamarra, 20 1 3 ) :
• Short-term memory, used when we remember information shortly after it has been understood.
• Long-term memory, used when we recall something from the vast store of information that is in
our brain.
• Language, the use and form of words.
• Calculation, which has two definitions. First, calculation is the use of numbers. The other form of
calculation involves assessing the risks, possibilities or effects of a course of action. Playing chess
is another way to exercise calculation skills.
• Visuo-spatial, referring to our visual perception of obj ects.
• Critical thinking, our ability to analyze and evaluate situations.
T H EO R I E S A N D STU D I ES O N B E N E F ITS OF C H ESS 1 73

Are you doing something to get your brain in shape and build a
cognitive reserve for old age? If not, do not waste any more time,
because old age is closer than you think, and "the old you" will be
grateful for your earlier brain muscle training.
( )
6.2.2 SC H I ZOP H R E N IA
Studies by Demily et al. (2009) showed that chess also helps to restore executive functions (atten
tion, planning and reasoning) in schizophrenia. The research examined 26 patients with the disorder
with an average age of 37, twice a week in hourly sessions over 5 weeks under the supervision of an
experienced player. Dr. Demily and team concluded that "When considered together, results suggest
that playing chess for a mere 1 0 hours can restore (at least partially) executive functions ofpatients with
schizophrenia." They add: "It may be interesting to note that chess can be proposed easily - at almost no
cost - to all psychotic patients. Most of the patients kept playing chess on their own, after completion of
the study."
6.2.3 AD H D
Blasco-Fontecilla et al. (20 16) conducted a study in which the parents of 44 children aged 6 to 1 7
years with the primary diagnosis o f ADHD agreed to participate i n the study. The parents completed
the Spanish version of the Swanson, Nolan and Pelham Scale for Parents (SNAP -IV) (Swanson et al.,
2012) and the Abbreviated Conner's Rating Scales for Parents (CPRS-HI) (Parker, 1 996) before an
1 1 -week chess training program. The authors used a paired t-test to compare pre- and post- interven
tion outcomes, and Cohen-cl calculations to measure the extent of the effect. Statistical significance
was set at P=.05. The results showed that children with ADHD improved in both SNAP-IV (t=6.23;
degrees of freedom (df) =4 1 ; P=.00 1 ) and CPRS-HI tests (t=5.39; df=33; P=.00 1 ) . The results indicate
a large effect in reducing the severity of ADHD as measured by SNAP -IV (d=0.85) and CPRS-HI
(d=0.85). They also found a correlation between the intelligence quotient and SNAP -IV improve
ment (P=.05).
However, the results of this pilot study should be interpreted with caution. This pilot proj ect high
lights the importance of conducting larger studies with a controlled design. If the results are repli
cated in better designed studies, chess could be included in the multimodal treatment of ADHD.
6.2.4 AUTISM S P ECTR U M D I S O R D E R {AS D)
Autism spectrum (AS) disorder is a group of congenital neurological disorders. Symptoms include:
limited social skills, a need for structure and problems with emotions, empathy, self-image, speech,
imagination and locomotion. Autistic people have difficulty in internalizing sensory stimuli as a

6.2 C h ess a n d h ea l t h pro b l e m s
coherent whole. They often have a limited field o f interest i n which they can specialize strongly. To
cope with the complexity of the outside world, autistic people seek refuge in fixed habits and patterns
(van Delft & van Delft, 20 1 0 ) . Chess proved to be a useful tool for dealing with AS children because
the rules of the game are clear and logical while the environment is safe, calm and structured without
physical contact (van Delft & van Delft, 20 1 0 ) .
Fig u re 30. Jaap de

�
Vries (9), a boy with As
perger's Syndrome.
Source: van Delft & van Delft,
2010.
In 20 1 0 Karel and Merijn van Delft carried out research in cooperation with the local chess club PSV
DoDo. Four autistic boys between seven and twelve years of age received one hour of chess lessons
per week.
There was a case of a boy named Jaap who suffered from Asperger's Syndrome and was not very keen
on conversation with a stranger. For this reason, he had little social contact. However, this changed
when he was allowed to play chess. Chess allowed him to make contact with other children. "Ifyou
share his interest, he is open for contact", his mother Annemieke noticed. "This game looks individual
istic, but for Jaap it is an opportunity to make contact with other children.". . . "He has no friends in the
neighborhood. At the chess club he feels at home." (van Delft & van Delft, 20 1 0 ) .
In Putten, the 'Foundation for Groundbreaking Talents' organizes chess lessons for young people
with ASD. Initiator Jacqueline van den Brink said that 'they are often able to think very logically, and
that goes well with chess. The game of chess is very structured and manageable. Autistic people are
often perfectionists. When they play chess, they are in control of what they do. Wicher Struik of the
Leo Kanner House noticed that "By joining this little club they belong somewhere, and that strengthens
their identity." (van Delft & van Delft, 20 1 0 ) .
T H EO R I ES A N D STU D I E S O N B E N E F I TS O F C H ESS 1 75
"I have the impression that chess i s very good for their development - intellectually, socially and
emotionally. It also gives them self-confidence, as they learn to be good at something".
Poulien Knipscheer, chess trainer and pedagogue
According to Karel van Delft (20 14), autistic pupils who receive individual chess lessons learn to: be
perseverant and curious, proud when winning, take into account different things at the same time,
enjoy playing, lose a game, concentrate on a task, verbalize and discuss things with others, etc.
When teaching chess to children with special needs, there are a few things you have to pay attention
to. First of all, one has to understand the needs of autistic children, such as the need for structure, a
safe environment, clear communication, individual attention, time, etc. (van Delft, 2014). The envi
ronment should be quiet. Your group should be small and manageable. Poulien Knipscheer, a chess
trainer and educator from Rotterdam, found out that for autistic children learning to play chess it
is better to explain everything in one go than to introduce the rules and exceptions step by step. A
teacher must be empathic and needs to have didactic and social skills. He has to be an emotional sup
port to them, motivate them, be patient and try to understand and see the world through the eyes of
the autistic person (van Delft, 2014).
6.2.5 ADDICT I O N
Research by Gon�alves et al. (20 14) showed that in cocaine-dependent patients, psychological interven
tions, including chess, had an impact on executive functioning and on the quality of life of these patients.
The background of the study is the following: In cocaine-dependent individuals, deficits in the execu
tive functions (EF) are associated with poor treatment outcomes. Psychological interventions and
pharmacological approaches have produced only modest effect sizes (Cunha, 2014). The aim of this
study was to investigate the effects of a new intervention model that integrates chess and Motiva
tional Interviewing (MI), which is called Motivational Chess (MC).
They examined 46 cocaine-dependent patients (aged 1 8 -45 years). They were divided into two
groups: MC (n=26) and active comparison (AC, n=20) . Using neuropsychological tests and an im
pulsivity scale, they assessed the subjects before and after the study period (one month of abstinence,
monitored by urine toxicological screening).
The results showed that there was no difference between AC the MC groups at the beginning of
the study. In the post- intervention assessment (after one month), both groups showed significant
improvements in attention, mental flexibility, inhibitory control, abstraction abilities, and decision
making (p.=0.0 1 ) . In addition, the improvement in working memory was more significant in the
MC group than in the AC group (group-by-time interaction, p=.00 1 ) . The authors concluded that
one month of abstinence was sufficient to improve various attention and executive areas in cocaine
dependent subjects. The MC intervention was associated with greater improvements in EFs, particu
larly working memory, suggesting that tailored interventions focusing on complex EFs accelerate the
process of cognitive recovery during the initial period of abstinence.

6.2 C h ess a n d hea l t h pro b l e m s
Motivational Interviewing with chess has had beneficial effects, firstly because motivation plays a decisive
role in EF and secondly because chess playing is associated both with prefrontal cortex (PFC) activa
tion and executive functioning enhancement. Motivational Interviewing promotes the generalization of
explicitly and implicitly acquired learning (during the game) in the context of real-life problems and per
spectives by stimulating future planning and decision-making. Their results show that MC was associated
with a more significant improvement in working memory during the first month of abstinence in addicts,
indicating that specific and integrated tailored interventions that focus on complex executive processes
may accelerate the progress of cognitive therapy during this initial period of abstinence (Seger et al., 201 1).
6.2.6 C H ESS A S A R E HABI LITAT I O N AN D TH E RAPY
Chess has been used for rehabilitation or therapy purposes under various conditions:
• As rehabilitation after strokes and accidents with physical injuries to improve fine motor, cogni
tive and communication skills.
• Chessplayers have to concentrate on the game and use the full capacity of short-term memory.
Therefore, it is a good way to stop rumination in case of anxiety. A person simply "forgets " anxious
thoughts and feelings.
• Chess helps to fight depression and boredom. It "sucks us in " and gives us a new meaning - usually
it is the ability to enjoy life.
• When patients have difficulty expressing their feelings and thoughts, they are hyperactive, impul
sive and unable to concentrate. Chess is a suitable therapy. The therapist maneuvers the game of
chess in such a way that the patients can express their feelings and at the same time get the oppor
tunity to control the game voluntarily. This allows them to feel comfortable, and eliminates anger
and other negative emotions.
• Fine ( 1 967) saw chess pieces as an equivalent symbol for family members (e.g. pawn being a child,
king a father, queen a mother, etc.) and used psychoanalytical techniques through the association
of the chessboard and pieces.
While other types of therapies give an impression of treatment, chess is perceived as fun and recreation.
Recently, chess was even used as a rehabilitation tool in a prison. In December 20 1 8 a classical FIDE
rated chess tournament was held in an Italian correctional facility, where chess players competed
with inmates (Trasciatti, 20 1 9 ) .
Fig u re 31 . Th e venue,
right beside the prison
cell, in the library of
Spoleto prison.
Photo: Mirko Trasciatti.
Source: Trasciatti, 2 0 1 9 .
T H EO R I ES A N D STU D I ES ON B E N E F I TS OF C H ESS 1 77
6.2 C h ess a n d h ea l t h pro b l e m s
The social aspect o f the tournament was astonishing, according t o the organizer (Trasciatti,
20 1 9 ) . D uring the tournament all players started to chat and have fun in a very friendly and
relaxed atmosphere. At the end of the day, the inmates shared a piece of panettone (a sweet Ital
ian bread) and wished each other a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (Trasciatti, 20 1 9 ) .
The organizer o f the tournament Mirko Trasciatti said: "The chess game has a very important
role for inmates: it is not only a game or a hobby. Chess is a way to survive in jail, a way to find a
better lifestyle. An inmate says that his life is better than before thanks to chess. It helps not to think
about past mistakes."
6.2.7 SOCIAL AS P E CT OF C H ESS
Chess is a rich and yet a cheap game to play. The wealth lies in its depth and infinite options. The
cheapness lies in the fact that to play chess, you only need a board and pieces. Therefore, chess
can be brought to every single village on earth. To the most remote and undeveloped regions of
the world.
A good example is an initiative by Theresa's Grant, who has launched the project "Make a Differ
ence Now " (Rabin, 2 0 1 9 ; Make a difference now, 2020). Volunteers teach chess to children from
underdeveloped regions. Giving them the gift of education which can never be taken away from
them. It is everlasting. This proj ect raises money from various sponsors around the world.
Fig u re 32. Students

playing chess in Tanza
nia.
Photo: Paul Nj au.
Source: Rabin, 2 0 1 9 .

6.2 C h ess a n d h ea l t h pro b l e m �
Figu re 33. Chess goes beyond nations.

Photo: David Llada - Chess & Photography
The result i s that half o f the students have now completed their studies, some even abroad and with
a scholarship. The students came from households with an average income of $30 per month and
now have the potential to earn an average of $ 1 ,000 per month because of this chess project. In this
way chess and chessplayers can also contribute to closing the doors of poverty in some people's lives.
Chess is a universal language that transcends gender, colour, religion, disabilities of all kinds and
unites people of good will and good deeds into a single family.
A minute for self-reflection
Welcome to the chessplayer's world. Let us play some chess.
T H EO R I E S A N D STU D I ES O N B E N E F I TS O F C H ESS 1 79
f.£:A1(N �1<.0M 1/0U1(f.?�£l
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"7he most heaufifuf(1eo(1fe we have known are those who have known
lefeat, known suf(eriYJ_J, known sfrU_JJfe, known foss, anlhave {ounl
their wa3 out ofthose de(1ths. "
(Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, writer and psychaiatrist)
181
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TRAI N I N G 1 87
A B O UT TH E AUTH O R
Jana Krivec graduated from the Faculty of Psychology at the University o f Ljublj ana in 2004, where
she successfully defended her doctoral thesis entitled "Cognitive Information Processing: the Case
of Chess " in 20 1 1 . In 2004 she worked with the Faculty of Computer and Information Science on a
proj ect in which researchers developed a program for automatic annotation of a chess game. She was
a researcher at the Department of lntelligent Systems at Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljublj ana in the field of
artificial intelligence. Her work was presented at several international conferences and published in
scientific publications. She is a university professor of Psychology at the School of Advanced Social
Studies in Nova Gorica.
Jana Krivec is a Women's Chess Grandmaster with a ELO rating peak of 2362 in 2008. She has been
the Slovenian Women's Champion seven times as well as a member of the Slovenian women's chess
team at eleven Chess Olympiads. At the 2006 Turin Olympics she and her teammates reached ninth
place. She has won several international tournaments. Chess has been her passion and will probably
remain explicitly or implicitly present throughout her life.
TRAI N I N G 1 89
"Although I haven't seriously dealt with chess for years, acquaint
ances still often tell me that I am a chess player. Of course, they
don't think I play chess in the literal sense, but they appeal to my
way of thinking and consequently acting on a social chessboard.
That chess is a mirror of life - or perhaps vice versa! - is an old wis
dom, but the psychological mechanisms that characterize chess
as well as ordinary life are little known. Dr. Jana Krivec answers
many of the questions we have asked ourselves but never really
answered. Her book is the result of years of study of chess and
psychology, two of the great loves of her life. However, this book
is not only a theoretical work; in every step you can feel not only
a sharp mind, but also a straightforward erotic commitment to
the objects of study. Chess and life are great mysteries, thanks to
Jana's book we discover them as an eternal challenge ... "
Mitja Cander
Slovenian writer, essayist, editor, screenwriter, playwrighter and chessplayer
www.thinkerspublishing.com
THINKERS PUBLISHING

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IMPROVE YOUR LIFE

£.earn how to furnJOur life activities info fi{eforJ_J sk}(/j.f

First edition 202 1 by Thinkers Publishing

Managing Editor: Daniel Vanheirzeele

ISBN: 978946420 1 024

Thinkers Publishing 2021

1/ou 've male YY1J life/

"Chess is fife in miniature. "

I M P ROVE YO U R LIFE BY P LAYI N G A GAM E 7

FOREWORD b y Dr. Matej Guid

Dr. Matej Guid

8 I M P ROVE YO U R LIFE BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

FOREWORD b y Dr. Sonja Cotar Konrad

Dr. Sonja Cotar Konrad

I M P ROVE YO U R LI F E BY P LAY I N G A GAM E 9

1.1 GOAL SETTING 19

1.3 SELF EXAMINATION AND IMPROVEMENT 29

1.4 DISCIPLINE, HARD WOR K AND PERSISTENCE 33

1.5 LEARNING FROM THE MASTERS 37

1.6 MEMORIZATION TECHNIQUES 41

1.7 WOR KING WITH MODERN TECHNOLOGY 47

1.8 DELAYED REWARD 49

1.9 NEVER STOP EXPLORING 51

2.2 DURING A CHESS GAME 63

3. AFTER THE CAME 123

3.1 COPING WITH STRESS AND LOSSES 125

I M P R OVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E 11

4. AFTER THE TOURNAMENT 1 45

4.1 A WILL TO CHANGE 147

4.2 WHO ARE YOU? 149

4.3 MIND AND BODY WOR K TOGETHER 155

4.4 POSITIVITY 159

4.5 DO WHAT YOU LI KE 161

4.6 GENS UNA SUMUS 162

5. POTENTIAL NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF CHESS 1 65

6. THEORIES AND STUDIES ON BENEFITS OF CHESS 1 67

6.1 CHESS AND EDUCATION 167

6.2 CHESS AND HEALTH PROBLEMS 172

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 189

12 I M P ROVE YO U R L I FE B Y P LAYI N G A GAM E

...but its just the tip of an iceberg in the rough sea.

".Sf;<fJ la3s a!}er"r 9 tfa!J in tournaments, fve la3s 9 rest

";t( strorJ_J memof'!}, concentration, imtljination, anla sfrorJ_J wiffis

I M P ROVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E 17

1.1 GOAL S ETT I N G

11great minis have purposes, others have wishes. 11

"When I play, I always have goals that I know I can achieve.

Susan Polgar, former Women's World Chess Champion

20 I M P ROVE YO U R L I F E BY P LAYI N G A GAM E

Table 1 . An example of time management for 1 day.

Day 1 - content Checking the results Threats Solutions

8:00-9:00 Wake up, breakfast

Search for older tour-

Play a "game" where

14:00-14:30 Coffee Break

Playing a match with

Motivate yourself with

Ruminating the chess Use of relaxation

A m i n ute for self-reflecti on

22 I M P ROVE YO U R LI F E BY PLAYI N G A GAM E

"It is importa n t to train in small doses in order n o t to lose the joy of

Viswanathan Anand, former World Chess Champion

Vladimir Kramnik, former World Chess Champion

_-\.:cording to McClealand ( 1 958), there are two types of motiva

Fig u re 1. Trend of mo