PART 1 • Tip # 10 play over the chess games of other players
As far as current games go, if your home state, province, region, etc. publishes a chess newsletter, you should subscribe to it, as these little magazines are often a treasure trove of commented games, often played between average club players, games which are easily understood and enormously instructive.
• And, finally, the most important tip of all:
TIP # 11 Don ' t kick yourself over losing a game
• Winning is more fun than losing, I ' ll admit that. But I view a chess loss as an opportunity for improvement. When I figure out why I lost a game, I learn what I need to work on to become a better player. I don ' t kick myself, I don ' t get depressed – instead, I get to work. Besides, everybody loses; we ' ve already seen how Garry Kasparov, considered by many to be the strongest chess player of all time, lost to a machine. Losing is disappointing, but it ' s up to you to turn that disadvantage into an advantage – treat your chess losses as opportunities, chances to become a better player, and you ' re likely to find that you ' ve become something of a better person as well.
• In my opinion, that ' s the real value of chess( as well as just about any other competitive endeavor, come to think of it). Although this has become something of a passé notion in the twenty-first century, I ' m a firm believer in the idea that competition builds character. Since chess is a one-on-one contest, it provides a unique opportunity for each of us to learn about ourselves, how we react to adversity, how we behave when we win. Chess gives us a means to test ourselves, to better ourselves. But we can ' t do that when we kick ourselves, get depressed, or throw a tantrum over a loss. Don ' t despair over a loss – learn from it, and you ' ll likely learn something about yourself in the process, too.
65 chessking. com