100 is an arbitrary number, why is it important that the individual letters in attitude add up that way again? I know, motivational stuff... guess I wasn't part of the target audience for that one.
Anyway to sum it up, like most any skill, the more you put into chess, the more you'll get out of it. This is true.
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Viewpoint: Attitude and Ingenuity in Chess…
By Islam, Rafiqul, current elo: 2090, Former National Chess Player ,Vice President CJKS Chess Committee, Chess trainer and lover. Viewpoint: Attitude and Ingenuity in Chess…
So you play chess. You have spent enough time working on your moves. In the mean time, you must have already participated in some competitions as well. However, you are still frustrated, since you are not getting your desired results. Perhaps you are on the verge of losing confidence. The question out of all the other questions that keeps haunting you is that “what more should I do, how should I proceed to be a better chess player?”--Undoubtedly the answer to this question is hard to find. This bothers almost every chess player to a greater extent. Some others are seen to be chasing chess to be recognized as good chess players in no time. Come on! Chess is not a hundred meter sprint!
Let us explore the problem.
Too many chess players are found to be memorizing moves after moves without trying to understand underlying meaning and purposes behind those moves. Some others, more clever ones, memorize the memorable games by chess giants! Whether in a friendly tournament or in a gossip on chess, these chess players are found to be making such comments as “Hey! White’s position is a dead-loss” or “black’s position is clear-plus!” in crucial moments of games. The secret behind this weird knowledge is that they have memorized the moves of the games played by the grandmasters without knowing the meanings of the subsequent moves or the sequel of an idea or plan devised by the grandmasters. What happens as a result is just a nosedive into the quagmire of confusions that makes the player a gullible fool in the process! This kind of approach is completely a wrong one; you’ve to study the basics of chess first – basics of the three phases of the game -- opening, middle game and the endgame.
In order to overcome these shortcomings, you have to follow some rules thoroughly. You will have to rebuild your attitude towards chess from square one. In learning the opening moves, you will have to be pretty clear about the purpose / motive behind every move as well as possible consequences of making that move. You should never depend on bookish knowledge blindfolded. Get the basics instilled in your heart. You will have to focus most on the end game phase of the game. You will have to enhance your chess temperament. If you play chess, even if for once a day; you will have to play it seriously as if you are competing in a tournament. Try to play with better players. Pay heed to what ex-world champion Capablanca said, “Wait till you have lost a hundred games in competitive tournament.” Former world champion Anatoly Karpov puts it thus: “Chess is a battle of brain and a test of will” – you need to reshape your mindset only to cope up with the subtleties of this great mind game. Never lose thy heart – keep on striving with an iron-firm determination and conviction based on your attitude.
When you loose a game, spend some time thinking about the game, note your successful moves as well as mistakes, and then analyze the whole game – better if you can do it with better players; if you act this way you will be able to redeem yourself from mistakes and reach your desired point at zenith. Only strong determination and hard work is needed. Something about Bobby Fischer can be said here – “In a tournament held in Stockholm, Chess expert Kotov watched Bobby Fischer going into “cloak-room” with his chess board to analyze the games for hours. It didn’t matter whoever the opponent was- whether it was world champion Petrosian or Manuel Aaron from India- Fischer used to do it always!
You will have to be strong willed, industrious, and so passionately in love with chess. This passion has to surpass Van Gog’s one, which enabled him to present one of his ears to his beloved! Exercise your chess zeal in a modest fervor appropriate to the demands of the game. Everything, however, depends on how you have taken or known chess. Your attitude towards the game of chess, which is such a mirror that reflects the best of science, literature, and humanity, will refine as well as define the “real you” as well as “complete you”.
Young players are often seen to be running like hell after things like “name, fame and glory” claming, falsely, to be chess masters even before they’ve learned the game properly! This kind of wrong attitude should completely be avoided. Another thing that the young players should keep in mind is that they have to be respectful to the senior ones. Since only through respecting others, one learns to respect herself/himself.
Finally, I explain the term “Attitude” in a different way: well, we know there are 26 alphabets in the English Language. If we take “A” to be the first letter, thus take its value to be 01, and if we take that “Z” = 26 in the same way; the funny thing we will find is that the numerical value of each alphabet from the word “ATTITUDE” adds up to 100! Try out luck, love, hard work, and destiny – things that we hold to be important in life, but none of those add up to 100! So, we see, it is “attitude” that matters most not only in chess but also in all affairs of life!
So, dear players and the enthusiasts fix your “attitude” at a modest outpost to start with chess ---serious and competitive chess, result will chase you! One more thing, keep the words of wisdom from world champion Bobby Fischer: “Chess demands total concentration- and yea, a love for the game”.
Before I conclude, repeating myself here, rebuild yourself and keep on working, success will surely follow your path. Above all, this noble game is a source of aesthetic pleasure of creation and loves in these times of wall-crawlers, since –
“Chess like love
Like music
Has the power to
Make someone truly happy!” -- Dr. Tarrasch.