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Kasparov has a bone to pick with me

  • Writch
  • on Mon, 1/24/2011 1:30pm.

When I was posting a reply to a another News Post in this group, I used the adjective Sisyphean to describe my challenges in finding enough time to do something. So I went to Wiktionary.com to check the spelling.

And low-and-behold, wouldn't you know that the example they pulled was from no other than Gary Kasparov and from a work entitled "How Life Imitates Chess"

"You can't overestimate the importance of psychology in chess, and as much as some players try to downplay it, I believe that winning requires a constant and strong psychology not just at the board but in every aspect of your life...It begins with intense preparation, which requires that you motivate yourself to work long, grueling, lonely hours. It often feels like a Sisyphean task, since you know that perhaps only ten percent of your analysis will ever see the light of day."(p. 145, Chapter 12, "The Inner Game", emphasis mine)

Now, even though the title of my news post here implies he and I disagree, that is because I am just riffing off the title of his book. But as for this quote, we two are in absolute, utter agreement.

And honestly? I think it proves my point - that lessons from the simpler chess can be applied to more complex Life.

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Comments


  • 16 months ago

    Writch

    Creepy uncles, sibling rivalry, Oppositional Defiance Disorder....

    There's one in every family, Martin. (At the very least one.)

  • 16 months ago

    Joe_Blob

    Sisyphus promoted navigation and commerce, but was avaricious and deceitful, violating the laws of hospitality by killing travelers and guests. He took pleasure in these killings because they allowed him to maintain his dominant position. From Homer onwards, Sisyphus was famed as the craftiest of men. He seduced his niece, took his brother's throne and betrayed Zeus' secrets. 

    Seems like a nice boy

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