How Emotions Ruin Chess Players? (How to Stop It)
Being stubborn keeps you from ever learning.
Yes, good old pride can keep you from learning anything about chess. Some people avoid certain content because it's not entertaining enough, even though it should be informative rather than entertaining.
Don’t get me wrong, I love entertainment like the next person, but you have to equal it out with real education in chess.
Additionally, some people prefer to learn independently. With their own creativity and intelligence, you can, but don't be upset if it takes longer than you may have perceived to become decent.
I'm all for being stubborn and playing a stronger person. Just like how people use focus mode on chess.com (Focus mode is a setting on chess.com to hide the name and rating elo of the opponent), and realize they beat a stronger opponent than themselves. But being stubborn about learning and not following principles in chess can be so irritating as a coach.
For example, I taught a whole lesson at a school about developing your knights and bishops, and castling the king. I discussed the importance of activity and provided numerous examples to support my point. Then, I had the students play against each other so I could guide and see what they had learned. Then, I see one student still pushing up the end pawns and developing the rooks first. I asked the student why, and they told me, “Oh, I’m supposed to do that each game”, then proceeded to do their own thing. Then, I walked away and learned a valuable lesson. You can guide a horse to water, but you can’t force them to drink it.
So, don’t be stubborn.
Have you ever argued with someone about a position that was completely unwinnable?
I have. It sucks. Nothing productive happens when someone doesn’t discuss in good faith. If you find yourself talking to someone who isn’t understanding what you're saying or isn't trying to understand, I suppose you can continue at your own risk, but it’s not productive. Discuss to understand, not to win the debate. And if you're lower rated than the other person, soak in the knowledge and listen.
Chess is all about battling ideas and seeing who can be victorious.
Sometimes, your plans are inferior to those of your opponents. I’ve seen chess players before who don't even acknowledge their opponent's plans. Some think three moves in advance without considering the opponent's moves. If you're feeling this way now, change your thinking immediately, because if you don’t, there will be consequences.
The consequences are delaying your improvement. When somebody does this, it’s like you're playing word search or sudoku, when you're playing chess. You honestly have to know your opponent's plans more than yours because your plan revolves around the opponent's position. In chess, you have to think critically and be a realist. You might have checkmate in 3 moves if the opponent doesn't move, but sadly, this is a turn-based RPG game and you can’t uno skip your opponent’s turn.
Keep on fighting til the end, staying focused in chess and in real life too.
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