Mistake: Excerpt from a book "The Tao of Chess"
“You always learn when people beat you, ‘cause you pay attention and find out why.” —Ray Charles
Nobody plays mistake-free chess for very long—not even the best players. So be prepared to deal with mistakes: Jump on those your opponent makes, keep your own to a minimum, and learn from those you do make.
Principle 139: Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. They are inevitable. Rather, get in the habit of learning from them.
This holds true not only after the game is over, but also during play. Usually you will become aware of your mistakes after your opponent has pointed them out by making a strong move. But sometimes you can sense it coming even before that happens. Occasionally, you won’t realize you made a mistake until much later. In all cases, make your moves boldly. Play as if you know what you are doing, even if you don’t. After all, what’s the worst that can happen? You make a mistake and lose. So you learn from it and do not make the same mistake ever again. But if you are afraid to make a mistake, you won’t ever take a chance on that combination you think might work, but are afraid of because you can’t see everything. That way you will never give yourself a chance to improve, and you will wind up making mistakes anyway!
Trust your ideas and plunge right in. If you are wrong, you will learn from the experience.
Principle 140:Mistakes tend to come in bunches.
This is partly because mistaken moves are bound to come out of mistaken plans and ideas. The mistake may not be apparent right away. This is something to be aware of any time you follow through on your plan. It is also because we tend to become discouraged after noticing that we made a mistake. Instead of shaking it off, we continue to play out of disgust or despair, and that usually leads to more mistakes.
Be aware of this tendency of mistakes to come in bunches and fight against it.
Principle 141:Afteryou’ve made a mistake, take some extra time to calm yourself and reassess the position.
This is particularly important in view of Principle 140. By taking extra time to regroup your thoughts, you have a good chance to break the tendency to make multiple mistakes and hold the mistakes to a minimum.
Taking extra time to rethink your plans after making a mistake is sometimes a game-saving device. In any case, don’t just plunge ahead and make more mistakes.
Principle 142: Don’t overlook subtle mistakes, such as taking too much or too little time fora move, carelessness in researching your openings or opponent, failing to eat right or get enough sleep, and so on.
Most of the mistakes we notice have to do with the moves of the pieces and the pawns. But of course there’s so much more to the game. If you regularly make mistakes on non-chess aspects of your game, well, you know what you have to work on.
We are human beings, with all that entails. We are not robots, or automated calculating computers. Keep your humanness and that of your opponent in mind at all times.
Principle 143: Don’t ever expect your opponent to make a mistake. This is about the worst sin you can commit during a chess game. Your plans and moves must always be made by taking into consideration the best play on your opponent’s part. Otherwise how can you expect to win? If you build your plans around poor replies by your opponent, you will only defeat weak players, and then only occasionally. On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with encouraging your opponent to make a mistake, aiming your play against his best reply, but having a nasty surprise in store in case of a natural mistake.
Give your opponent some credit. Even if she happens to be a weak player, her moves could prove to be strong.
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Best Regards my Chess Buddies 🎉🎉
