The will to win in chess. Level: Amateur
Chess has a concept called "keeping the game alive." It refers to choosing continuations that contain problems difficult enough to be wrong or inaccurate when trying to solve them or avoiding continuations that lead to easy-to-solve problems.
The problems do not have to be similar, and the degree of difficulty may vary. For example, it can be a challenging position that needs extensive calculations, a simple position that demands a lot of precision, or a position where it is not easy to find a game plan. The point is that there is a degree of difficulty sufficient to assume that inaccuracy or error may occur.
Another way of understanding "keeping the game alive" is that there is a degree of activity and no consolidation to be foreseen; that is, when there's nothing to make a play against. The task is not straightforward because the activity tends to disappear.
The will to win is associated with names such as Alekhine, Tal, Korchnoi, Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, and Carlsen, to name a few. But we don't see that they play similarly when we reproduce their games. Instead, the common denominator is the will to go deep into the position to extract the continuations that lead to more complex problems for the opponent, accepting that one must solve the same problems without guarantees of success:
Perhaps the most challenging part of playing to win is that, at times, it implies discarding the precise idea because it leads to positions with no realistic chance of triumph. This is contrary to what we are taught as beginners, which is to play as well as possible. Instead, the continuation is chosen where the opponent has more difficulty playing well. The point is that not playing accurately increases the chances of losing.
How do you keep the game alive against the world's number one?
Few players have made more impression on me than Azerbaijani GM Vugar Gashimov (1986 – 2014). He had a very particular style of play, combining a surprising vision and positional understanding with original and innovative ideas, intermingled with a deep will to win. Despite suffering from a severe illness since adolescence, he reached sixth place in the world ranking, and, as a testament to his character, it is difficult to find a photo where he does not smile.
The next game comes from the first round of his last tournament (he died less than two years later, at 27). Faced with the world's number one, he chooses a solid and strategic defense looking for a counterattack in the middle game. Carlsen responds with a solid recipe to limit the rival counterplay. Gashimov can equalize several times, but he rejects them because they lead to drawing. Instead, he finds a way to produce a double-edged game, where if Carlsen wants to win, he will have to take risks too. In an adamant middle game, Gashimov miscalculates and falls into trouble. From here, the sensible thing was a tenacious defense seeking a draw. Still, Gashimov's move 44 exemplifies the meaning of the will to win by extracting as much as possible from the position and taking risks in search of victory.
