Staying a Pawn

I don’t have a title or anything in front of my name, but everyone does this regardless of how good or bad you are.  Ratings, word of mouth, or how a person presents his/herself are all ways in which we measure up our opponents.  How many times have you played an individual and thought to yourself, “I got this, this person has no game?”  I can’t even count how many times I have thought that.  You start playing, a good game is developing, excellent exchanges are being made, and you get that feeling that you have it in the bag…

All of a sudden that one move, that brilliant “!” move is made and your hopes and dreams are shattered.  You sit there looking at your opponent, while he/she is bathing in the glory.  A few moves latter you grab your king and gently lay it down, shame overcomes the body.

I do not know how many times I have had that feeling, the shame part.  I get it a lot and I deserve it.   Too many times I have caught myself judging players head on, just like judging a book by its cover.  Why do we do it?  If any person with a PhD in clinical psychology is reading this please enlighten me.  This is not something that happens only in chess but in almost everything that we do.

Some of the most intelligent, down-to-earth people that I have ever met in my life were people who worked the blue color jobs, like:  Janitors, maintenance personnel, skilled laborers, and the ditch diggers.  Have you ever noticed that these occupations are the backbone of the economy?  These are the people in the trenches; these are the people who do the small things that we forget to show our appreciation for.  There is a National Boss’s Day, but why not a National Custodian Day?  Why do we give credit to the elite more than we do to the peasants?

A peasant is equal to a pawn, and any chess player knows that a pawn can become a member of the elite with the right moves.  I have considered myself a pawn my entire life and I will always remain a pawn.  “Stay down with the masses and you can live with the elite.”  A former boss of mine told me that and I stick with it every day.

Thanks for reading and good luck with your games!

Pepepocoloco