Never Be Hard On Yourself

I see a lot of smaller rated are always looking for advice on how to become stronger and a lot of players through the ratung spectrum are hard on themselves. Some of them are also not very uncouraging and are so unwise about it. It's water off my back though. 

I remember a player here barely rated 1400 said to me, "How can you be so good?" (Presumably said in a sarcastic way) and proceeded to state, "You've lost to a 1400 before!" I went on to state why he was unwise and vapid. I said that I didn't know what planet he was on, but to think the chess player doesn't make mistakes regardless of their rating is just so uninsightful. We cannot be impervious to mistake all the time. Maybe it's board blindness, maybe you just woke up and you need to warm up. Maybe you dropped a piece by accident, that happens to me a lot. Maybe your opponent simply outplayed you, and then another minority cheat. Oh yes, I've caught a few in my time and I am sure many others have as well. 

When a 400- 800-1400 outplays you, you take it on the chin, presumably nothing foul is going on and you congratulate them. It happens. Recently someone posted up a checkmate in something like six or seven moves between some 1800 odd players. One poster in the comment section said, "How can this happen with such high rated players?" Well, simply because it does. I have seen WCM's with ratings here below the 1900 mark, do you judge them by their rating size? Some of the most complicates ganes I've played has actually been with players 1200 rating and below! Does that make me weak? No it doesn't. It just means that some people with this rating fight well above their stations.

Iv'e seen international masters have unlucky loss streaks, Grandmasters having bad focus against some particular players like they were their kryptonite. Ive seen Nakamura drop peices, Nigel short losing in obvious combinations. Seen Tal mess an exchange up again Roman (I dare not try and spell his last name). Seen Judit Polgar miss an opening tactic and nearly fell to her opponents sword. Seen Kramnik miss a mate in 1. Seen a woman master stream from chess.com, loosing to an 1800 saying "These 1800's are strong"... I remember smiling and saying to myself, "Aye and they can be even stronger at smaller ratings." And there's so much more I've seen, so losses no longer surprise me, in whatever shape or form.

But this growing idea by the community that these things shouldn't hapoen, is a huge myth that needs tk be broken here. It's pompous and arrogant by these people to play generak after the war and say that higher rated players shouldn't blunder like this. Here, I offer you a challenge if you think this way! Try get that rating, play a hundred or more games and see if you get a 100 percentile with no losses againat anyone from 400 to the 1800 mark. I can bet a good few of my coins that you won't succeed. You probay wouldn't come close to this kind of perfection. 

I've been playing for nearly a month here now on this account, and I have played 316 games, 249 I have won, 59 losses and 8 draws. I might indeed have lost to some lower rated fair and square. Some I even caught cheating, but I am proud of my score regardless. And so should you be! Never feel disheartened by a loss or even a loosing streak . Just get back on your feet and try again. There's no shame in it.

The next time you compare masters vs. novices, just remember this... "What is the difference between a master and a noob? The master has lost more times than the noov has ever won."