How do you feel about making mistakes? Annoyed with yourself? Frustrated enough to start self flagellation and wearing jaggy nettle underpants? Thinking of buying a bed of nails etc etc Well consider the unfortunate young lady in this game below FIDE rated Deimante Daulyte (2395) from Lithuania. She under pressure has a winning position, but sensing that she needs only a draw envisions that a perpetual would be enough to see her through to the next round. She not only misses a simple mate in one but also hangs her queen in the process, a blunder of truly epic proportions. Unfortunate kid, this will haunt her if she doesn't quickly come to terms with it.
What do we learn? that pressure makes people do strange things? That playing for a draw is rarely if ever a good idea? Yes and yes, but also that we are human and prone to aberration. Its illogical and unreasonable to think that we will not make mistakes. This realisation frees us from beating up on ourselves and becoming despondent or from egotism which sullies the enjoyment of so many who have yet to divorce their egocentricities from events on the chess board.
The above is what she looks like, below is how she felt.
