The Psychology of Chess

Mental Toughness in Chess
Practical Tips to Strengthen Your Mindset at the Board
Sample Excerpt
www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9086a.pdf

@Letpchess said in #1:
> I am interested in what goes on in the minds of chess players when they play over the board.
Everyone knows both confidence and fear. What else is there to understand ?

@boilingFrog said in #12:
> Everyone knows both confidence and fear. What else is there to understand ?

Earlier in this forum @MrPushwood said there is a whole book about it, so I guess we both could read about it. ;-)

A whole book ... wow !

@boilingFrog said in #12:
> Everyone knows both confidence and fear. What else is there to understand ?

Change and Mindset in Chess:
A big part of chess psychology is mindset and learning how to recognize and respond objectively to CHANGE. First, you need to recognize that a change has occured and that maybe your role has changed. You need to be self-aware and self-regulate your emotions and thoughts. You also need a bit of time to re-orientiate yourself to the current actual objective situation.

Past - Present - Future Approach:
1) If you made a mistake, you park it in a parking lot and push it firmly into the PAST, you can come back to it later. Do not beat youself up about the mistake, it is past and we do not waste valuable energy on it.
2) Get yourself in the PRESENT and be aware of your emotions and thoughts. Calm yourself and address any unhelpful thoughts. (Tell yourself: I have saved many positions worse than this one. etc.)
3) Calmly and confidently address the present board position and focus only on the FUTURE.
You have adjusted your mindset to help you deal with a change.

Role of Defender
A) After a mistake, you often must take on the role of defender. You control your emotions, adapt to change, use your WILL to change your focus to defense. You want to stay objective in evaluations, keep your attention level high.
B) View defense as a opportunity to show your defensive skills, self-control and what a calm, stubborn, tough fighter you are.

Additional:
a) We are by default always sceptical of the opponents moves and adopt a show me attitude. We check carefully and we do NOT trust that the opponent has it all figured out so we do not need to work hard and challenge each move. We are aware of the intentions of our opponents moves.
b) You want to avoid following up a small mistake with a blunder because you were so upset about the first small mistake.
c) If you were worse and defending for a long time, it is a big issue to just continue the defensive mindset for the rest of the game. Often the position changes radically but we just keep playing as if we are worse when our position is now even or better.
d) Try to put the pressure or onus on the opponent. If this guy is going to win this position, he has to show me more than this.
e) Self-belief and confidence are our good friends.
f) Before a game, it may help you to visualize yourself doing well and handling all the possible challenges based on your experience and smarts.
g) Some players wear their emotions on their sleeves (shows) and their posture and noise signals the current situation or what they want you to believe. Hustle culture. With some players that I knew and figured that I could beat, I would just totally ignore their preening and acting and just play the board which frustrated some of them. After, I got to say "Well at least you talk a good game".

@Letpchess said in #1:
> The most annoying thing that happens is over-confidence. Sometimes a player has almost won the game and gets careless and loses the advantage in the end game. That can be frustrating and almost certainly impacts his next game too.

YUPP. I can feel this one.

@SaltWaterRabbit said in #16:
> Role of Defender
> A) After a mistake, you often must take on the role of defender. You control your emotions, adapt to change, use your WILL to change your focus to defense. You want to stay objective in evaluations, keep your attention level high.
> B) View defense as a opportunity to show your defensive skills, self-control and what a calm, stubborn, tough fighter you are.
>
> Additional:
> a) We are by default always sceptical of the opponents moves and adopt a show me attitude. We check carefully and we do NOT trust that the opponent has it all figured out so we do not need to work hard and challenge each move. We are aware of the intentions of our opponents moves.
> b) You want to avoid following up a small mistake with a blunder because you were so upset about the first small mistake.
> c) If you were worse and defending for a long time, it is a big issue to just continue the defensive mindset for the rest of the game. Often the position changes radically but we just keep playing as if we are worse when our position is now even or better.
> d) Try to put the pressure or onus on the opponent. If this guy is going to win this position, he has to show me more than this.
> e) Self-belief and confidence are our good friends.
> f) Before a game, it may help you to visualize yourself doing well and handling all the possible challenges based on your experience and smarts.
> g) Some players wear their emotions on their sleeves (shows) and their posture and noise signals the current situation or what they want you to believe. Hustle culture. With some players that I knew and figured that I could beat, I would just totally ignore their preening and acting and just play the board which frustrated some of them. After, I got to say "Well at least you talk a good game".

Wow! Thank you for typing all this up and @boilingFrog thanks for reviving this old forum... Still so much interests me on the topic. ;-)

@Letpchess said in #1:
>
> I would like to read more about the psychology of chess because "reading your opponent" is a really fun component of the game for me. Do you have any fun otb stories to share?

I like to wear black (could be the fact that I’m also a metal head.). Black jeans, black hoodie. I like to let my beard grow a bit before a tournament, so that I look like a 200 pound Viking. Away from the table I am courteous and friendly, but at the table, it’s all business.

@Toscani

I actually kind of like when someone misbehaves at the chess board. It sharpens my focus, because now I have an additional reason to want to win. I had one guy whip out a bacon lettuce tomato sandwich at the board and proceed to get mayonnaise on a few pawns. Keep in mind this was a nationally rated game, not just a casual club game. He had the black pieces, so the contrast between the mayonnaise globs and the pawn was stark. At that point I feel like they are disrespecting the game itself, its etiquette and its traditions. It becomes personal and this helps me focus.

I’ve dealt with child opponents who couldn’t sit still. Opponents who tap their foot. Opponents who smell like wet garbage. Opponents who start crying when I find a tactic. A girl who insisted on using her weird non-Staunton chess pieces in a nationally rated game and somehow was allowed to. Maybe the arbiter was her father.

I always congratulate those who beat me, and console/encourage those who I beat. If I could make a Karate Kid reference, before and after the game it is very Miyagi-do. During the game, it’s all Cobra Kai.

I also remember the Krogius book but also Reuben Fine, William Hartson and Pal Benko wrote chess books on psychology ... also Seven Deadly Sins is a Chess book of Note by J Rowson