16 Mar 07
I played in a cup game for my club last night. My opponent was a good player but i matched him comfortably out of the opening and reached a clearly drawn position. I mentioned to him that it looked like we were slipping towards a draw to which he agreed. I then pined my Queen behind a pawn and lost a bishop in a one move combination. I am deeply frustrated by this, i have a re-occurring habit of losing concentration for a second and blundering massively. The mistake was the kind of thing i punish in a heart beat when my opponent slips up, yet i consistently f*** up like this myself. It leaves me wanting to quit chess! No matter how much i improve, my concentration lets me down again and again and again and again and again and again....
Does anyone know of anything i can try to improve this. Perhas it is something completely separate from chess altogether, some sort of exercises i can do to improve my concentration? 🙁
16 Mar 07
Originally posted by zebanoI think sleep is an issue actually. I have a tendancy to have late nights at the weekend then early mornings duaring the week. I never quite catch up. 🙁
No idea how to fix it, but it is generally the source of my woes as well. I can recommend not playing while consuming alcoholic beverages or when running on less than 5 hours of sleep. 🙂
16 Mar 07
Originally posted by ih8sensIt isn't an issue of ability to calculate. I'm not the strongest player who ever pushed wood but on my day i can beat players of 170ECF. My opponent was 140ish. My calculation was accurate for 25 moves, then i just thew in a losing move. I didn't see it at all!! I move the piece, THEN i see it (literally on the spot, i touch my clock and see i'm losing a piece). I've been brewding over this all day, i'm so angry with myself!!! I should be past these basic BASIC errors by now! 😠
sometimes you have to 'start over' ... simply think the lines out: 'if i do this, he'll do this, then i'll do this and win a donut or whatever'
Ps: the donut thing is me first thing in the morning.. u know what i mean.
16 Mar 07
Originally posted by ih8sensI think the best thing to do when you're unsure about a move or feel that your losing concentration is to walk away from the board. Find a place in the hall (I like to step outside to get fresh air) and try to forget about the game for a minute while clearing your mind. Maybe a couple of deep breaths or anyhting that helps relax you. Then, return to the board and restart your analysis of the position. What are the imbalances, what side of the board do I want to play on, what positions would I like to reach, etc.
sometimes you have to 'start over' ... simply think the lines out: 'if i do this, he'll do this, then i'll do this and win a donut or whatever'
Ps: the donut thing is me first thing in the morning.. u know what i mean.
If you felt the game was heading toward a draw, then you would want to focus on moves that solidfy your position without giving the opponent any counterplay.
16 Mar 07
Originally posted by 93confirmedThat's the problem! I don't feel like i'm losing concentration. I think i'm playing the best move. My mind is holding future positions and i lose focus on the actual position.
I think the best thing to do when you're unsure about a move or feel that your losing concentration is to walk away from the board. Find a place in the hall (I like to step outside to get fresh air) and try to forget about the game for a minute while clearing your mind. Maybe a couple of deep breaths or anyhting that helps relax you. Then, return to t ...[text shortened]... want to focus on moves that solidfy your position without giving the opponent any counterplay.
Sicillian Samug (James) has come down to my club this year and he's scored really really well! When we play together there's really not much in it at all, we're effectively the same level. But when we sit down for a club game he wins and fulfills his potential where as i let myself down. I don't understand why my performance for my club is so poor. I have three years more experience but he'll out grade me iby the end of his first season. My ability to blow a position is just unbelievable, i have about 20 losses this year, 18 of which are my own fault! (One move blunders!!!) I'm playing people who are weaker than my opposition here at RHP. I should be graded 130 at least, by the looks of things i'll be sub 100 next season. That works out at about 1400, which is just pitiful. 🙁
16 Mar 07
Originally posted by briey1I was told this once by a member of my club. I've tried it in the past but it became a distraction in itself as my hands went numb. 😉
I dont know if this will work for everyone, but the late great Tony Miles used to sit on his hands when playing, giving him that extra few seconds to spot stupidities while he untangled them from under his butt.
16 Mar 07
Originally posted by Marinkatombhow about a rudimentary systematic thought process? at least a blunder check. -it's incredibly hard to break out of the habit of ad hoc thinking, but it's possible.
Does anyone know of anything i can try to improve this. Perhas it is something completely separate from chess altogether, some sort of exercises i can do to improve my concentration? 🙁
no amount of concentration or focusing will make you catch every oversight, but a systematic thought process pretty much will. it's just that our inherent laziness will fight it every inch of the way.
I've heard of people using one even in blitz... like here:
http://www.chessandpoker.com/introduction_to_blitz_chess.html
dan heisman also has some interesting thoughts on it:
http://www.jeremysilman.com/chess_thinking_cap/archive.html
16 Mar 07
Originally posted by wormwoodExcellent! Thank you, that's really helpful. 🙂
how about a rudimentary systematic thought process? at least a blunder check. -it's incredibly hard to break out of the habit of ad hoc thinking, but it's possible.
no amount of concentration or focusing will make you catch every oversight, but a systematic thought process pretty much will. it's just that our inherent laziness will fight it every inch of ...[text shortened]... ome interesting thoughts on it:
http://www.jeremysilman.com/chess_thinking_cap/archive.html
16 Mar 07
Originally posted by MarinkatombI don't know about your other games and the situation then but from what you posted in this game, it might have to do with mentioning the drawish position.
I played in a cup game for my club last night. My opponent was a good player but i matched him comfortably out of the opening and reached a clearly drawn position. I mentioned to him that it looked like we were slipping towards a draw to which he agreed. I then pined my Queen behind a pawn and lost a bishop in a one move combination. I am deeply frustrat ...[text shortened]... separate from chess altogether, some sort of exercises i can do to improve my concentration? 🙁
Some people relax when they reach a drawish position or when a draw is offered and they continue playing for a few more moves. Mistakes happen then since you are relax and are thinking at least I still have a draw available.
I know from my games, once someone offers me a draw or I offer them one, I start to relax thinking it's a draw and they do also.
There's a trick (not sure of a good word. It's nothing specatular but works sometimes) we like to use at our club but I don't want to mention it here. Maybe If I meet you guys OTB one day, I do it to you 🙂 I learnt if from a master but I know a lot of players do it even at the higher levels around the world. I've seen it in their games now and then. It's all about the players mindset.
I heard of other people blundering after a draw offer so there could be some truth to that?