Personal Life and Chess

I've been going through something over the last week which has been emotionally tolling. One thing I noticed is that I've dropped 100 rating points over the last week, and that doesn't seem to be a stopping trend. I feel like my board vision is worse. I'm losing most of the games I've started over the last week and the games from before that I was winning seem to be turning in a lot of instances. Anyone else experience anything similar to this? I know your Chess ability is probably tied in with your mental state however I didn't think it was this drastic...

Originally posted by amolv06
I've been going through something over the last week which has been emotionally tolling. One thing I noticed is that I've dropped 100 rating points over the last week, and that doesn't seem to be a stopping trend. I feel like my board vision is worse. I'm losing most of the games I've started over the last week and the games from before that I was winning se ...[text shortened]... y is probably tied in with your mental state however I didn't think it was this drastic...

Very interesting. My chess playing gets good and bad I haven't connected it to emotional states. But interesting to think about.

Originally posted by yo its me
Very interesting. My chess playing gets good and bad I haven't connected it to emotional states. But interesting to think about.

Yes emotional and physical state have a huge impact on your playing level.

Originally posted by MetBierOp
Yes emotional and physical state have a huge impact on your playing level.

In which way then? If you're fed up do you play like loosing is an option and happy play looking at the board with options flowing through your mind with every piece?

Well think of it this way. Have you noticed that when people have bad tournaments they often have very, very, very bad tournaments? This is due to the emotional state of a player. One defeat often lends itself to another, and it often leads to a drastic decrease in rating. Being emotionally ready is almost as often as being physically ready to play chess

Originally posted by yo its me
In which way then? If you're fed up do you play like loosing is an option and happy play looking at the board with options flowing through your mind with every piece?

if you dont have a clear mind (that is, clear of emotions), it's very hard to play up to your normal level. Your mind may wander off at times during the game, or, when its worse, you actually dont feel like playing at all.

A relative of a friend of mine had died suddenly, and at first said friend just wanted to play his game at the weekly chess club evening. His play was good, he achieved a completely winning position, but then his mind began to wander.. he made a slip, still had a winning position, and suddenly didn't feel like playing anymore. He offered his opponent a draw, which was refused, upon which he resigned..

Physical state is mostly important for tournaments; playing long games day after day is bound to make you tired, which in turn effects your play.

Ofcourse, these both don't really apply to correspondence chess because you can simply postpone making a move if you're tired or you don't feel well.

Originally posted by amolv06
I've been going through something over the last week which has been emotionally tolling. One thing I noticed is that I've dropped 100 rating points over the last week, and that doesn't seem to be a stopping trend. I feel like my board vision is worse. I'm losing most of the games I've started over the last week and the games from before that I was winning se ...[text shortened]... y is probably tied in with your mental state however I didn't think it was this drastic...

its an incredibly interesting question, i heard a Kramnic interview in which he described chess as an emotional experience, and observing Kasparov when he is playing, his face betrays many emotions, perhaps this is also the appeal, that duality that makes chess so interesting, intellectual and emotional content, who could desire more?😀

Originally posted by amolv06
I've been going through something over the last week which has been emotionally tolling. One thing I noticed is that I've dropped 100 rating points over the last week, and that doesn't seem to be a stopping trend. I feel like my board vision is worse. I'm losing most of the games I've started over the last week and the games from before that I was winning se ...[text shortened]... y is probably tied in with your mental state however I didn't think it was this drastic...

I can't respond to your comment directly, but I did a study once that showed a player's performance fell by nearly 200 points when he was awake for more than 18 hours. Activity did not seem to matter -- just hours without sleep. I'm seen similar studies recently concerning the danger of 16 hour shifts for people in the medical profession, e.g., nurses and doctors. I remember reading once that Bobby Fischer would not eat sweets during a match and drank apple juice for slow sugar intake.

the drop in my rating coincided with some difficult times, i think your state of mind almost certainly has an affect on how well you play

Originally posted by soulby
the drop in my rating coincided with some difficult times, i think your state of mind almost certainly has an affect on how well you play

I think one should not play if one feels that he/she is emotionally not doing good...

One should take a break for a while, enjoy little things in life (other than chess for the time being) and then come back for a few good games... Win or Lose shouldn't matter when you play!!! 🙂

>> but I did a study once that showed a player's performance fell by nearly 200 points when he was awake for more than 18 hours.

That's really interesting. Do you have any links to your study? I have certainly noticed that when I'm making blunders at the board I can almost always trace it back to a bad night of sleep or having to get up extra early on a particular morning. In fact, I have also noted that my playing is significantly better in the morning as I'm enjoying my first cup of coffee. Playing after a long day of work often negatively impacts my performance.

Scott

Originally posted by smrex13
That's really interesting. Do you have any links to your study? I have certainly noticed that when I'm making blunders at the board I can almost always trace it back to a bad night of sleep or having to get up extra early on a particular morning. In fact, I have also noted that my playing is significantly better in the morning as I'm enjoying my first cup ...[text shortened]... coffee. Playing after a long day of work often negatively impacts my performance.

Scott

well we're not machines, of course one's mental acuity is affected by multiple internal & external factors. and it doesn't have to be all or nothing, our mental state goes through cycles of peaks and valleys, both intra day as over one's lifetime.

Yeah, whenever I play in a bad mood, I play terribly, because I get impulsive and play uncalculated threatening-looking moves to "punish" the other player...