What makes a chess player 'good'?

Hi all. First post here.

This is kind of a strange question. But what do you consider the elements that make up a chess player?

For example if you were breaking down a basketball player the following would be Michael Jordan (in his prime) on a scale of 1-10.

Shooting Range: 7
Shooting Accuracy: 9
Jumping: 9
Defense: 10
Ball Handling: 8
Leadership: 9
Passing: 7

You see what I'm getting at. Those elements comprise a basketball player. The other day someone asked me what elements make up a chess player. I didnt know the real answer so I'm hoping to probe some chess peeps for the answer. Here is what I came up with but I really dont know if it's right.

Any Chess Player:

Opening Book Knowledge:
Tactical Mastery:
Endgame Mastery:
Positional Mastery:
Pattern Recognition:
Handling Pressure:

Anything you would add or take away from this list?

thanks,

crash.

1. Playing chess games
2. Never using the term "peeps" in relation to chess players.

Add psychological mastery. You need to name a grandmaster for your post to make any sense.

Originally posted by BLReid
1. Playing chess games
2. Never using the term "peeps" in relation to chess players.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/2433/candypeeps0ng.jpg

Pattern recognization and mastery of tactics are by far the most important aspects. Opening knowledge is the least important

Originally posted by BLReid
1. Playing chess games
2. Never using the term "peeps" in relation to chess players.

I think I'm going to go cry to myself because he used his local dialect on me in a chess site....

OH WAIT!!

I think I'll just post an asinine response to his questions. That'll get him for calling me a peep!



...in other words, don't be a jerk

What about:
middlegame mastery
mastery of strategy
natural talent
spacial perception
calculating/planning/reasoning ability
aggression
will to conquer
patience
basic intelligence

And how 'bout rating the different elements in order of importance?

Originally posted by crashfreze77
What makes a chess player 'good'?

First of all - he wins games.

Well, it is easy to win if you always play with inferior opponents so perhaps one should add:

First of all (ver 2) - he wins games at an unprobabilistic rate.
i.e. He tends to win when playing with strong(er) players.

Now - we have to define *why* he wins. Tactical skills etc.

Does the rating reflects how good a player is?
I don't say so but this is perhaps another discussion.

Originally posted by Draxus
I think I'm going to go cry to myself because he used his local dialect on me in a chess site....

OH WAIT!!

I think I'll just post an asinine response to his questions. That'll get him for calling me a peep!



...in other words, don't be a jerk

I think I'm offended that someone didn't take the original post seriously...

OH WAIT!!

I think I'll just post a personal insult in response to his answer. That'll get him for having a sense of humor!

...in other words, don't be a jerk

WINNING

Originally posted by crashfreze77
Anything you would add or take away from this list?

Let's not forget memory.

good players can have all kinds of different strengths compared to each others, but I think the main thing is not to suck at any area.

Basso:

Thanks, your response is pretty much exactly what I was looking for. THanks.

Being careful. Obsessively careful and precise. All great chessplayers are careful people, who examine all possibilities (and even invent some that don't exist!). That is why lots of great chessplayers are doctors in the medical and scientific fields, not because they're extremely intelligent, but because that profession requires it. You don't see too many say--lawyers or artists who are good chess players. Marcel Duschamp, a great modern artist, loved chess, but was always mediocre as a chess player. Now, you may say someone like Fischer, who was a high school dropout doesn't fit the mold. But if you look at the man, you find him obsessed with detail, a perfectionist, even paranoid about it. Some people would call it a heightened sense of danger, but that is just another name for being careful. How many times have you heard a chessplayer say, "I could have won that game if only i didn't make that one careless mistake." How true.

yeah right...