It Isn't About the Moves by Glenn Bidari

The following article is written by Glenn Bidari, one of the strongest chess players in the Las Vegas Chess Club.  It's a fasinating insight into the mental aspect of the game!

This chess fight isn't about the moves. This fight is a battle of wills. The moves are just the effect produced by the clashing of wills. You can feel who is on top at any moment in time. The secret is to be AWARE at ALL times of whose will is stronger. If gone unrecognized or unmanaged the pendulum of wills can swing back and forth, or just loom against you the whole time. But if you're aware you can control the outcome. Let me explain:

Say you sense his determination and confidence is greater than yours. You are feeling a certain uneasiness within you, almost like you know you're about to lose if you allow this vibe to remain inside you. Remain calm and acknowledge the situation for what it is (he's winning the battle for the moment). The good news is you can do something about it. Whatever energy you have within you, summon all of it. Breathe deeply, splash cold water on your face, do push-ups, run down the hall, pour caffeine into your body, do WHATEVER IT TAKES to snap yourself into a higher level. Then dig deeper and push like you've never pushed before in your life. Guess what? An amazing thing will happen. That uneasy feeling suddenly is gone. You feel stronger, like you're in command now. Stay in this vibe by continuing to push yourself.

Think of it as an effort contest. Whichever one of you is pouring it on harder within yourselves, is winning. Both of you are pushing at a certain rate inside your bodies. This battle between you comes down to desire and will. His will is churning at a certain rate, so is yours. Invisible forces are at work here. You must keep pushing full blast because if for one moment you ease up, he will put you on your back and not let you up. That's why it's so important to make sure you're pushing harder than him at all times. The best indicator that you need to dig deeper is if you start to feel uncomfortable, your confidence slipping. That to me is simply my body telling me that I need to exert more will.

Personally, when I find I am in the wrong frame of mind before a game I get into high gear by fast forwarding myself in time and imagining what it would feel like if I lost the game.  For example, I picture the handful of annoying people coming up afterward with sinister delight asking me “what happened?!” (I hate when they do that). I think about the times how disgusted I felt with myself when I lost a game knowing I didn’t give it my all. I also think about the joy it gives me to play a really nice game.

If your opponent is higher rated than you, don’t worry. It doesn't matter who your opponent is. I find it helps to just think of him as a generic opponent in which the main goal is to simply push harder than him. If he starts slamming his pieces, you don’t need to do the same, otherwise you’re playing HIS game and your focus has been diverted. The only thing you need to concern yourself with is your inner game, the physical going on inside you. If he's pushing at an 80, you need to push at least 90. This does two important things; it elevates the quality of your moves, and for reasons I cannot fully explain it decreases the quality of his moves! So just remember to control the physical side of yourself and you control the outcome. Keeping this powerful knowledge in mind and applying it will do amazing wonders for your chess.