Note: This is not professional chess, but amateur chess-play experience shared by the writer.
Intro
You know your opponent is weaker than you, but you also must know that even an eight-year-old can and has beaten a grandmaster! Would you underestimate your opponent? This is chess and you cannot just wing it on the board based on how weak or strong your opponent has been so far! Back in the days, rulers of kingdoms were decided by this game.
Link courtesy: Chess.com
This really happened to one of my opponents against me
For an instance, you are in a losing position and you only have luck to turn for you if your opponent makes a blunder. You play your move hoping that your opponent won’t notice it. And then your opponent notices it and you lose the game right away! Maybe if you hadn’t hoped and had wanted to see other possibilities, you might have had yourself saved the game. but you didn’t even give yourself a chance just by hoping.
Further Findings
When I find unlikely weak moves played by my stronger opponents, I sometimes ask them after the game about their why behind their moves. Some of them told me that they had hoped I would skip their trick! Then they would praise me for my play and ask me about insights regarding avoiding such situations.
When I told them about ‘hope chess’, I noticed they find it difficult to put in words about how they feel. An American once told me: ‘I didn’t think the term ‘hope chess’ was known in India!’
Well, anyway…
Play Smart, Not Hopeful
Just don’t play hope chess. Plan ahead, anticipate threats, think critically. See if there are weaknesses in your opponent’s position, and attack accordingly. Don’t hesitate to sacrifice to get to a better position. Play smart, not hopeful!
It’s like life – you cannot just hope to succeed, you work for it.
Focus on logical play, recognize patterns and give your best to stay ahead. Strategies will bring home wins – both in life and chess – not wishful thinking!
Think about Professional Chess!
Even though your opponent is weaker, you can never know what brilliancy they can come up with in tough positions. That’s why in professional chess – only preparing for a tournament isn’t enough. You need yourself to remain disciplined, flexible and bank on your spontaneous creativity to see through the games. Current world number 1 chess player Magnus Carlsen relies on instincts more than preparations – see how far this is from ‘hope chess’!
Advertisement
UGAOO Three Layer Bamboo Plant
Special Note for You
You shouldn’t expect your opponent to play ‘hope chess’ either. That way, you are lagging behind on the competitive aspect of chess, and stopping yourself from improving. You do want to beat a player stronger than you, don’t you?
Wish You the Very Best!
Don’t play hope chess. Play as brilliant as you can! You don’t have to be the number one in the world, you can be the number one for you. In chess. In life. In every move you play! In every moment you live!
-x-
Writer’s Inspiration: I wanted to address one of the common mistakes in approach towards playing chess.
How strong do you think you are as a chess player? Share in comments!
Read Worst Plan Is Better Than No Plan.
Follow me to get notified about my next chess articles!
#reading, #writingcommunity, #milyin, #writer, #today, #new, #chess, #life, #inspiring, #educational
About the Writer: He is a professional writer and a passionate student of chess.
Comments