Now your brain is a caricature with crisp, accurate calculation all but a vain fantasy. What happened between those two extremes? Just the other day you were delivering cheeky mates in four, and now you’re living on the edge of checkmate. You have the same brain as last week so why did you stop performing so well? It’s inexplicable for so much to change so quickly, yet it has!

Arm wrestling is a contest of brute force. Strength remains relatively constant in this he-man-esque endeavor. If you keep following the same gym routine you’re going to go over the top of the same guy every time. If you can beat your opponent today, you will certainly be able to beat them next week. You have a right to expect that your muscles won’t let you down. You do not have the right to expect this of your brain.

Everything from low glucose levels in the blood to problems away from the board can chip away at your brainpower. Short-term mental ability is subject to forces that you can understand as well as those that puzzle even eminent neurologists. You can exercise, eat right, and do all of the correct things, but what you ultimately get out of your mind comes down to chance.

My thyroid is currently not doing its job and I am experiencing a rating downswing of several hundred points. In order to rebound efficiently, when my brain resumes working, I need to maintain my confidence level. I’ve figured out how to do that and it’s instructive.

I’ve resolved to create a separate chess identity to protect the real me. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde if you will. The human mind strives for a unitary identity and cohesion among selves. The new player is the exact opposite of the old. What happens to the new cannot affect the old.

Interestingly enough I find that it is becoming increasingly difficult to play in my old style. It appears one identity will not survive the conflict. Will I become the chess player I can be or the chess player I pretend to be? The battle continues.

Ruling my fifth-seat roost I knew little of chess, and would’ve cared still less. The boisterous cavern was filled with the snickers of granite-jawed regulars sporting dark glasses and Titleist visors. Every three minutes or so the dealer pushed a pile of white, red, green, and black chips to one of the grinning goblins.

Mostly the men breathed deeply while waiting for something good to happen. Trying too hard to get fate to notice you is impudent, ill-advised and dangerous. The constant test of patience frayed nerves and turned beards white over the days and weeks. The game left men  financially destitute; “the poker hospital” always had room for more patients. Hold Em’ put deep fissures in some people’s psyches. No one was less self-confident than a man walking away under the gaze of nine unsympathetic men. As a player’s ego incrementally crumbled they scrambled to recoup losses and respect. Subconsciously they wanted the bad decisions to end and tomorrow to be different.

I was interested in the bluffs that happened as the men cracked and revealed the human beneath the stone. “Here goes the light bill,” or “Guess I should take my kids to school,” they told us during those final all-in hands. The character that sticks out in my memory, and the only one for whom I rooted, was a man in his mid-20s they called The Sheriff.

He gained this nickname because he didn’t believe your story no matter how compelling. He was an investigative reporter, a martyr, and incredulous poker sentinel. The Sheriff called people down again and again. They named a rock after him – Gibraltar. The more he went down the better his nature became. It was a weird bit of self-flagellation. With this peculiar calling fetish he was certainly destined to lose, right? That’s how the story must end.

I was there when he got paid off on the biggest 1-2 hand I’ve ever seen at that limit. More than he could have ever lost. He uncovered his cards and blasted the table to bits. I’m not sure how much the pot held. I do remember that someone had tried to bully him off of a hand. He could disparage himself, but one else had that license.

He coaxed the massive pile into a tray, bid us a good day, and I never saw him again after that. He had talked about his non-poker designs often;I like to think he won at his future, preserving the utmost etiquette the whole time.

The Sheriff won by laying bare his own psychological unfitness for the game he loved. Your attempts to value bet him to oblivion only made his only job easier. The evaluations his opponents made piggybacked on data that he’d provided them. So the next time you lock horns remember your defense sets the tone of attacks to come.

An efficient working memory is a good indicator of overall chess aptitude. You can give a master a position from an actual game and he or she will easily be able to recreate it on a blank chess board. Novices often fumble at the same task. The reason for the disparity is the the NMs and FMs process the board in manageable chunks. For example: “The h-pawn has moved and the bishop is on f4. It’s got to be a London system.”

The titled player will remember the board’s specific features because he or she will be able to fit them into a scheme. The knight is normally on d2 in the London System, as above. The Master would most certainly see this as a “chunk” related to the overall position. If the knight went to the c3 square instead he would have registered that cluster of the board as a chunk with a weak d pawn (since the c pawn is still at home.)

So should you despair if you can’t keep disparate information in your head without losing it seconds later? Not necessarily. Masters fare little better than less-experienced players when trying to memorize made-up positions. Chess Masters are not always smarter than class players, but they do muster their resources admirably and efficiently. This is why they can immediately seize upon the important feature of a position. Much of what registers in our brain during a game of chess does not actually need to be there. This process of paring down is possible for any player to master.

When you plan, try to keep your memory from being overloaded. Break the board down into sectors and analyze each in turn. You’ll start putting your brain under less pressure and foster those conceptual ideas that separate the titled players from the everyone else.

Lionel Richie – Easy: If this man were a chess piece he’d be the king. Seriously, he called himself a Commodore and that title hadn’t been used for about a century. Nobody even bothered to call him on it. Relaxed, confident, and cool if this guy had less melody he could still be a remarkable chess player. The French call it sangfroid, but anyone’s chess benefits from a little bit more swagger.

“I’ve paid my dues to make it. Everyone wants me to be what they want me to be. I’m not happy when I try to fake it. That’s why I’m easy, easy like Sunday Morning.”

The Macho Man Randy Savage – Entrance Theme: The late Macho Man was an epic showman among epic showmen. Every time he went up to the top rope to drop an elbow you knew it was ridiculous. It did however expand your sense of possibilities. For just a second that combination that you’re putting together doesn’t look so outlandish when you think about a huge man wearing tights fighting another man dressed the same way. Take a chance with your game!

4 Non Blondes – What’s up: This song, from way back in 1992, combines expressive guitar rifts, impressive vocal range, and a positively addictive chorus. “I wake in the morning and I step outside and I take a deep breath and I get real **** ” should probably not just be your mantra for chess but for life in general. It’s difficult to get up that “great big hill of hope,” and it helps to have a tune while making the climb!

Jessie J – Price Tag: It’s not about the money. When you’re in prize contention it’s easy to play for results instead of the process. This is the easiest way to drift out of your game. Stay within yourself and love what you do! Also, I do know music from within the last two decades

Jay Z – Brush your Shoulders Off: This song made the Black Album. There is just so much here it’s impossible to know where to begin. You know you can handle anything when listening to it. It narrowly beats out “A Country Boy will Survive,” because Jay Z’s masterpiece is so widely applicable. Whoever you are and wherever you live this rags-to-riches story will mean something to you. It’s iconic, and it’s the perfect play when you’ve got a nice comfortable advantage and are trying to increase the pressure.

Honorable Mention goes to Rick Astley’s Never Gonna you Up (My rook).

Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane over the Sea: There’s something about the lead singer’s distressing warble that makes any situation better. However bad my position, it’s not so terrible that I want to wail. Also, Anne Frank definitely had it worse than you do defending the Closed Lopez.

Skillet – Never Surrender: It’s actually okay if you hang a piece too early but let’s not take these Christian gentleman too literally.

Drake – Headlines: His bio doesn’t quite compute with the underdog motif of the song, but it always helps to feel like someone’s hating on you. It’s hard to manufacture extra motivation when your game is so bad that no one’s watching your board.

Kenny G. – The Moment: The song is a masterpiece. It doesn’t have any lyrics so it’s helpful for situations involving deep calculation. Sometimes it helps to step outside of yourself. There is something about a soft saxophone that can make even a routine tactic seem epic.

The Handsome Family – The Bottomless Hole: This is not one of their best songs, but it is helpful to think about the relentless quest for more in your life. I might click over to it when I have to decide whether to swallow my pride, accepting the inevitability of a particular book draw.

So what’re your songs and how can they gave you that sudden shock to your system when you hit the wall?

Now, what I’m about to do is what any profoundly talented chess player does (at least I still have my vanity!) – offer a litany of excuses for my poor play. I stayed up quite late last evening working on some projects for clients, and my results  tonight were exactly what I ought to have expected. I played too quickly, allowed the adrenaline of a very close game carry over into the next, and did not take time to analyze positions in the fashion they deserved.  I have basically used every justification except “the dog ate my pawns.”

So, the question I’m going to pose to you today is whether or not discretion is ever the better part of valor. Should you forgo the pleasure of playing in order to step back and look at the quality of your chess from afar? It’s all about the process of clarifying what you want out of the game. I hate to lose, but yet the mindfulness that allows a player to win is conspicuously absent from my chess these days. There is some dissonance here.

Only after seeing my own question in print did I resolve to actually take the advice I’m trying to give to hang up the pieces for a few weeks. I’ll still be giving you your daily fix of chess blogging, but the next time I play I’m going to be ready. They won’t have old Chris to kick around anymore!

The game of chess, is like a swordfight

You must think first, before you move
Toad style is immensely strong, and immune to nearly any weapon
When it’s properly used, it’s almost invincible

Unfortunately, none us are invulnerable. No matter how hard your spirit is sooner or later you will lose the match. It’s what you do before that day that matters. When it comes time to attack a situation in your life don’t be heedless, but be fearless. I can remember Mike dropping out of college to work in an agribusiness. He wasn’t wearing a suit, he was hauling bags of fertilizer. It was good honest work and he loved it. Good on you buddy.

Raw I’m gonna give it to you, with no trivia

Raw like ****** straight from Bolivia
My hip-hop will rock and shock the nation
like the Emancipation Proclamation
Weak MC’s approach with slang that’s dead
you might as well run into the wall and bang your head
I’m pushin’ force, my force your doubtin’
I’m makin’ devils cower to the Caucus Mountains

There’s more than one approach to everything. If you seem to have only one option use everything inside of you to find a better approach. Early on his college career Mike got put in the exact wrong dormitory. He was a shy kid and, though he was a black belt, the things these Rock’ N Jocks said to him bothered him a lot. Without forcing them to stop, or even just deciding to take it, he continually used a sense of humor to diffuse whatever situation presented itself. It was quite a trick. I know I would have reached the boiling point. The trick of chess boxing  is to parry enough to make your strikes more effective. When he fired back with his wit he made those kids  respect a shy kid from New York with big glasses. Not bad at all.

Don’t talk the talk, if you can’t walk the walk

Phony ***** are outlined in chalk
A man vexed, is what the projects made me
Rebel to the grain there’s no way to barricade me
Steamrolling ****** like a eighteen wheeler
with the drunk driver driving, there’s no surviving

You can cultivate a presence, working the board or walking down the street, that lets everyone know you’re serious. You can use your own flaws to your advantage. If you aren’t the most popular kid in the yard hit the books and become something great. That’s what Mike did. A renegade intellectual and a free spirit I bet he would have been a confident, savvy chess player.
[Verse Three: Raekwon the Chef]
Rough like Timberland wear, yeah
Me and the Clan, and you’re the Landcruisers out there
Peace to all the crooks, all the ***** with bad looks
Bald heads, braids, blow this hook
We got chrome tecs, nickel plated macs
Black axe, ******* styles in phat stacks
I’ve only been a good ***** for a minute though
’cause I got to get my props, and win it you
I got beef with commercial-ass ***** with gold teeth
lampin in a Lexus eating beef
Straight up and down don’t even bother

Whatever you are or want to be it’s alright. You have the ability to live your life without kowtowing to other people’s expectations. Exceed each appraisal of your worth in positive ways that keep them on their toes. If they think you’re calculating three moves ahead show them you can dig deeper. Impress yourself before you worry about anyone else. Live each day like it’s your last.

Gotta get up, and be somebody!

Even your short life:

Looks like the work of a Master
Evidence indicates that’s it’s stature
Merciless like a terrorist hard to capture

Duchamp’s 1911 Portrait of Chess Players probably says even more about our game than his speech. Take a look at it here on the website of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Notice how the painting gives a shape to the inner world of the chess player. One can almost imagine how much pain they’re enduring. A chess friend of mine has to take an unhealthy dose of aspirin before competition because he would otherwise be overcome by migraines. He goes to tournaments where he spends hours mimicking mock battles between two armies. In a sense this is a singular act of will for no great purpose.

The artistry of the game rises in us from the desire to make sense of the chaos all around, and the overarching human need to do so. Without the desire to solve the insoluble problems the board presents, chess is just wooden men, and nothing more. This I concede. When, however, you begin to take what occurs over the board to heart, that is as a challenge to restore equilibrium, you invest in the game something that renders it an artistic sensibility.

By analogy I will tell you my favorite painter is Van Dyck. His portraiture, and especially his larger-than-life Christian-themed epics withstand the test of time. So important was his craft to him that he went on painting during the ravages of a plague. His mode of expression became to him more important than leaving Italy for safety. The world didn’t need another depiction of what plague looked like since life in the 17th century had no shortage of hardships. The important thing to remember is that Van Dyck himself felt compelled to continue.

So the next time you’re sitting over the board think about your own cognition. You can scoop up your pieces after the game’s first mistake and proceed with the rest of your afternoon if you so choose. Maybe the sun is shining or there’s a pretty girl waiting for you. I’m willing to bet that you’ll move your board outside if it comes to that, and tell your sweetie you’ll be a couple of minutes late. You’ve started something that has become more than just something.

When you started off your life you had nearly nothing in your neural web. All you wanted was a mother’s milk and a little companionship. Somewhere along the line, through selfish genes or something yet undiscovered, you became more than a clinging thing. You started to strive and work towards figuring out abstractions that on the surface make no sense. No other animal in the world can do what you do. No other thing in the world needs to spend its time resolving anything but the most basic of priorities. So it’s up to you. Chess and art intersect at a point of duty.

There are actually quite a few similarities between chess and martial arts. Protecting your horizontal axis is just like securing d5 and e5, though failure to do the latter is punished somewhat more torturously, over the space of hours. The biggest benefit from the comparison however is insight into how people learn. A former instructor of mine, a docent one of the one-inch punch as well as a practicing physician, has an interesting idea. We must learn in a balanced fashion and devote equal attention to play, practice, and study.

Consider three chess players, each of whom ignores two of the three in favor of the mode he or she likes the most. The first, as experienced a competitor as they will become, cannot improve the aspects of his game that rely upon fine technical understanding.  He cannot learn the Lucena or Philidor Positions without knowing what they in fact exist. His brain is constantly solving the same puzzles again and again because it has no systemization to its thinking. The online blitz specialist is a good example of this type of player.

The second player practices his openings, his endgames, and you can find him sitting evenings in front of the board, whipping his army into shape. His openings will become finely tuned and he can rely upon rote memorization to get him through the opening. He will probably turn to the Colle System or some such thing to obviate the need for study. Still, if he does not subject himself to the rigors of competition he can never become fearless. He must test his nerves over the board. He must figure out what to do after getting in his e4 push. How can he know how to make four quality moves in ten seconds to get to his next time control?

I identify with the third player. I have spent many hours with Fine’s Basic Chess Endings interpreting, plotting, learning silly rules and even sillier exceptions to the same. However, because I rarely play I am not nearly as attuned to the psychological aspects of the game as I otherwise could be. I leave many things on the table, such as the ability to discern my opponent’s plan in order to let him execute only the first half. Most importantly the one who does not play sees his love of the game wither.

Today’s lesson is to periodically remind yourself why you own a board and pieces. Today is a calculation-free day. Find a friend, take out a board, and get to having fun!

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. Qc2 O-O 7. e3 a6 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. Nge2 h6 10. Bh4 c6

After Black's 26th

27. gxh3?! Qxh3: I didn’t even consider letting the bishop sit there. As it turns out capturing was objectively the best, but I had no idea how to defend the position that emerged. So in effect I gambled that I could take the piece and survive. Notice how my greed is hurting me again and again. I displaced my queen earlier to nab a rook pawn. This allowed black major piece activity earlier and is the reason he’s still in the game. Now I decide to wing it.