May 08, 2005

Lost My Chess Tournament

I played in (and lost both games at) my first chess tourney today. The pressure was unbelievable, even when I was winning (during the second game). The 'never sure' about your moves is amplified by the addition of a clock and time and performance pressure. I need to learn to listen to the little voice in my head a bit more. Both times that I made the fatal error, I had thought about the thing that got me in trouble. In one, I had even written down a potentially saving move as an option on my scorecard. I know that I poo-pooed one potentially game turning move without adequate analysis (time pressure, or just tired after an hour of play?)...
If I want to win at tournaments, I'm going to have to work on my stamina, and also work on my own ego/assurance levels so that I don't question my self so much in the opening moves, allowing myself more time toward the endgame.
Well, I'll try not to be TOOO hard on myself, even though my first opponent was 11 years old, and he beat me....sigh. Of course, I beat myself. After giving up a pawn, I viewed my game as hopeless, and didn't try as hard as I should have. Had I hung in there, I may have been able to recover the game...but the psychology of losing that pawn to a stupid tactic (discovered attack/zugzwang combo) that I had already THOUGHT to myself that I should have moved out of before-hand, was too much for me.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Even at this age, I hate to loose. I am devoting my time to improve my chess statics. Have a look at my chess blog.