It is very rare that we play a game without mistakes. Always there is something to comment. Therefore it is weird to hear a player telling he is (fully) satisfied about his game or tournament. It is a normal process for every ambitious player to extract lessons. However I can imagine that some of those lessons sound like triflers. Critics can easily deteriorate into irritations as last happened on schaakfabriek.
It is neither easy to say something meaningful without irritating anybody. When a microphone is put in front of your face then there is not time to come up with a perfect answer. Carlsen mentioned e.g. in a recent interview that he only realized afterwards how badly he annoyed some people by complaining while still winning games.
Those dissatisfactions are often intensified as we take victories as something for granted. The unfortunately stopped blog of Alina L'Ami described this subject briefly but powerfully. You worked hard so it is natural that you won. Or the opponent just played too bad which made the win unavoidable. The danger is real that we sink in a spiral of negative emotions which spoils every pleasure of playing chess.
So can we never be really happy in chess? I suspect everybody experienced a seldom moment of an extraordinary good fortune. You didn't expect at all the result but fate was favorable. At one glance you forget all the misfortunes as you are ecstatic. The British Grandmaster Nigel Short recorded recently that he was so happy after winning in Myanmar that he was jumping up and down in his room. In the game he didn't exit well the opening but his much younger opponent lost the track in the complications.
For the analysis I refer to the first Chessbasereport of this tournament.
The tournament of Leuven I finished also with a bang. I defeated the Swedish grandmaster Ralf Akesson and got with 6/7 one of the main-prizes. Fate favored me. It already started with the preparation. Normally there is no time to prepare for the last round but I guessed correctly in advance the pairing. Ralf was still playing against Stefan Docx but I expected this would be a draw. Hovhanisian as the highest rated player would be paired upwards against Dgebuadze. I had the previous round black just like Stefan so the most logical was that I would have white and Ralf as opponent what also happened. As my previous game finished rather early ( see previous article) I still had a half hour to check a view things. In the end what I reviewed. also popped up at the board. An exchausted Ralf due to the marathon with Stefan was eventually not so invincible anymore for me.
The mood was afterwards of course excellent. With a TPR of approximately 2500 and 500 prize money I don't go home everyday. I couldn't suppress a smile and a clenched fist. Maybe some people consider such behavior inappropriate and insulting for the opponent but if you are ecstatic then you anyway don't think properly. In any case I immediately asked for a tasty Leffe (beer) after the game after 4 days of abstention (only one as I still had to drive by car).
As a player you cherish such special moments but I wouldn't wait for it as it can take a long time before such thing happens. I also try to enjoy the many other small things which make chess so beautiful. On my blog you can find countless examples: interferences, excelsior,.. With some good will every player must be able to find something which he enjoys. With about 180 articles this blog is probably a good place to browse around and to realize how rich our game is.
Brabo
So can we never be really happy in chess? I suspect everybody experienced a seldom moment of an extraordinary good fortune. You didn't expect at all the result but fate was favorable. At one glance you forget all the misfortunes as you are ecstatic. The British Grandmaster Nigel Short recorded recently that he was so happy after winning in Myanmar that he was jumping up and down in his room. In the game he didn't exit well the opening but his much younger opponent lost the track in the complications.
The tournament of Leuven I finished also with a bang. I defeated the Swedish grandmaster Ralf Akesson and got with 6/7 one of the main-prizes. Fate favored me. It already started with the preparation. Normally there is no time to prepare for the last round but I guessed correctly in advance the pairing. Ralf was still playing against Stefan Docx but I expected this would be a draw. Hovhanisian as the highest rated player would be paired upwards against Dgebuadze. I had the previous round black just like Stefan so the most logical was that I would have white and Ralf as opponent what also happened. As my previous game finished rather early ( see previous article) I still had a half hour to check a view things. In the end what I reviewed. also popped up at the board. An exchausted Ralf due to the marathon with Stefan was eventually not so invincible anymore for me.
As a player you cherish such special moments but I wouldn't wait for it as it can take a long time before such thing happens. I also try to enjoy the many other small things which make chess so beautiful. On my blog you can find countless examples: interferences, excelsior,.. With some good will every player must be able to find something which he enjoys. With about 180 articles this blog is probably a good place to browse around and to realize how rich our game is.
Brabo
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