Play To Improve While You Can

When I started playing chess and came across various literature one of the most important things that was highlighted to me was the importance of having an objective in my mind. Not just at the board, but in general about how to plan my tournaments and progress. Sadly external factors always prevented such an approach.

Later, as I began to coach I read books about other sports to get some ideas about planning a years schedule for my students and no surprise there too they talk off gradual progress.

Yet today many young players who have serious playing aspirations play in all sorts tournaments. These players are not playing to earn a living, so what is the point of playing in a tournament that will not give you any chance to improve your play? What’s the point of just beating some average players just so you can say you won?

After all when you are in the developing phase ratings, titles don’t mean much. Once your play improves to such a level the rating points and norms will come. But first you have to be good enough to get the points.

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Holding Someone Else’s Dream

At least in the Davis Cup you can say there is a doubles event, where two players have to definitely work together. In team chess however the points add up, you just play your game and the other guys play theirs.

However, at amateur level playing team chess is very fun, and in my country the school and club events are even more competitive than some strong opens, simply because of the loyalties involved.

I suppose this is true in most of the team competitions be it an International Team event like the Asian Teams, one of the leagues where the GMs earn an outlandish amount for a club to which they have no tie except as their employer, or a school team championship where you give your all for your alma mator – specially in the first and last groups where playing is more than just about a competitive game of chess and some times carry the hopes and dreams of many others.

So how much do you trust your teammates and how much can they trust you to get the team through? For the performance under pressure will certainly reflect the trust the team has on each other.

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