chess is so much easier when you are just watching
went to the chess club for the last time the other night, saw my friends, played a final game.
i played the grob agaisnt my friend who is super positional and strategical (is that a word?), cause that is my opening du jour, and somehow managed to win. i shouldn’t have, but i did, i got lucky. my queen and bishop came into his castle like his king was shirtless and had a mullet and my queen and bishop were cops on on a cop reality show. it was awesome. why is it i can beat a tournament player rated 1700 but i can’t beat a tournament player rated 1200? how does that happen?
so after my game, i watched my friend and another guy play. as i sat off to the side, i saw tactics that they just plain missed, good solid moves, winning moves. and this isn’t the first time, and this isn’t just me. when i used to play at my last job, we all used to joke about how sitting off to the side, you see everything. when i watch others play, i can see moves so easily, i want to jump out of my skin, stand on the chair, and point and yell “RIGHT THERE, MOVE RIGHT THERE, IT’S OBVIOUS!!!!” when i am playing, i can’t see hanging pieces or obvious threats and i lose like that’s the point of the game.
is it because when you aren’t playing, you aren’t under any pressure? i know when i (oh so briefly) fought, my best fight was when i was tired and i just didn’t care. i was loose, things moved in slow motion, i flowed. when you aren’t playing, you are relaxed, loose, you see everything.
or is it becuase watching a game is most like studying, which you spend more time doing than actually playing, so you are used to “Study vision” and when you watch others, you are in “Study mode.” you are detatched, so you see things, whereas when you are playing, you are involved and get tunnel vision.
when i am playing, sitting in front of the board, i go blind. it’s like a reverse peripheral vision. it’s like seeing in the dark, you can’t look directly at it, there is a blind spot, you have to see the board from the sides of your eyes. damn rods and cones type stuff.
from now on, at tournaments, i will play the game sitting sideways, or if i can, i will sit at the side edge of the board. or i will get up and act like a spectator of my own game. maybe then i will see the crap i miss when i am sitting and playing….
anyone reading this, have a great weekend…
Blue Devil Knight said,
August 24, 2007 at 9:20 am
Yeah, that is really weird. I have the same experience: I’m probably effectively rated 100 points higher when I’m just in the peanut gallery
n8ux said,
August 24, 2007 at 10:00 am
Years ago, when I was a young punk (as opposed to the old one i am now), I used to play standing up, and off to one side of the board. It helped, when I could get away with it.
Rich
takchess said,
August 24, 2007 at 1:37 pm
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=72632
You most likely seen it but just in case. No one should win in the Grob they just do. Sometimes again and again. I believe it is also called the Spike.
As for watching games, I think the phenom is due to most watchers scan the entire board and aren’t thinking of the game in context of what was played before. Shortcut the thought process but perhaps missing some things.
Pawn Shaman said,
August 25, 2007 at 10:44 am
“my best fight was when i was tired and i just didn’t care. i was loose, things moved in slow motion, i flowed. when you aren’t playing, you are relaxed, loose, you see everything.”
I play considerably better on painkillers. Dropping players five games in a row. Definately when you are in “slow motion” and “loose” the fog clears. I dont advocate it though, nor do I use them for pleasure anymore. Ahh the anonymity of the internet.
Wahrheit said,
August 25, 2007 at 10:42 pm
I think it has to do with what n8ux said–you see both sides of the board when you’re a kibitzer, instead of everything from your side. So a good exercise to improve is to really, really think of good moves for the other guy all game…even look at the board from behind him as long as the setup allows you to do so without disturbing him.
wang said,
August 26, 2007 at 4:53 am
Ah my friend, I believe it was Bruce Lee who said not to be worried about the outcome of a fight.. Zen in the martial arts speaks of not being too concerned over the outcome of a match, because it has already been decided, all that is left to do is have the match. I don’t think this should be taken literally, otherwise why bother to compete at anything? It is just trying to stress that we let our “briliancy” get in our own way sometimes.
When you (or at least when I) play OTB we get fixated on a certain plan or some such. We “know” that for the last five moes the action has been on the center and we won’t even look anywhere else, but in the meantime some wonderful things have been made possible on the queenside or on the kingside etc.. But we don’t see it because we are caught up in ourselves and our own plans.
I spoke to Jonathan Rowson a few years ago and I asked him what are the kinds of mistakes he makes, his answer? “Well just like anyone else I get too focused on what I’m trying to do and don’t consider what my opponent is doing” That shoked me to hell. I mean a GM has the same brain farts I do! Not as often as I do, but he and I actually shared something in common as strange as that seems. I think its part of the human condition.
I’ve taken a little mini break from chess (I’ll be studying once again this week) but I have some game analysis that I think will bear this opinion out.
takchess said,
August 26, 2007 at 7:42 am
I just play against this grob and was lucky to make it out alive. I haven’t played against a grob in months and I think I make some of the same mistakes when I first saw it. Last year I played at work with a fellow every day at lunch, It was fun we would play all muzio gambits for a few weeks and at one point we played the grob for a month.
[Event "Rated game, 20m + 6s"]
[Site "Main Playing Hall"]
[Date "2007.08.26"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Takchess"]
[Black "Jmrulez2004"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B00"]
[WhiteElo "1494"]
[BlackElo "1557"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "2007.08.26"]
[TimeControl "1200+6"]
1. e4 {3} b5 {5} 2. Bxb5 {11} Bb7 {1} 3. Bd3 {18} c5 {2} 4. Qe2 {11} a6 {82} 5.
Nf3 {12} Nc6 {2} 6. O-O {6} e6 {3} 7. b3 {10} Be7 {16} 8. Bb2 {8} Nh6 {6} 9.
Bxg7 {6} Bf6 {8} 10. Bxh6 {5} Bxa1 {3} 11. e5 {11} Nd4 {4} 12. Nxd4 {12} Bxd4 {
3} 13. c3 {5} Qh4 {3} 14. Bg7 {35} Rg8 {3} 15. cxd4 {46} Rxg7 {43} 16. g3 {2}
O-O-O {5} 17. Bxa6 {6} Qe4 {3} 18. Bxb7+ {15} Qxb7 {3} 19. dxc5 {4} Rdg8 {3}
20. Nc3 {12} Rg5 {14} 21. Ne4 {4} Rg4 {4} 22. Nd6+ {3} Kc7 {3} 23. Nxb7 {2}
Kxb7 {Jmrulez2004 resigns 1} 24. Qb5+ {(Lag: Av=3.88s, max=16.1s) 3} 1-0
takchess said,
August 26, 2007 at 7:45 am
actually for it to be a grob white has to play it first. It just felt grobish.
chessloser said,
August 26, 2007 at 11:55 am
Blue Devil Knight – somehow knowing that you feel similar makes me feel justified in feeling this way….
n8ux – well, as an old punk myself, i think i will try it….
takchess – thanks for the link. that was a cool game, and the grob can be played as black according to the book i have, and i think that was it…
wahrheit – if i’m behind him, i’m gonna be too tempted to lean over and whisper in his ear “i used to fuck guys like you in prison” (that line came from Roadhouse, with patrick swayze nad i love it)
wang – concentrating on the center, missing the action on the sides, oh man have i done that…that is a huge mistake i make…as for the zen thing, i totally understand it the match(chessgame) already decided before you get there…it makes sense to me…