zen, mountainbiking, chess, and childlike wonder
went mountainbiking the other day on a trail that was way beyond my ability, both technically and fitness wise. i knew it would be, but i wanted to do it anyway for two reasons: 1. so i know what that trail was about, so i know for sure it is beyond my ability and i don’t just take what is told to me as truth, i wanted to prove to myself for sure it is beyond my ability. question everything. and B. i can’t improve unless i push myself and do things beyond my ability. the only way to learn how to ride that trail is to ride that trail. i’m hoping i can someday ride that trail a bit better, i’m hoping that trail will be within my ability and i deserve to be on(?) belong on(?) that trail
the beautiful thing about that trail was the downhill parts, where i had to really really stay focused and concentrate and think. when mountainbiking on a twisty sketchy trail, your mind can’t wander, or you fall off a mountain or at least fuck up you and your bike on rocks or in cactus or against a tree (note: trees are really really hard and can crack your ribs if you hit them just right. cactus needles stick in are difficult to get out).
for me, mountainbiking is a zen practice. i have to live “in the now” and my mind can’t wander, it has to stay focused on what i am doing, my breathing, where i put my feet, all that stuff. i don’t care about bills, work, who the next president will be any of that, there is just me and the mountain. but at the same time, i have to “think ahead.” when you are on a trail, you have to look as far ahead the trail as possible, and “pre-ride” the trail in your mind, see where you are going to go. you don’t look down where you are, you look ahead where you are going to be, and you adjust now for what will be in a few seconds. the now is already gone, past, done.
to me, this applies so much to chess it’s not even a stretch for me to make it apply. first off, my mind can’t wander when i play, i have to “be present” and see what the fuck is going on on the board. i can’t think of chess when i am biking down a mountain on a trail that is barely wider than my front tire, and i can’t think of biking when i’m playing chess. obvious when i’m sitting around typing it out, but when i’m at the board actually playing chess, what is really going on in my mind? cycling teaches me to focus, teaches me to keep my mind on one task, and i need that when i play chess.
thinking ahead, mentally “pre-riding” the trail is important to be ready for what’s coming and set up to deal with whatever is ahead. my position now is important, but i have to look ahead, what will my position be in two or three moves? so i have to think of now, but also think of the immediate upcoming unavoidable future and prepare to handle that. will i need a bishop covering that square? will i need my rook on that file?
so how can i improve my chess? questions. proving to myself what is the truth. when a child learns a language, he takes it at face value, doesn’t ask why, just copies and does. i tried learning chess by taking the moves from grandmaster games as the answer, not questioning, just copying them and doing what they do. but that only lasts so long, eventually a child starts asking why. “why is the sky blue?” (cause if it were green, you wouldn’t know where to stop mowing the lawn). “why is it raining?” (cause god is crying. “why is god crying” probably something you did, now shut up and leave me alone). i have to ask why. why did alekhine move his bishop there? why didn’t he take the knight first? why did he take the pawn with the bishop and not the knight or the other pawn? why why why?
now, instead of taking every move i see as the absolute correct one, i have to ask why. i have to have that annoying childlike wonder, question each move and prove it was correct or not. doing so which will hopefully lead me to the answer, and i will learn lots of little crap along the way that i didn’t’ even know existed. and hopefully i’ll learn the game better and be stronger.
right now, a rating of 2000 is a trail way beyond my ability, and i know that. i’m hoping i will somehow learn enough to deserve to be on(?) belong on(?) that trail.
drunknknite said,
May 8, 2008 at 9:55 am
Nice. Definitely being in the zone is very important in a tournament game. It is easy to let your mind wander since the games are so long.
As far as looking ahead, I know that for me I used to get too caught up with one idea and so while planning ahead I was limiting my scope over the next few moves. So my advice to you is to try not to do this and although it is VERY important to have a plan, you should erase it each move and start anew.
Also, I think the most important aspect of the game at the lower levels is exchanging pieces. If the point is to simplify into a won ending (I know you like to attack, but oftentimes the product of an attack is a winning endgame), then you must know how to exchange and where to exchange. This is why I recommended Capablanca, he is the king of exchanging. Look at how he picks what pieces and what squares to trade on. He only allows an exchange if it helps his position.
blunderprone said,
May 8, 2008 at 10:52 am
WHY?
Because ducks have flat feet.
( shuts the kid right up… makes them think on thier own)
Ricky Knees said,
May 14, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Yes the Zone but I have to tell you that Chess players are like bass players, unapprecated by the great unwashed and misunderstood. Alot of them are ugly too but luckily im not! Im also not a typical chess player. who are, let’s face it, mostly quite nerdy. When you tell someone you play in a band they usually look quite interested, some women even get excited but when you say you play bass it’s that tumble weed moment and an awkward silence prevails. I never admit to playing chess because that’s infintely worse. You be better off saying that you were attracted to children or that you liked Michael Jackson and had all of his videos or that you attended tap dancing classes twice a week or all three perhaps. When I meet someone new, a new neighbour or say a friend of a friend invites you around their house, I check for any evidence of chess activity before I ever mention that I play. If I can’t see anything the subject is never mentioned, it just puts you in a box straight away….yes the NERD box…bastards!! It’s a beautiful game as we know, played by uglies, full of silence and fury, signifying nothing, but it means everything to win, oh yes it’s everything, it’s your whole god damn mind poured into 64 squares of hell and how sweet it is to be ….hang on that’s a song….oh stuff it.