Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Chess Around the Net

Over the last few evenings of doing tactics and playing chess, I noticed that I do really well at the beginning ... I'm confident, sure, determined. And then as the tactics roll by, I begin to mentally break down. I notice my thinking isn't so clear.

Today I read an interesting article about the "hardcore sport" of chess. One participant in a recent high school chess tournament said the following,

"You know that feeling you get after you run for a really long time, and you're just so tired and can't even stand? That's how I feel after a meet like this, except it's my mind and my head. I have to do so much thinking."

I think just as in physical sports, we have to build up our endurance ... our mental endurance in chess.

Here is a post with some pictures of the "Charlemagne" Chess set ... very interesting.

Wow ... what an entry!

Cast-iron chess clock.

1 comment:

  1. I don't do tactical training like you - but I do play blitz on FICS every couple of days, sometimes more sometimes less, sometimes for an hour or two. When I do this - sometimes I get into a mental flow with chess, and my rating goes up toward 2000. Other times it's decline and fall, and I bob back down to 1800.

    In other words - sometimes repetition brings flow - other times fatigue. I don't know why, alas.

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