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Teach yourself to be a Resilient Tournament Player

Thanks. This will help a bunch in grade nationals.

Thanks. This will help a bunch in grade nationals.

Is this the one in Florida?

Is this the one in Florida?

although I have never played an OTB tournament, I can tell you that despite my 50,000 tournament points I learn something every day. I would say that playing a lot helps remove the bad emotions of defeat, but I don't recommend that to everyone because I no longer have any emotions in victory either, I only take pleasure in the quality of the game himself.

Since i blog too, I like to talk about motivation and yeah, I hate plans, but dear fellow blogger, I must say that I lose nothing by trying! I will be the first to try this on the intensive practice of online tournaments!

although I have never played an OTB tournament, I can tell you that despite my 50,000 tournament points I learn something every day. I would say that playing a lot helps remove the bad emotions of defeat, but I don't recommend that to everyone because I no longer have any emotions in victory either, I only take pleasure in the quality of the game himself. Since i blog too, I like to talk about motivation and yeah, I hate plans, but dear fellow blogger, I must say that I lose nothing by trying! I will be the first to try this on the intensive practice of online tournaments!

nice ai generated image :)

nice ai generated image :)

I played in a otb tournament recently where I had won my first 4 rounds. On my 5th, I played someone a lot younger than me and got a good position where I had two options. Either I could stay solid or sacrifice a piece which I calculated would result in a mate. Unfortunately, my opponent switched the move order, resulting in a position where I was much worse(though only down a pawn) and he was attacking my king. After many moves, and a lot of thought, I managed to defend myself into a equal rook and pawns endgame. I offered a draw to my opponent a few times and he declined. Eventually, we both had two pawns on opposite sides of the board but mine was only 2 squares away from promotion. This time, he offered me a draw and I decided to decline, not wanting to waste all my effort(it was a 100+10 game). Afterwards, I blundered into a tactic where he took my pawn with his rook which caused my own rook to be undefended and his passed pawn was too far away. I was really angry and sad but in the three hours between rounds I read a book(non-chess related), ate, and bounced back. In the next and finally round, I defeated my opponent with a great attack in a symmetrical alapin sicilian position which resulted in me finishing with 5/6 points. The opponent I lost to in the previous round had lost in the final round so we tied for first and split the prize although he did get the trophy due to better tiebreaks. This taught me that I should not let my mood swing when I the game changes as I did when I had to desperately defend and then found myself in a possible win. This also taught me perseverance and that you should continue to try your best even from a devastating loss. If you read this far, thanks and I hope you learn from my mistake.

I played in a otb tournament recently where I had won my first 4 rounds. On my 5th, I played someone a lot younger than me and got a good position where I had two options. Either I could stay solid or sacrifice a piece which I calculated would result in a mate. Unfortunately, my opponent switched the move order, resulting in a position where I was much worse(though only down a pawn) and he was attacking my king. After many moves, and a lot of thought, I managed to defend myself into a equal rook and pawns endgame. I offered a draw to my opponent a few times and he declined. Eventually, we both had two pawns on opposite sides of the board but mine was only 2 squares away from promotion. This time, he offered me a draw and I decided to decline, not wanting to waste all my effort(it was a 100+10 game). Afterwards, I blundered into a tactic where he took my pawn with his rook which caused my own rook to be undefended and his passed pawn was too far away. I was really angry and sad but in the three hours between rounds I read a book(non-chess related), ate, and bounced back. In the next and finally round, I defeated my opponent with a great attack in a symmetrical alapin sicilian position which resulted in me finishing with 5/6 points. The opponent I lost to in the previous round had lost in the final round so we tied for first and split the prize although he did get the trophy due to better tiebreaks. This taught me that I should not let my mood swing when I the game changes as I did when I had to desperately defend and then found myself in a possible win. This also taught me perseverance and that you should continue to try your best even from a devastating loss. If you read this far, thanks and I hope you learn from my mistake.
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Interesting topic - one thing I would note is that growth mindset is controversial, and there is conflicting evidence as to whether it exists. I guess it depends on how you define it - I would say that a growth mindset is one that believes intelligence and talent themselves are malleable, whereas a fixed mindset says that they cannot be altered.

This is in contrast to the "I'm bad at rook endgames" examples in the blog post, which would be something that anyone could improve regardless of their natural ability.

It might be better to simply focus on motivation - regardless of how talented you are at something, if you work harder you will improve with purposeful practice.

Interesting topic - one thing I would note is that growth mindset is controversial, and there is conflicting evidence as to whether it exists. I guess it depends on how you define it - I would say that a growth mindset is one that believes intelligence and talent themselves are malleable, whereas a fixed mindset says that they cannot be altered. This is in contrast to the "I'm bad at rook endgames" examples in the blog post, which would be something that anyone could improve regardless of their natural ability. It might be better to simply focus on motivation - regardless of how talented you are at something, if you work harder you will improve with purposeful practice.

Generally, i would say it is important never to leave the "problem solver" mindset. As in, usually in games, you are focused on winning and taking the appropriate steps. But when you dislike your opponent (as an example), you might have thoughts like "I mustn't lose to this opponent, if I lose, he will mock me" and that takes mental capacity from your problem solving skills.

Generally, i would say it is important never to leave the "problem solver" mindset. As in, usually in games, you are focused on winning and taking the appropriate steps. But when you dislike your opponent (as an example), you might have thoughts like "I mustn't lose to this opponent, if I lose, he will mock me" and that takes mental capacity from your problem solving skills.