Too many people worry too much about ratings. They get nervous when they play opponents much higher rated and they get cocky when they play opponents much lower rated.
My advice is DO NOT bother with ratings. Ratings are ONLY numbers. Numbers DO NOT beat you. Each player starts out with the same amount of materials. Therefore, play the position on the board and not the ratings.
My rating may be lower than some GMs. So what? If they want to win, they have to beat me. If they do then they deserve it. I am not going to give away the game because of nervousness.
Remember, play your game and improve your weaknesses. Do not worry about the ratings of your opponents! Good luck!
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
You’re so right! Kudos!
Something I do to help with this is to not write down my opponent’s rating on my scoresheet until after the game is over.
Ows!
But in the recent NYC Mayor’s Cup you claimed you were not expecting that much because your rating is 100 lower than the lowest rated opponent.
Now you are telling us to “not be wary” about the higher rated opponent?
Its either you are sincere or you are carrying a false humility in your head!
Get real.
Hey moron! She fought every game at the Mayor’s Cup. She didn’t chicken out like many other top players. What did she say that is different? Stop trolling! Idiots like you make chess players look bad.
Vlad, why get so crazy over some nut? He’s the kind of people who probably hate anyone who is better than he is especially women. Forget about that loser! He didn’t have the guts to post his name.
Vlad and ChessDad65, thanks but I am used to this kind of attack. I am not even sure what this poster is talking about.
Just because I did not have any expectation going into the Mayor’s Cup, it did not mean I was not going to fight in every game.
Best wishes,
Susan Polgar
http://www.PolgarChess.com
http://www.SusanPolgar.com
Susan, you are right about stressing over ratings. It seems de rigueur that ratings are the alpha and omega of chess players. Of course, I wish I had a high ranking like you, but I play the game for fun, not numbers.
Susan you are so correct. Ratings are only statiscal data of your PAST play, not how you will do in the present and future. I would like to share with my fellow Susan bloggers a new book I just bought, C.J.S. Purdy’s “Fine Art of Chess Annotation and Othe Thoughts” Volume 2. I love his books. He was the first Correspondence World Champion and one of the best analyst who explains for us club level players the secrets of chess. His articles on how to think at the board would raise everyone’s play a whole class. He gave great practical advice on chess. I am a big fan of his as you can tell, I have all of his books and Bobby Fischer himself studied all of this chess articles and said he is one of the greatest teachers alive.