It’s in your head

Federer has reached the point where he can no longer beat Nadal
Joe Posnanski
SI.com – USA

I know how Roger Federer feels. For years, I could not beat Priest Holmes in chess. You might remember Holmes, the star running back for the Kansas City Chiefs, the guy who led the NFL in rushing in 2001, the guy who seemed to score three or four touchdowns every week when you were playing against him in fantasy football. We had a weekly chess match for a while.

And I could not beat him.

This was hard to take because, for the most part, our chess talents appeared to be pretty evenly matched. We both knew the basic moves. We both had fairly simple strategies. Plus, I come from a chess family — my father won something called the Cleveland Chess Open one year. I am sort of the Pete Rose Jr. of chess.

But I could not beat him. And when he was asked about his chess dominance at a public function, Priest smiled and said: “Well, we’re about the same. Except he chokes.”

Truth hurts. I did choke. I would have him beat, and then I would make some sort of major mistake. I would build a huge advantage and he would wiggle out of it and pull off some sneaky and decisive move*. It was horrifying. I could not beat the man.

*Usually with his bishop. Priest loves the bishop.

Here is the full article.