Dream big, set goals, and don’t be afraid to fail – The 1, 2, 3 of chess success!
A very common question from chess players of all levels is why they do not improve the way they hope they would?
My answer has always been the same, no matter the ratings. The answer is:
1. Dream big and set goals! When I started playing chess, countless people told me that girls are no good in chess. They said that girls’ brains are smaller, and I can never be a grandmaster. At that time, I never dreamed to be an 1800 or 2200 player. My dream was to be a grandmaster, a world champion, an Olympiad champion. But big dreams alone were not enough. I also had to set goals, incremental goals, on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and for a lifetime. Then, I worked hard to achieve one goal at a time.
2. Don’t be afraid to fail! Everyone fails! No one succeeds every time! Too many chess players are so afraid of fail. They are afraid to lose games. They are afraid to lose ratings. Who cares? The only thing you can do is control your training. You have to trust the process, and success does not come overnight. To be fearless does not mean you have to be reckless. It just means that you have to be willing to fight, in every game, in every tournament, but fight responsibly.
3. Trust the process! Be objective with your chess assessment. Pinpoint your weaknesses. Then work on fixing these weaknesses. If you trust this process, you will succeed. Be patient!
(It’s baby me on the left of the pic)
That is good advice…no vision, no success. You have to keep believing in the best possible outcome. And you have to work around obstacles. If you do not believe that you can play the best move you will not look for it. If you do not believe that you can play perfectly, the beauty of of sharpness and brilliancies will elude you!
That is why in anything in life it is important to know where to go for the best instruction and learn.
In chess you have definetly been a great instrument in my improvement of my chess! Thank you Susan!