Many people use the word "psychology" to refer to 'gamesmanship',
or perhaps to the familiar failings of attention or attitude during
play. For example, I have written and collected material elsewhere
From The Master Game, Book 2, Jeremy James and
William Hartston (1981). London: BBC.
'Chess,' said the Dutch grandmaster, Jan Hein
Donner, 'is as much a game of chance as blackjack; or tossing
cards into a top hat.' There was a pained silence, then a
polite babel of disagreement: it was a game of the utmost skill; a
conflict between disciplined minds in which victory would
inexorably go to the more perceptive, the more analytical player; a
duel of the intellect in which luck played no part. Donner
"There is really only one mistake in chess -
underestimating your opponent"
-- TARTAKOVER
I found this session hard to prepare, and might try again! I have
tried to find mistakes that are typical of a
certain level of player - that is, mistakes of a characteristic
kind, that better players no longer (or only rarely) make.
The hope is that these are the sorts of error most easily
avoided. This document is subject to two caveats:
I am occasionally asked, "What's the best way to improve my
chess?". Other than practice, I warmed to Kenneth
Sloan's reply to a similar query on the newsgroups:
THE ENGLISH SCHOOL OF ANALYSIS:
"The word "combination" means different things to different people."
"... I bid farewell to my readers in the hope that they have formed their own opinion as to the meaning of the word "combination"."
The Chess Combination from Philidor to Karpov
"(3) 'IS IT A SYSTEM...?'
... Ultimately, I suspect, this is a question about which the reader should form his own judgement by study of the original text."
![[cool tip]](/chessx/cool_cat.gif)
