Hi all,

Greg asks:

I am playing in a Swiss System weekend tournament in a few days, and I am concerned about the amount of anxiety I feel before and during competitive events like this. I love chess, but I often become so anxious that I am often unable to think clearly and to play as well as I can. In post mortem analysis, many times I cannot even recall why I played a certain move in a given position. Have you any suggestions to help me overcome this anxiety?

Hi Greg,

Sure I can give you some advise.

• First of all: go through master The Mindset #2: The Three Stages again
• The fact that you can’t remember why you played a move in post-mortem is not a big deal I would say.
• Ask yourself also: why do I play chess? If you don’t bother about the result so much, then that is fine, just enjoy the game, if you are more result oriented, than you need to apply yourself to the best of your ability and try to use your Better Your Chess toolbox whenever you can.
• I suggest you also watch the last Master The Mindset lecture (no. 5) if you have not done so yet.
• Furthermore I suggest you keep a small chess related diary beginning a few days before the event.
  • In it you write about your chess ideas, thoughts and anxieties once per day (10-15 minutes or so).
  • Only the next day you look at what you wrote the day before and check if what you were thinking and wrote down makes any sense/has any bearing on reality. You mark the thoughts and ideas that are “emotionally colored” and replace them with more realistic thoughts.
  • Examples:
    • “I’m never able to play well during a tournament” à “Never?, that is not true, I remember this and that tournament where in fact I played a few good games so I have chances again”.
    • “I always crack up when playing a higher rated opponent!” à “So far that may have been true, but we are playing one individual game and my opponent also has chances to go wrong. Besides he may underestimate me which is in my favor. I will give it my best shot. Besides, what do I mean when I say ‘crack up?’. It makes more sense to look for the chess technical reason of my losses so far” (see also “How To Lose In Chess #3”).
    • “Ok, I’m higher rated than him. I must win this game”. à “Ok, I’m higher rated, so there is a statistical probability that I will win this game. Nonetheless I will respect my opponent and will apply myself to the best of my ability until the end of the game.”
• Make a walk before every round if possible. Walking stabilizes your over stress level and will bring you in a better state.
• Foremost, focus on the position, not on the opponent, or your tournament standings. This is why top players always say: “I take it one game at a time”.
• Do some chess technical preparation also, it normally enhances the “craving for the pieces” and your fighting spirit.
• Last but not least: Be gentle on yourself and don’t forget: you can only row with the oars you’ve got

Keep me posted and good luck!

Greetings,

Waldemar