| From | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
chessbeatswork 28-Jan-07, 13:44 |
 Beginner's MindThe author suggests that in order to truly progress in either chess or the martial arts, the student (regardless of their level of advancement) must possess and cultivate Beginner's Mind. In short, what this means is approaching each game, even each move with the perspective of a novice. Why? Because we must shed ourselves of rote thinking and preconcieved notions if we are reach our true potential. Beginner's Mind is supposed to do away with cluttered thinking (which, of course, is far different than actual analysis). I'm giong to try this over the course of my next few dozen games or so. I'll probably get thumped quite a bit, but that's okay. I get thumped quite a bit now. Perhaps introducing some zen into my chess will help. And even if it doesn't lead to invincibility, it might briong me an understanding of the sound of one hand clapping. |
||
|
Let me know Zen and chess..what a combo! |
||
|
-zoe- 29-Jan-07, 07:47 |
Interesting! |
||
|
chessbeatswork 29-Jan-07, 09:00 |
Thanks, Zrinka and Rilke In a new game that was starting with me playing the white pieces,it took me about twenty minutes to decide my first move. Usually, I just decide between 1. e4, 1. d4, or 1 Nf3 depending upon my mood. But this time I actually took the time to think of why I would want to play each of those moves. What would be their respective purpose? Eventually, I settled upon 1. d4. But not because I was 'in the mood' to play it, but because I wanted to play a game in which the accumulation of small adavtages would play a role as opposed to early, frenetic exchanges. I could have initiated a similar theme with 1. Nf3, but I not only wanted to play positionally, I wanted to establish the nature of the game more definitively. Playing 1 Nf3 allows black several replies and therefore more influence upon the nature of the opening and the game. We'll see how the game turns out. I may still lose. But at least I'll be able to say I had cleared my mind of laziness before beginning the game. |
||
|
chessbeatswork 01-Mar-07, 10:01 |
Update Ratings probably don't mean much on a site such as this. But I do not believe that it's a coincidence that I have gained 200+ points to my rating. Furthermore, while I'm still losing games, my length of game in such losses has increased. One might argue that such games were lost lon before the actual coup de grais, and that might be true. But after reviewing my game history, I see only one instance in which a massive blunder has lead to an early downfall. Rather, my losses now seem to be stemming from subtler positional errors rather than catastrophic losses of material. All in all, I feel I am playing a stronger game. I want to stress that Beginner's Mind alone has not lead to improvement. It is simply a facet of a greater whole. I've also been digesting the excellent work 'Reassess Your Chess' by Jeremy Silman, playing as many strong opponents as possible, reviewing what has worked and what hasn't in my completed games, and studying the games of the masters. Specifically, I believe practicing Beginners Mind has lead to more solid opening positions. Furthermore, and this struck me as counter-intuitive, I believe it has also improved my endgame play. This leads me to the conclusion that this facet of training pays its greatest dividends in situations that aren't especially rife with tactcal complications (i.e. the middlegame). Anyway, I'm going to continue with this and see if it continues to produce benefits. For now, I would say that anyone struggling with blunders of omission (i.e. over-looking a hanging piece, etc) or mistakes caused by playing too rapidly may want to try this and see if it helps. |
Log in 