| Jerry MacDonald |
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| By Joel Benjamin | |
| June 10, 2006 | |
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Dear Joel,
I started taking chess seriously 2 or 3 years ago at the late age of 30. I've been to a few national tournaments and was lucky enough to attend the Curacao chess tournament last year. I currently only have 25 rated games and my rating is embarrassingly low. When I study chess I can look at a problem and solve complex positions and find the best move. For what its worth I can also beat computer programs with ratings around 1800. However, when I enter tournaments I do very poorly even against players rated 1200. I'm attending the Las Vegas National in June where I will be in the under 1200 section. This is the first time I can compete in a rated section. I feel I should finish in the top 3, but I have nightmares of losing all my matches. I'm assuming my problems are all mental and discipline related. Do you have any suggestions on how I can approach tournaments so that my play in them reflects the ability I feel I have? Jerry MacDonaldIt is difficult to take up competitive chess as an adult and improve swiftly. No one should be embarrassed by a low rating (though I'm not real happy with mine these days). If you study and practice your rating should go up, but it may take longer than you would like. Solving complex problems indicate that you have skills to build on, but it is not the same as tournament play. No one will tap you on the shoulder and say "Psst. You have a combination now. It involves a pin and a discovered attack." It takes experience to recognize these opportunities over the board, as well as find your way to positions where you can show your tactical skills. You are distracted by thoughts that will not help you! You don't know who you will go up against in the tournament, so how can you say where you should finish? Expecting a top three finish is putting pressure on yourself, which in turn creates the nightmares that you will not reach your goals. Concentrate on learning as much as you can from your studies, don't worry about how good or bad you are. When you approach a tournament, don't try to predict your score; instead focus on playing as well as you can. Obsessing about your level is unproductive. Think only about trying to play good chess and you will not only enjoy the games more, your results will likely improve.
Joel Benjamin
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