The Psychology of Chess

@Le_Patzer83 said in #19:
> I like to wear black (could be the fact that I’m also a metal head.). Black jeans, black hoodie. I like to let my beard grow a bit before a tournament, so that I look like a 200 pound Viking. Away from the table I am courteous and friendly, but at the table, it’s all business.
>
> @Toscani
>
> I actually kind of like when someone misbehaves at the chess board. It sharpens my focus, because now I have an additional reason to want to win. I had one guy whip out a bacon lettuce tomato sandwich at the board and proceed to get mayonnaise on a few pawns. Keep in mind this was a nationally rated game, not just a casual club game. He had the black pieces, so the contrast between the mayonnaise globs and the pawn was stark. At that point I feel like they are disrespecting the game itself, its etiquette and its traditions. It becomes personal and this helps me focus.
>
> I’ve dealt with child opponents who couldn’t sit still. Opponents who tap their foot. Opponents who smell like wet garbage. Opponents who start crying when I find a tactic. A girl who insisted on using her weird non-Staunton chess pieces in a nationally rated game and somehow was allowed to. Maybe the arbiter was her father.
>
> I always congratulate those who beat me, and console/encourage those who I beat. If I could make a Karate Kid reference, before and after the game it is very Miyagi-do. During the game, it’s all Cobra Kai.

Love the karate Kid references... I would have lost it with the mayonnaise though... not cool...sheesh!

@ThunderClap said in #20:
> I also remember the Krogius book but also Reuben Fine, William Hartson and Pal Benko wrote chess books on psychology ... also Seven Deadly Sins is a Chess book of Note by J Rowson

More literature for us @boilingFrog
;-D

It really depends on the situation. A couple months ago, I was playing in state, and I had a relatively large advantage (computer said ~2.8 ish), as I had a lot of pressure on his position and his pieces were relatively passive. I pressed my advantage by moving my bishop closer to the king. However, after 20 seconds of thought, I realized that one of his bishops from the other side of the board was controlling that square - I just hung my bishop. In a state game. My opponent saw my reaction, and immediately capitalized on my mistake. I played on for about 15 moves or so but when more trades were forced, it became clear that I was just clean down a piece, so I just resigned.

I'll try to find my notation for the game, and I'll be back once I do (or don't).

For overall psychology, I would pay attention to your opponent's eyes and how hard they slam the clock. If their eyes expand slightly and go back to normal, that means they were surprised for something, so watch out for certain combinations. If they slam the clock harder and they're not in time trouble, it's probably a sign that they're either in trouble or just calculated an unpleasant line for them. It does vary from opponent to opponent, though. In another game at state, I played this girl who calculated like an absolute engine, and showed absolutely no emotion throughout the entire match. Never even left the chair to spectate any of the other games, either. She told me after the game that her parents taught her to calculate lines 20 moves deep. In that specific game, I played what I thought was a nice knight sac, but didn't calculate deep enough. She blitzed out the next 9 moves and ultimately won the knight back for a pawn.

In conclusion, it really depends on the opponent, but signs can make or break your game, too.

@Imagodsobeit said in #23:
> It really depends on the situation. A couple months ago, I was playing in state, and I had a relatively large advantage (computer said ~2.8 ish), as I had a lot of pressure on his position and his pieces were relatively passive. I pressed my advantage by moving my bishop closer to the king. However, after 20 seconds of thought, I realized that one of his bishops from the other side of the board was controlling that square - I just hung my bishop. In a state game. My opponent saw my reaction, and immediately capitalized on my mistake. I played on for about 15 moves or so but when more trades were forced, it became clear that I was just clean down a piece, so I just resigned.
>
> I'll try to find my notation for the game, and I'll be back once I do (or don't).
>
> For overall psychology, I would pay attention to your opponent's eyes and how hard they slam the clock. If their eyes expand slightly and go back to normal, that means they were surprised for something, so watch out for certain combinations. If they slam the clock harder and they're not in time trouble, it's probably a sign that they're either in trouble or just calculated an unpleasant line for them. It does vary from opponent to opponent, though. In another game at state, I played this girl who calculated like an absolute engine, and showed absolutely no emotion throughout the entire match. Never even left the chair to spectate any of the other games, either. She told me after the game that her parents taught her to calculate lines 20 moves deep. In that specific game, I played what I thought was a nice knight sac, but didn't calculate deep enough. She blitzed out the next 9 moves and ultimately won the knight back for a pawn.
>
> In conclusion, it really depends on the opponent, but signs can make or break your game, too.

I play some opponents pretty regularly over the board and I love that I can read their tells when they mess up. They are so much stronger than me that their blunders are my only hope!

@Letpchess said in #24:
> I play some opponents pretty regularly over the board and I love that I can read their tells when they mess up. They are so much stronger than me that their blunders are my only hope!

Sometimes I legitimately bluff a tell! If I know it is some well hidden theoretical trap I’ll subtly throw out tells as if I blundered. Ha ha ha!

@Letpchess said in #24:
> I play some opponents pretty regularly over the board and I love that I can read their tells when they mess up. They are so much stronger than me that their blunders are my only hope!

I go for a fake think too before I play the “blunder”. If it’s a 90/30 game I’ll think for 5 minutes. Act all indecisive. Then I play the “blunder” and start throwing out the “I’m so stupid. What a bad move” tells. Ha ha ha!

@Le_Patzer83 said in #25:
> Sometimes I legitimately bluff a tell! If I know it is some well hidden theoretical trap I’ll subtly throw out tells as if I blundered. Ha ha ha!

Yep, I successful did that once, WITH and "audience" of guys watching... Felt GLORIOUS!

@Le_Patzer83 said in #26:
> I go for a fake think too before I play the “blunder”. If it’s a 90/30 game I’ll think for 5 minutes. Act all indecisive. Then I play the “blunder” and start throwing out the “I’m so stupid. What a bad move” tells. Ha ha ha!


Oh my, what a time commitment!

@Letpchess said in #1:
> I am interested in what goes on in the minds of chess players when they play over the board. I KNOW I play much differently in person than I do online. Online, I can hide behind a screen and never see my opponent. I can stay focused and just run through the moves of my opening based on the patterns my opponent plays.
> Over the board play is a whole different ball game for me. I remember when I first attended a chess club in a park. I was so confident that I knew something about chess because I was the best among friends (who weren't really that interested in the game). I entered the clubhouse and was immediately intimidated. It was loaded with confident men slamming pieces and smacking their clocks just for emphasis on the moves they were making. I don't think I won a single game that day except with the friend who had come with me. Since that humbling experience about 3 years ago, I have learned A LOT about chess, but still not enough to be a top player in the parks I visit. I am pretty average among the guys I play... but I notice that if I manage to stay calm and APPEAR confident, I can sometimes snag an unexpected win. Sometimes it happens because he blunders or sometimes it happens because he might start to believe I am weaker than I am and play beneath his level, opening up the door to a few surprises. Another thing that happens in real life games is that I might start to believe that I can never win against a player. I remember one man in particular who I must have played and lost to at least 30 times in the course of a few months. The day I FINALLY beat him was the day I stopped believing he was invincible. Now I can win about 1 in 5 games with him. The most annoying thing that happens is over-confidence. Sometimes a player has almost won the game and gets careless and loses the advantage in the end game. That can be frustrating and almost certainly impacts his next game too.
> I would like to read more about the psychology of chess because "reading your opponent" is a really fun component of the game for me. Do you have any fun otb stories to share?

@SaltWaterRabbit said in #16:
> Role of Defender
> A) After a mistake, you often must take on the role of defender. You control your emotions, adapt to change, use your WILL to change your focus to defense. You want to stay objective in evaluations, keep your attention level high.
> B) View defense as a opportunity to show your defensive skills, self-control and what a calm, stubborn, tough fighter you are.
>
> Additional:
> a) We are by default always sceptical of the opponents moves and adopt a show me attitude. We check carefully and we do NOT trust that the opponent has it all figured out so we do not need to work hard and challenge each move. We are aware of the intentions of our opponents moves.
> b) You want to avoid following up a small mistake with a blunder because you were so upset about the first small mistake.
> c) If you were worse and defending for a long time, it is a big issue to just continue the defensive mindset for the rest of the game. Often the position changes radically but we just keep playing as if we are worse when our position is now even or better.
> d) Try to put the pressure or onus on the opponent. If this guy is going to win this position, he has to show me more than this.
> e) Self-belief and confidence are our good friends.
> f) Before a game, it may help you to visualize yourself doing well and handling all the possible challenges based on your experience and smarts.
> g) Some players wear their emotions on their sleeves (shows) and their posture and noise signals the current situation or what they want you to believe. Hustle culture. With some players that I knew and figured that I could beat, I would just totally ignore their preening and acting and just play the board which frustrated some of them. After, I got to say "Well at least you talk a good game".