Always ask why

Always ask why
By Errol Tiwari
February 7, 2010 in Features, Sunday

The man who knows how will always have a job. The man who also knows why will always be his boss.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Just so in chess. The game clearly shows us the power of ‘why.’ Kasparov has taught us that every move has a consequence. The player who wins, he argues, is the player who questions his moves consistently.

It is crucial, therefore, that the student of chess understands the ideas behind the openings. Knowing why a bishop is placed on b5 on the White side of the Ruy Lopez if White does not plan to exchange Black’s knight on c6, is a question for us to consider. At the recent Trophy Stall Tournament, national champion Wendell Meusa gained the upper hand against me from as early as move five because I was not familiar with the opening and didn’t understand the ideas behind it. In other words I didn’t understand ‘why.’ Why did he place his bishop on c4 bearing down on the f7 pawn? Soon I was in trouble and the game was technically lost before it was over.

The game against Taffin Khan, however, was different. I knew ‘why.’ As White I knew exactly
where each of my pieces should go for maximum penetration of the enemy camp in the middle game. It is not surprising that White smashed the defences surrounding Black’s king and won handsomely. If I am to refer to Kasparov once more, who incidentally trains Norwegian teenage sensation Magnus Carlsen, this is what he has to say: Before each decision, we should ask, “Why this move? What am I trying to achieve and how does this move help me to achieve it?”

Here is the full article.