Position after 16…h3 +-
This was an actual game between an Amateur and a strong GM. White (Amateur) completely outplayed the GM up to this point. White was also way up on time. The Amateur inexplicably lost in less than 10 moves.
Do you get nervous when you play a Grandmaster or against a much stronger opponent? As I always teach my students:
Play the board, not the opponent!
Amateur – Grandmaster [B24]
03.28.2007
1.e4 g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.d3 c5 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 Rb8 6.Nge2 b5 7.0-0 b4 8.Nd5 e6 9.Ne3 Nge7 10.f4 d6 11.f5 exf5 12.exf5 Be5 13.f6 h5 14.fxe7 Nxe7 15.Nf4 h4 16.g4 h3 17.Bxh3 Bxf4 18.Rxf4 Rxh3 19.Kg2 Rh7 20.Qf3 Bb7 21.Re4 d5 22.Re5 d4 23.Nd5 Bxd5 24.Rxd5 White resigns 0-1
Click here to replay the game.
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
IMHO, this is a major drawback of ratings and titles. It intimidates people.
no, i don’t think so! it is – think twice before you move – and because i’m usually “in love” with my bishops, i wouldn’t have even considered 17.Bxh3 to be a candidate move in the given position …
btw: i like it a lot to play against higher rated players, because i like the smell of cold sweat on a forehead …
hehe
Wow. The play after the position in the picture is terrible!
I am never nervous playing titled or higher ranked players…..they are the ones with all the pressure (if there is any at all) to win…
That is a great post Susan!
As an amateur I lose many games against higher rated opponents because of psychology, I think. There is a point in every game where the game is “all but won” and then there is actually “winning the game”. Many times I would catch my concentration lapsing after achieving a decisive advantage, thinking the rest of the game is an academic exercise. After a few moves my advantage slips away and eventually the game. It has nothing to do with my chess playing ability or analysis but the fact that I did not concentrate when I needed to. Almost like I was taking a mental break for 5 moves instead of going in for the decisive attack.
Interesting discussion! Thanks !!!
Wow
the before and after play was like 2 different people.
I wonder what the rating was on the amateur.
I have the opposite problem, I excel when playing higher rated opponents but seem to play a lot weaker when facing players 300 points below me. I have beaten many masters, IM’s draws with GM’s including Tigran Petrosian and Susan Polgar! But I have lost to players rated 1300 – 1500 range and can destroy experts/Masters with ease! By the way, I am rated 1954 at the moment. What caused this malady I wonder?
17. Bxh3? (17. Nxh3 +-)
17. … Bxf4
18. Rxf4 Rxh3
19. Rxf7! and advantage is for Whites yet!
Xargon, the true one …
It is amazing. I play a fair amount of Blitz on ICC. The quality of play of 1500-1600 rated players is much lower when I’m rated in the 1900s than when I’m rated in the 1700s. I’ve left Queens hanging in a 1900 vs. 1600 game where my opponent ponders for 30-45 seconds (a long time in a 3-5 min. Blitz game) before deciding I’ve set some devious trap…and leaves the Queen alone.
It’s quite funny. To combat this in my own play, if another player leaves something “hanging” and I can’t see the “trap”, I take the piece. I assume I’ll either learn the tactic by getting crushed, or, get a free piece.
I relate this only because the above scenario has happened more than once, can best be explained by the intimidation factor of a (temporarily) relatively high rating, and, therefore, was a striking demonstration of the principle Susan is illustrating.
Obviously, the fact that I more than occasionally leave my queen hanging explains (in part…there are also bishops, rooks….) my forays into the 1600s of the ICC ratings. Still unexplained is how I ever manage to get higher ratings…
kerry – nice post.
banjanx
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I completly agree that you play the board. nerves and not being intimidated are half the battle. you have to believe you can beat anyone. i even advocate staring down your opponents letting them know you mean business. this competitiveness takes away nerves in my opinion.
17. Bd5 or Ned5!
Look at Mikhail Tal staring down Bobby Fischer in this YouTube video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC6eWfbzUdE
white plays Be4,Nc4,Rf3.the white rook is just begging to get into the action. i can hear the rook saying unleash me im going to teach this punk a lesson. now im readying to take his h3 pawn. his pawns b4,c5,d6 are terrible there preventing him from activating his pieces on the queen side. this definatly can be exploited by a fast attack on his king side. I dont think black has enough room or time to cover the ferocious attack he would get.