Sunday 8 September 2013

Chess Tilting: Just like in Poker!

I've gone a tilt streak on my 15|10 chess sessions. I was playing a game against an opponent 100 points higher than myself and I was winning by a whole piece! All of a sudden, my network connection starts acting up and I time out. Argh.

This one game got me pretty worked up and immediately I knew that, in the games that followed, I wouldn't be myself. I was right. A self fulfilling prophecy perhaps. After every loss, the chances of me losing yet again increased even more. It got so bad that I threw away a game with a 7 point lead at one point... it's crazy!

I've had similar experiences in Poker, and I am convinced that to achieve my goal, one of the main challenges ahead, will be to overcome tilt. I plan to tackle it by quitting 15|10 chess altogether for a while and playing only correspondence chess. I think this way I will build the right habits and be less likely to let emotions affect my playing. After all, we are but a combination of habits. Right?

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