3/22/2018 – Chess is a mind game. When you sit at the board, it is just you, your thoughts and your emotions. In such a scenario having the right psychology is of utmost importance to serious tournament players. You may polish your opening knowledge, endgame skills, combinational abilities endlessly, but if you are not able to get in the right frame of mind then improving at the game is very difficult. With this in mind, Dr. Shrirang Joshi, a well-known psychiatrist and counsellor gives us three tips which can help us before, during and after the game. These are simple directives which are easy to understand, but quite difficult to implement. | Photo: Chess Directory
Winning starts with what you know
The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
Winning starts with what you know The new version 18 offers completely new possibilities for chess training and analysis: playing style analysis, search for strategic themes, access to 6 billion Lichess games, player preparation by matching Lichess games, download Chess.com games with built-in API, built-in cloud engine and much more.
Mastering piece setups in various pawn structures and transitioning to a dominant middlegame, this course equips you with the insight and flexibility to outmanoeuvre your opponents in the Closed Catalan.
€39.90
“Our only limitations are those that we set up in our own minds” -Napoleon Hill
Do we want to become better chess players? Do we want to become an IM or a GM? The answer will be yes for the majority of chess players. But what are we doing to move towards our goal? We are studying chess. Everyone will agree that an in-depth study of the game is required to grow our chess playing ability. But is that enough? There is another equally important factor which is often overlooked; the ability to manage our thoughts and emotions. This quality separates the pros from the amateurs. So anyone having a serious goal of becoming a good chess player cannot afford to ignore this. We have to develop this ability also.
“When the negative thoughts come — and they will; they come to all of us — it's not enough to just not dwell on it. You've got to replace it with a positive thought” -Joel Osteen
A single negative thought will act as a virus and sabotage our system. It is equally important how we respond to these negative thoughts. Do we have the ability to ignore the negative thoughts and replace it with a positive thought, or do we replay them again and again? We may question our ability during training when we are unable to solve a difficult tactical puzzle. We may be apprehensive and tense when we are facing a higher rated opponent or in a must-win situation. How should we handle our negative thoughts?
“I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them” -Oscar Wilde
Emotions can give us energy. Positive emotions will give us enthusiasm and a good feeling. But negative emotions will act as a block. They will make us feel low, not allow us to concentrate, and prevent us from delivering our best. We may experience negative emotions whenever we lose a game. We have heard stories of players throwing their tennis rackets in frustration. Such players grow to their full potential only when they are able to control their emotions.
So how should we control our thoughts and emotions? Do we need to use elaborate techniques? Do we need to undergo some kind of training for that? What can be done? Most of the players won’t need to do anything complex if they follow the simple tips given here.
Only three thoughts need to be nurtured, to be active in our minds. A single-minded focus on these three thoughts will give us phenomenal results. Instead of focusing on what should not be done, these three thoughts will act as an anti-virus and prevent other negative thoughts and emotions from gaining ground in our mind. They will allow us to perform at our peak potential.
1) Before the game
The quality and quantity of training: Before the game, we should focus only on our preparation. We should increase the quality and quantity of our training. More the better. No other thought apart from this is needed.
Indian team preparing hard for the Baku Olympiad where they finished fourth!
2) During the game
Finding the best move: We may be pitted against a higher rated or a lower rated opponent, a tactical or a strategic player, IM or a GM. We may be in a must-win situation. We may be under pressure from our own expectations or that of our parents and coaches. Irrespective of all that, during any game, we should be fully focused on finding the best move at each step. Being solely focused on finding the best move is the only thing that will help us withstand all pressure.
What's the best move in the position?! | Photo: Amruta Mokal
3) After the game
What were the mistakes: Only those players who will identify and rectify their mistakes will progress. Hence an honest and a dispassionate analysis should be done of our games to identify our mistakes. We need to identify the pattern in our mistakes and take steps accordingly to strengthen our weaknesses. This will prevent such mistakes happening again and help us in becoming a better chess player over time.
Analyzing your games, finding your mistakes and rectifying them is the key to success | Photo: Patryk Stanisz
Many times when a top player blunders, it is routinely described by the esoteric term „chess blindness.“ In the series What Grandmasters Don‘t See, chess trainer and world-class commentator Maurice Ashley strips away the myth, and for the first time explains why the root of these mistakes is more often based on the psychology of human learning. In Volume 1 of the series, Ashley coins a new term Protected Squares, and shows how many errors occur on squares that seem invulnerable because they are clearly guarded by pawns.
This story originally appeared on ChessBase India and is republished with kind permission
Dr. Shrirang JoshiDr. Joshi is a Psychiatrist and Counselor based in Mumbai. He has been conducting motivational sessions for inspiring children and teenagers for the past 25 years. He is passionate about chess and chess psychology.
Throughout the video course, Sasikran shows various examples from his career to explain sacrifices for initiative, an attack, a better pawn structure and much more.
In this insightful video course, Grandmaster David Navara shares practical advice on when to calculate deeply in a position — and just as importantly, when not to.
The Trompowsky is especially suited for faster time controls as you don‘t have to memorise endless lines of theory, and you push your opponent out of their comfort zone after your second move.
Trompowsky Powerbook 2025 is based on 53,000 computer games from the engine room of playchess.com as well as 49,000 games from Mega and correspondence chess.
Trompowsky Powerbase 2025 is a database and contains a total of 8727 games from Mega 2025 and the Correspondence Database 2024, of which 316 are annotated.
2025 European Championship with a German double victory and analyses by Bluebaum, Svane, Rodshtein, Yuffa, Navara and many more. Opening videos by Engel, King and Marin. Training sections “The Fortress”, “The Trap” and “Fundamental Endgame Knowledge" etc.
Powerbook based on more than 618 000 games in which White already sidesteps the main variations of the Sicilian on move 2.
€9.90
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, analysis cookies and marketing cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies. Here you can make detailed settings or revoke your consent (if necessary partially) with effect for the future. Further information can be found in our data protection declaration.
Pop-up for detailed settings
We use cookies and comparable technologies to provide certain functions, to improve the user experience and to offer interest-oriented content. Depending on their intended use, cookies may be used in addition to technically required cookies, analysis cookies and marketing cookies. You can decide which cookies to use by selecting the appropriate options below. Please note that your selection may affect the functionality of the service. Further information can be found in our privacy policy.
Technically required cookies
Technically required cookies: so that you can navigate and use the basic functions and store preferences.
Analysis Cookies
To help us determine how visitors interact with our website to improve the user experience.
Marketing-Cookies
To help us offer and evaluate relevant content and interesting and appropriate advertisement.