How fear kills your chess. Decision making.

Dedicated to my muse.

Apart from fear overwhelming your mind and shutting it down completely as we saw in the Malaysia vs England games in the last Chess Olympiad what else does it do?

Lets go back to chess here for some insights. Lets say you have the technical to win a game if you had made the right decision but you fear your opponents end game, what would you do? Is it possible that you may twist and turn and try to contort yourself into trying to avoid the end game? And in doing so you do not play the game that gives you the best percentage chance to win? In your twisting and turning you also provide the opponent the opportunity to ambush you in unfamiliar territory.

Lets put it this way. Think of a pin ball machine. Lets say that you have done your competitor analysis objectively and decided on your best course of action. Now think of all the different unresolved fears as the rings that the ball bounces against. Can you now see that your decision now bounces all over the place as your "decision" hit the rings of fear? Your decision can even wind up in the drain.

So instead of using reason to make decisions you now bounce around like a pin ball. Actually that is the main reason why our players have not done better in International circuits. Too many fears.

You will find it is the same in business and in life. Imagined fears distort your decisions. And as we know in Malaysian chess, a lot of that fear originate from the leadership. Previously it was no written selection to facilitate back door entries. Nothing to do with your chess. Now maybe it's, if you are aligned to me I will find a loop hole to get you in even if you did not make top 10. Now its, if you are getting to be too strong and better than my own players I will ban you.

As we know chess by itself already carries a lot of stress. When you add all the other instilled fears, it's like the straw that broke the camels back. We do not train before we go, fear. We do not know what to train before we go ie zero competitor analysis, fear. We need to kowtow to certain officials although they only put us down or try to victimise us, fear. All these fears swimming in our heads.

Now play and win us that medal!!!!!

So how do we get rid of that fear? Speak up, defend your rights. Think about it. If you can be intimidated by bent petty officials and cowered, then how will you fight properly in an International field of strong players? How will you make that GM run?

So change the leadership. It's the only way. Be brave, have courage and you will find that reflected in your game too. Be intimidated by small men/women and that too will be shown in your game. Learn to decide with reason not fear.

Technical just forms the baseline. Learning how to win, mental toughness and good judgement produces Champions. Making good decisions without fear and winning in chess go together.