Chess Psychology is undoubtedly one of the most overlooked areas in Chess Improvement. You may have heard of the term “titled” before, and perhaps not realised that it was actually chess psychology at work! But, what exactly do chess masters mean when they say “Chess Psychology”?
WHAT IS CHESS PSYCHOLOGY?
There are 2 main areas to Chess Psychology, in-game and out of game. The majority of this blog post will be focused on In-game, however, it’s important to also give a quick overview, to out-of-game Chess Psychology.
When we say out-of-game psychology, we’re commonly referring to things such as tilt, Elo Stagnation or Elo Anxiety. In short, these things are factors that induce fear and or anger before the game even starts, hence the name, Out Of Game Chess Psychology.
However, In-Game Chess psychology is especially interesting as we can learn to leverage it. In case you’re wondering, in-game chess psychology commonly includes getting up from a lost position, or complicating a position, not making it easy for your opponent. We will discuss a bit more in the section below.
HOW TO LEVERAGE IN-GAME CHESS PSYCHOLOGY
Firstly, it is key that in a game, you should never resign. At the very least, make the game as difficult to play or as annoying for your opponent as possible. Here are a few ways you can make the game more annoying for your opponents.
ACTIVITY
Activity is everything. Trading things down will not help your chances, but rather hurt them. In a lost position, you have no choice but to not trade them. Activity is far more important in a lost position than ever. So, how can you leverage your active pieces to save a game?
PAWNS. In the Endgame, active pieces can easily target pawns. Aim specifically for backwards, doubled or even tripled pawns. How does this relate to Chess Psychology? Well, not being too upset by your losses will allow you to locate these tactical opportunities for counterplay.
SPEED + PSYCHOLOGY
As humans, especially in chess, when we’re up material, are more likely to be “arrogant” and make silly mistakes. However, they won’t be in this state forever, so you must activate your pieces quickly. Which is why speed is so important.
Look at this position which is me vs. Stockfish, but Stockfish is down a knight. Even though stockfish is down a knight, it is able to develop its pieces extremely quickly. The knight on F4 forces the weak pawn move, G3, which allows Black to develop with astonishing speed.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, chess psychology consists of two main segments, in and out-of-game chess psychology. In-game chess psychology, if you’re losing, then you must keep your head cool, and gain insane amounts of activity quickly.
Afterwards, target and create the weaknesses of your opponent, then leverage them. Admit the fact that when they’re up material, they will be arrogant. And during this period of time is your chance to leverage the speed and CRUSH your opponents!
