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He played 31.Rxg7!! Nxg7 32.Kg1 Rd4 [32...Rf5
33.Qh6 Rxe5 34.Bxe5 Qf7 35.Rg3 Rg8 36.Rg5 c4 37.Rh5 Qxh5 38.Qxh5 cxd3 39.Kf2 d2
40.Ke2 Rd8 41.Bxg7+ Kg8 42.Kd1] 33.Bxd4
cxd4 34.Qh6 [34.Ng6+ hxg6 35.Rh3+ Nh5 36.Qxg6 Qg7 37.Rxh5+ Kg8 38.Rg5 Qxg6
39.Rxg6+ Kh8] 34...Kg8 [34...Rc8
35.f5 Re8 36.Rh3 Nxf5 37.Qf6+ Qg7+ 38.Ng6+ Kg8 39.Qxf5 Re1+ 40.Kf2 Rc1 41.Rg3] 35.Rh3 Nf5 36.Qe6+ Kg7 37.Nd7 Qc8 38.Nxf8
Qc1+ 39.Kg2 Qd2+ 40.Kg1 Qd1+ 41.Kf2, 1-0.
How did you do? Did this
training exhaust you? Training has to be difficult so that when you play in a
tournament, it will seem easy by comparison. Be creative with your training.
Set up difficult positions like the one above and try to solve them, write down
everything; or try to solve four positions in twenty minutes, or on another
day, a hundred combinational puzzles in an hour! The point is that you have to
push yourself to exhaustion during training if you want to improve your
concentration and minimize blunders during real games.
During a tournament game,
you must be confident and ready. Neither afraid nor careless. In every moment, train yourself to be calm,
expectant, and observant. Let your senses be open, your mind relaxed, your spirit
balanced. Meet every challenge with a firm, yet flexible attitude, centering
your attention on determinate reality. Think only of winning. If you fear the
consequences of failure, you will begin to adjust your decisions and actions to
take into account a possibility of failure. Failure must not be an option. Fear
is the greatest enemy you face, far greater than your opponent. Fear exists
only within your emotions and your perceptions. It does not have objective
reality outside your mind. If you face a master, it is in fact a master,
neither something greater nor something less. You stand a far better chance
against him with your eyes open and your spirit calm.
Chess players have a
particular kind of fear, a primitive brand that has nothing to do with the fear
of poor performance. Poor performance" just means losing money . The
hunter who hunts lions knows his life and honor are at stake, not money.
When I mention a chess player s primitive fear, I am talking about instincts
stronger than the sex-drive, instincts which trigger the fight or flight
response in all animals. Fear is good, but must trigger the fight response
over the flight. A fighter is brave. He overcomes fear.
During
a chess game, fear is ever-present. Many players (like in life) succumb to fear
and cannot fight. Players like Korchnoi and Agzamov could overcome their fear.
Conquering one's chess fear doesn't mean not caring about a game situation --
no -- it is to care, to accept the fear, and play with a sure hand. This bravery
has nothing to do with confidence from what you know, but from the
self-awareness of how little you do know! This cannot be trained. Teaching will
not help. You have to be a born fighter.
