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Learning from your mistakes...
Posted Tuesday, January 29, 2008
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When I was about 12-years old my father decided it was time for me, "use your head for something else besides a hat rack." He then proceeded to teach me the game of chess.
We played endless chess games and for about a year I got trounced in everyone one of them. He was a good player, ruthless and intense.
He was also a very good teacher. He pointed out every mistake I made, why it was a mistake and how I could have made a better move. Gradually my play improved. The games became tighter and closer. The margin of victory, or defeat, became razor thin. Then one afternoon the unthinkable happened. I beat him. It was my first victory and it was followed quickly by my second and third.
The tables had turned and I was now able to win nearly every game I played with him. He laughed at his reversal of fortune saying, "I taught you everything I knew about chess and then you went out and learned something else."
Chess is an amazing game of pure strategy and tactics. You can’t bluff or cheat and there is no such thing as luck. Every move is open and transparent – it’s like playing poker with the cards face up.
I had the good fortune to play chess with two grand masters of the game: Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. The two games were about 20 years apart and I lost both games but won bragging rights – the privilege of being soundly defeated by the best players in the world.
I consider myself a decent player – above average but nowhere near an expert. When in the Air Force I entered a command wide chess tournament. After a long series of games and elimination rounds I found myself playing as a member of final four. One game away from victory. The top two finishes would get an all expense paid trip to Hawaii, a 15 day pass, and $500 cash to compete in the U. S. Air Force World Wide Chess Tournament.
I was nervous as I sat at chess table waiting for my opponent to take his seat. Then in walked an old sergeant – his uniform was disheveled, he needed a shave and he reeked of rum. He seemed to stagger a bit as he took his seat.
This is going to be a piece of cake I though as the game began and early on I had a slight advantage. But then I abandoned the careful and methodical play that had served me so well in the tournament. I got careless and a bit sloppy and advanced pieces without building the necessary foundation.
By mid-game I was in trouble and my opponent’s play changed from lackluster to aggressive and deadly. I played a good game at the end but not good enough to overcome my mistakes. I lost in a crushing checkmate I never saw coming.
The Hawaii bound sergeant shook my hand at the end of the game and offered a bit of advice.
"You lost because you didn’t play your game. You played mine. Next time play the board and not the player. I’ve been watching you play and you’re a better at this game than I am so I needed a trick – I needed to get an edge on you. Before I came here tonight I splashed a shot of rum on my uniform, skipped shaving this morning and you thought you were playing an old drunk. Sorry about that but I gave up the booze 20-years ago." It was a bitter lesson but well worth the learning.
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