| Taylor Kingston 2005-06-14, 12:31 am |
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Nick wrote:
quote:
> One should not overlook the comparative psychology of competition.
> Playing OTB chess usually is a public act; playing correspondence
> chess usually is a private act. I have known some players who
> tend to be quite self-conscious and anxious in public OTB games.
> They may prefer correspondence chess in part because it removes
> the unwelcome (to them) necessity of face-to-face interaction
> with a human opponent.
An interesting point, Nick, though not the reason for my better
postal performance. That was due simply to the fact that I analyze much
better when I have ample time and can move the pieces about. Apparently
the increase in my analytical ability in the postal situation, compared
to the limited time and forced mental (rather than actual)
visualization of OTB chess, was greater than for most people.
I am told that Tal wrote his entire book of the 1960 world
championship match without ever looking at a board -- he envisioned not
only the actual game moves but every analytical variation in his head,
and dictated them. Yet amazingly, the book has few errors. That is a
level of talent most of us, certainly I myself, could no more hope to
imitate than we could sprout wings and fly.
However, with enough time and perseverance, a less talented person
can climb to at least the lower slopes of such Olympian analytical
heights. Nowadays, though, with so much silicon-based assistance
available, the incentive is perhaps lacking.
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