Old Maestro saw The Great Pawn Hunter crying after losing a tournament chess game. The Pawn Hunter wanted to win so badly. Old Maestro said to himself..."Now, There's a champion!", because The Great Pawn Hunter had what all great players have...desire. The Pawn Hunter had to ask himself that question...Quit playing chess or play on. At such an early age as himself it could be damaging to suffer a loss that he couldn't bounce back from. His decision...Play on!
You know, everyone goes through slumps. It happens to me too...
We can let our losses get the better of us or we can try to learn from them.
That old expression "If you get a few lemons, make lemonade!" is still true.
I make mistakes all the time...no super powers yet anyway. Many times, slumps
happen when one has learned a little to many chess ideas without executing the
ideas in games.
Here is an example: I follow the lesson I have read and I am
good for a few moves, but then...that move comes along... where I am in a new
situation?..."What do I do next" I ask myself...the lesson didn't teach me about this!
But there is no answer. The result...a loss!
That is why I don't want you to memorize anything. Try
to understand the moves. The only way to put these ideas solidly into your head is to
play, play, and play to test out the new ideas. Would you buy a car without
test driving it? Well, you should test new ideas before
you blindly accept them.
What I really want to do is give you a little encouragement...
to tell you that, it happens to all people. If you keep your
nose to the grindstone,like The Great Pawn Hunter, and really try hard to learn, with
simple clarity and a lot of playing, you can bring yourself
to a true understanding. Does this make sense to you?...let me know your thoughts.
Try hard, keep practicing, and find a good move!
Manus Patrick Fealy (Manny)
The Great Pawn Hunter