A Good Chess Player

In the spirit of the upcoming NAG and National Closed, just thought I'd like to share some words of inspiration in hopes that we will all do better than our best.

Not sure about you guys, but back when I was in my prime (not that it was that great), almost every player strove hard to be one up on each other in terms of resources. This is not only limited to chess books, the latest novelties, etc. Having the latest ideas in chess was not only a fashion, but it was an incredible advantage. This is of course not limited to openings only. But it is a start.

Nonetheless, I would like to draw your attention to chess databases. Any chess player who aspired to be someone in the chess scene knew where to find new chess games. Off the top of my head, one of my favorite sites was TWIC. I had updated my database weekly back then. If you wanted games of anyone important, they would be there, as long as they played in a tournament of note.

While I think it may be OK to share our resources in the spirit of the greater good, I think it should not come down to a culture of begging. If you have the moxy to play good chess, or at least the smallest inkling to try, then you should be ready to put in the extra effort to amass your own resources.

Being a good chess player is not only being able to play well on the board. Kasparov (and probably Sun Tzu) will tell you that half (at least) of the battle is already won at home.

I find it shameful when we have to rely on others for links, or for material or books or any kind of assistance provided by others to improve ourselves. In short, a good chess player must be resourceful. Stop holding onto your crutches and try to walk on your own. Hard work is only the beginning.