Chess and life

written by Matthew Rensberry, MD MBA on 2022-05-06

I read this a while back, and just thought I would look it up to see who really said it. Here is a favorite quote of mine, from Gautam Narula:

If chess is anything, it is a game of second chances. Chess, like life, rewards perseverance. I’ve turned countless losses into draws and wins because my opponents got overconfident while I dug in. I’ve also turned wins into losses because I was too intimidated by my opponent’s rating or reputation.

Chess psychology can be distilled to 2 simple rules:

Don’t ever be afraid of your opponent
Fight as hard as you can until the game is over

Simply following these rules will add hundreds of points to your rating.