Chess psychology
The term chess psychology summarizes the preoccupation with the thought processes and the psychology of chess players and the practical application of psychological knowledge and experiences to chess games. Various principles are also applicable to special forms of chess such as B. the blind chess and other board games applicable. Although there is a rich literature on chess psychological questions, a uniform definition and delimitation of the topic has not yet established itself.
Beginnings of chess psychology
Practical advice to avoid mental weaknesses can be found in the oldest chess literature. As an early example, a dictum can Damiano de Odemiras apply: ". If you have access to your good train, make sure whether there is still a better" at present in vogue since the early modern period Gambit - openings play psychological elements play an important role , such as surprise (up to bluff ) and creating imbalances by taking a calculated risk .
The practical-psychological approach initially faded into the background when the development of chess theory in the 19th century took a turn towards an apparently objective-scientific approach ( Steinitz - Tarrasch School). Emanuel Lasker , who succeeded Steinitz as world champion , is often seen as a pioneer of a psychological approach in chess . Whether Lasker used targeted psychological methods against his opponents - he consciously selects the individually "most unpleasant moves" for his opponents and deliberately drives games "hard by the abyss" through "theoretically reproachable play" - as Richard Réti et al. a. suspected, but is still controversial today.
Almost at the same time, a tradition of humorous portrayal of practical experiences and findings on typical susceptibility to errors, fallacies , etc., emerged in chess journalism , as is the case for example. B. offer the so-called Tartakowerisms .
The science and the "psychology of the chess player"
At the turn of the 20th century, the beginning of a scientific examination of the thought processes and cognitive peculiarities of top players was also evident. The first in this regard was the work Psychology des grands calculateurs et joueurs d'échecs (Paris 1894) by the famous French psychologist Alfred Binet , the inventor of the intelligence test . He was interested in the memory processes that take place during a game - including when playing blindly - which he examined by means of interviews with chess players. In particular, Siegbert Tarrasch's answers , who referred to his mediocre mathematical talent in the interview, prompted Binet to realize that there is an obvious connection, but “no correspondence between arithmetic and chess thinking”.
After this groundbreaking work, the first approximately comparable contribution was a study by the American psychologist and chess grandmaster Reuben Fine, first published in an essay in 1956 . He succeeded Binet in a chess psychoanalytical sense. This approach was founded in 1931 by a psychoanalytic case study on Paul Morphy by the Freud student Ernest Jones , in which Jones identified the barely veiled oedipal motive of parricide as the main goal of the game of chess . In Fine's psychoanalytic considerations of chess and its leading players based on this, he underlined the narcissism of famous masters such as Morphy, Wilhelm Steinitz and Alexander Alekhine (in the later version of the book Fine concentrated in detail on Bobby Fischer ). With regard to the actual game, he also underlined the underlying motive of aggression in chess and specifically pointed out the phallic significance of the vulnerable king , the most important chess piece with only weak opportunities to move .
The direction of research initiated by Binet proved to be more forward-looking. In his study, which resulted from a doctoral thesis, the Dutchman Adriaan de Groot pointed out that chess masters can grasp the key elements of a position in a flash. The intuitive perception, made possible by years of study and practice game was more important than the mere ability of prediction of moves. According to de Groot, chess masters can completely remember specific positions that would only be shown to them for a few seconds. That this ability is not based solely on memory is shown by the fact that masters, like normal players, do not differ demonstrably in the memory of random positions. The crucial difference between the two groups is based on the ability to recognize patterns .
The rise of computer chess since the 1970s provided additional impetus to better understand the human thought processes and susceptibility to errors in chess. Since then, research has expanded and addressed a wide variety of issues. For example, the influence of intelligence on skill level, gender differences or the connection between practical exercise and talent were examined . It has long been discussed whether intensive practice and targeted training can be enough to achieve mastery. Recent studies suggest that additional factors come into play, from when you started playing chess to specific characteristics such as: B. Left handedness .
Mental disorders and chess
The fact that a number of famous chess players were mentally ill or even ended up insane has repeatedly aroused speculation and speculation. Fine mentions the Mexican master Carlos Torre as a typical example of " psychosis in chess players" , who suffered a psychotic breakdown at the peak of his chess career in the mid-1920s and tore his clothes off on the street in New York.
Even the doctor and chess master Tarrasch was interested in the occurrence of mental disorders in connection with chess. Contemporary notions, including the exaggerated fear of the allegedly harmful effects of blind play, have not later come true; In particular, Tarrasch was wrong in the " Pillsbury case " which he was investigating and which, as it became known only much later, was actually ill with syphilis . In any case, it is undisputed that gambling addiction , extreme tension and social isolation can undermine the physical and psychological well-being of chess players.
The popular theme of “obsession with chess” has finally found numerous variations in film and literature. Early classics in this field are the Soviet silent film Schachfieber (1925) and the later also filmed chess novella by the Austrian writer Stefan Zweig .
Practical Aspects of Chess Psychology
The training methods of modern chess can not be imagined without considering chess psychological aspects, the study of "typical mistakes" ( Alexei Suetin ) and last but not least the practical use of psychic tricks ( Simon Webb ). According to Nikolai Krogius , both underestimating and overestimating psychological influences on chess are dangerous.
Krogius and Suetin indicate various sources of error. Suetin recognizes a greater relevance of psychological factors in the "psychological difficulties of passive defense" - this motive comes into play when playing the gambit, for example - "template-like play", impulsive thinking or the problems of playing with limited time to think about it .
Another example that has been known for a long time is the psychological difficulty that many chess players have in recognizing that in certain cases they cannot actively improve their position and that it is best to engage in wait-and-see maneuvering or waving .
Suetin looks in detail at "typical errors of combinatorial vision", which Krogius regards as psychological aspects of the "dynamics of chess thinking". Closely related to this is the attempt to understand the cognitive-psychological requirements of chess blindness .
Residual image
In the case of the residual image or also residual image, a property of the current position is transferred during the calculation to a position in the future, whereby it is not taken into account that this characteristic will then have changed.
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After 40.… Rd6 – e6 + 41. Ke3 – f2 Re6xe2 + , in view of the seemingly forced sequence of moves 42. Rc2xe2 Bf6xh4 + 43. Kf2 – g2 Re1xe2 + with Black's extra piece.
Both players overlooked the fact that the white king with 43. Kf2 – e3 does not expose himself to any check . The Re6 would have already disappeared from the board, but remained mentally still for both players.
Anticipated image
In the case of the anticipated image, reality is suppressed by the imagination, so that the future, planned course of the game is viewed as actually existing. Either the opponent's plan or one's own plan can be overestimated.
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Left: Schlechter fought off the threat of Nd6 – c4 with 32. b2 – b3 ?? from. Pillsbury looked inquiringly at Schlechter. Failing to understand what Pillsbury was doing, Schlechter looked at the board. Only now did he notice that he had pushed the immediate threat Nd6xe4 out of his mind while looking for a remedy against the strategic threat Nd6 – c4 and gave up.
Right: Gasparjan announced a mate in three moves. After 52… Qh4 – e1 + 53. Kg1 – h2 Ra3xh3 + he saw 54. Kh2xh3 De1 – h4 mate and 54. Bg4xh3 Ne5 – f3 mate . Only after the move had been made did it become clear to him that Ne5 was tied up by Qb2.
Inactive image
The sluggish image, referred to by Suetin as the “mechanical image”, relates to strategic considerations. It often happens when an advantage has already been achieved and the rest is just a matter of technique in the player's opinion. Here, too, the current situation is carried over to the future.
Georg Marco was so convinced that the pegging of Bd4 would lead to his loss that he did not consider the possibility of converting it into a withdrawal attack with 38 ... Bd4 – g1 . After 39. Qd3xd7 Q5xh2 White would be checkmate, otherwise he would lose material. Instead, Marco gave up.
Moral Aspects
In the essay The Morals of Chess , written in 1779 and considered to be the first American chess publication, Benjamin Franklin explored the question of which ethical properties can be conveyed through the game of chess. He came to the conclusion that foresight, prudence and care can be learned. In his article, Franklin argues that disturbing opponents and other players is immoral. Franklin also saw the idea of using appropriate behavior to fake a bad move in order to lull the opponent into a false sense of security as not permissible.
literature
- Alfred Binet : Psychology des grands calculateurs et joueurs d'échecs. Paris 1894. View online at Gallica
- Reuben Fine : The Psychology of the Chess Player . Frankfurt am Main 1982, ISBN 3-8108-0204-2 .
- Fernand Gobet : The psychology of chess. London 2018, ISBN 978-1138216655 .
- Nikolai Krogius : Psychology in Chess . Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-548-34849-1 .
- Reinhard Munzert: Chess Psychology . Hollfeld 1998, ISBN 3-89168-005-8 .
- Aleksei Suetin : Typical mistakes . Berlin 1980.
Web links
- Philip E. Ross: The Expert Mind ( Memento of April 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), in: Scientific American , August 2006 (English)
- Rick Kennedy: My Chess Psychology bookshelf ( Memento from February 19, 2008 in the web archive archive.today ) Overview of the chess psychology literature (English)
- Sarah's Chess Journal: Psychoanalysis in Chess , May 2007 Materials on chess and psychoanalysis
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fernand Gobet, Alex de Voogt, Jean Retschitzki: Moves in mind: The psychology of board games . Psychology Press, Hove (GB) 2004, ISBN 1-84169-336-7 .
- ↑ quoted from Réti: Die Meister des Schachbretts , Mährisch-Ostrau 1930 (reprint Zurich 1989), p. 124 ff. ISBN 3-283-00107-3 .
- ↑ Binet, p. 227.
- ^ Fine
- ↑ Ernest Jones: The Problem of Paul Morphy: A Contribution to the Psychology (sic) of Chess , in: The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis 12 (1931) ( Memento of March 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ AD De Groot: Thought and choice in chess (Dutch first edition 1946). Mouton Publishers, The Hague 1965.
- ↑ See also Richards J. Heuer, Jr. Psychology of Intelligence Analysis . Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency 1999 ( Chapter 3 ).
- ↑ See u. a. Pertti Saariluoma: Chess Players' Thinking: A Cognitive Psychological Approach . London 1995, ISBN 0-415-12079-9 .
- ↑ See e.g. B. Fernand Gobet, Guillermo Campitelli: The role of domain-specific practice, handedness and starting age in chess . Developmental Psychology, 43 (2007), pp. 159-172 .
- ^ Fine, p. 64.
- ↑ Tarrasch: The modern game of chess . Leipzig 1916 (2nd edition), reprint Zurich 1991, pp. 445–450, ISBN 3-283-00034-4 .
- ↑ See also the section “Personality Disorder and Chess” in the biography of Wolfgang Kamm: Siegbert Tarrasch, Leben und Werk . Unterhaching 2004, pp. 298-312, ISBN 3-933105-06-4 .
- ↑ Krogius
- ↑ Suetin, p. 97.
- ^ Krogius, p. 61.
- ↑ Krogius, pp. 61-72; Suetin, pp. 97-99.
- ↑ Krogius, pp. 80-91; Suetin, pp. 99-101.
- ↑ Krogius, pp. 72-80; Suetin, pp. 101-104.
- ^ Benjamin Franklin: The Morals of Chess . Reprinted in: George Walker: The Chess Player. Boston 1841.