Learning from losses key to resilience

(Newcastle Chronicle, 8 November 2024)

The great Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said that “football isn’t just a matter of life and death. It’s much more important than that.” But learning to cope with victory and defeat with equal grace, and recognising that a sport is just a game that we play by the rules, is a very important life lesson.

Losing at chess can be painful. But developing resilience is very important for any strong chess player. In the US Championship last month, 17-year-old grandmaster Christopher Yoo was so disappointed at losing a game that he crumpled up his scoresheet and stormed out of the venue, hitting a female videographer on the way.

The consequences were dramatic. The teenager was arrested, charged with fourth degree assault, and expelled from the tournament. Although he later apologised profusely, the potential damage to his career was very real. But American chess officials remain optimistic that the young player will learn his lesson and bounce back.

In the UK, one prominent grandmaster took out his frustration at defeat by punching a hotel wall. The main physical damage was to his own fist, but the psychological fallout can also be serious.

Chess coaches try to instill in their students the importance of accepting defeat gracefully, and focusing on the positive lessons that can be learned. In chess, unlike in war, a monarch isn’t deposed forever or thrown in jail, but gets to reset the board and start again with a full set of pieces. 

One of the great examples of a resilient chess player is world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen. In a recent match, Carlsen lost game after game, seemingly on tilt. But then he managed to steady his nerves, and fought back from behind to win the match.

Learning chess – and coping with its ups and downs – often stands young people in good stead for their future lives. Here are three junior chess clubs on Tyneside you can take your kids to:

Gosforth – Saturdays, 10 am – 12 noon, at Gosforth Empire Club, 32-34 Salters Road, NE3 1DX. Go to: https://www.gosforthchessclub.co.uk/ for more info.

Newcastle – Sundays, 2:30 pm – 4:30 pm, at Jesmond Library, St George’s Terrace NE2 2DL. Contact: timpeterwall@gmail.com or go to: https://newcastlechessclub.com.

Forest Hall – Fridays, 5 pm – 7pm, at Forest Hall Ex-Servicemen’s Institute, 26 Crescent Way North, NE12 9DX. Full details at: https://www.foresthallchess.org.uk/.

PUZZLES

This week’s puzzles show spectacular ways of avoiding defeat to force a draw by perpetual check and stalemate.

Puzzle A: Siebrecht (White) to play & draw.

Puzzle B: Bernstein (White) to play & draw.

Puzzle C: Christiansen (Black) to play & draw.

Puzzle D: Boerkoel (Black) to play & draw.

ANSWERS:

A: 1 Rh3! Qxf7 2 Bg6+! Draw by perpetual check.
B: 1 Rxb2! Rh2+ 3 Kf3 Rxb2 stalemate.
C: 1…Qxf6! 2 Qxf6 Rh2+! Draw. If 3 Kxh2 Rg2+! 3 Kh3 Rg3+! 4 Kh2 Rg2+! 5 Kh1 Rg1+! 6 Rxg1 stalemate.
D: 1…Rxf2! 2 Kxf2 (if 2 gxh4 Rg2+ 3 Kh1 Rh2+) 2…Bxg3+! 3 Nxg3 Qf4+ 4 Ke2 Qg4+ 5 Kxe3 Qg3+ 6 Ke4 Qg4+ draw by perpetual check.