Mental strength
When I was much younger and just starting to make a name for myself on the world chess board (mid-1980’s) I intuitively began to look outside of chess for getting that EDGE that might make a big difference at a critical moment. Aikido, meditation, sports psychology and anything that looked as if it might help. This was before the self-help craze. It was a multi-disciplinary approach before that also became a fad. Key words were confidence, mental-preparation, attitude, mental-toughness. I studied books on the psychology of tennis, golf and other competitive sports/games….I learned a lot and realize now that this all helped to make me an excellent trainer/coach. The important competitive issues in other sporting activities are , not surprisingly, often just as valid in chess.
The vídeo below is about such stuff inside the pool-player’s mind. Worth taking a look at .