Playing the Man vs. Playing the Board
Apr 24, 2024 9:01:57 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Apr 24, 2024 9:01:57 GMT -5
Playing the Man vs. Playing the Board
Playing the man means that you are playing in a way that you believe will put the opponent at disadvantage based on your evaluation of the opponent's personal preferences or weaknesses and strengths. Now, there are two ways to do this, positively and negatively.
Positively Playing the Man
The positive aspect of playing the man is playing in a manner the opponent doesn't like. For example, if you know that the opponent prefers positional games, then creating double-edged combinational and positions will put him at a psychological disadvantage.
Now, this can involve choosing openings that the opponent is unfamiliar with or which tend to produce such positions. These might be gambits, such as the Benoni, or the King's Gambit. Or else ones leading to quite slow maneuvering positions such as the Bird or the French defense. Doing so creates worry, and worry is a distraction that tends to tilt the balance in our favor.
Negatively Playing the Man
Now, the negative way to play the opponent vs. playing the board, is to start unjustifyingly assuming things about the opponent during the game based on conjecture or misinterpretation of the opponent's mistake. For example, did the opponent just mindlessly blunder a piece or ruin his own position visa a positional blunder? Are we now confidently assuming that the opponent is a weak player who usually blunders positions or pieces in that way?
Well, that might very well be true. But it might also only be a very unusual glitch, and the opponent might then calmly and confidently proceed to play the rest of his game at a master level. You, on the other hand, might have become vulnerable to mistakes due to suddenly feeling overconfident, and losing a necessary sense of imminent danger that had previously been keeping you on your toes.
Well, that might very well be true. But it might also only be a very unusual glitch, and the opponent might then calmly and confidently proceed to play the rest of his game at a master level. You, on the other hand, might have become vulnerable to mistakes due to suddenly feeling overconfident, and losing a necessary sense of imminent danger that had previously been keeping you on your toes.
In short, the opponent's alertness has suddenly and very significantly increased, while yours has suddenly drastically decreased due to overconfidence, and because of it, pretty soon you might very well find yourself in a totally lost position due to mindlessly falling into some simple trap, or else via losing material.
That's why the advice of always viewing the opponent as the most dangerous you have ever faced is crucially important, regardless of the material advantage you might suddenly have.
That's why the advice of always viewing the opponent as the most dangerous you have ever faced is crucially important, regardless of the material advantage you might suddenly have.
Playing the Board
Playing the board means playing the position, regardless of the opponent's personal quirks or previous mistakes during your game. In short, it is a totally objective evaluation of both your chances as the board is gradually revealing them.
Every other factor, such the opponent's personal preferences, his or her previous blunders, are kept totally irrelevant. The opponent is merely the board and its pieces, and all its tactical a strategically nuances, and nothing more.
Every other factor, such the opponent's personal preferences, his or her previous blunders, are kept totally irrelevant. The opponent is merely the board and its pieces, and all its tactical a strategically nuances, and nothing more.
In short, keeping these things in mind will reduce the chances of losing what should have been won games. Something that is extremely hard to accept, but once it happens, nothing can be done about it.