This was going to be another in our series “A Foundation for Beginners”. However, I had a meeting with a student that brought up a very important consideration I want to share with you. It’s something I believe so important that I should interject it into my stream of teaching articles. Let me explain:
I have a high school age student who has become a strong chess player. He has always paid attention during my classes, taken notes, and practiced all he learned. He’s the model student every chess teacher dreams of having. However, I noticed that he was starting to make mistakes. Not mistakes that you’d make when you faced a complex position that was too difficult for your skillset, but beginner’s mistakes. It was as if he was progressing backwards.
I asked him if he was overloaded with his schoolwork, and he said he wasn’t. He said nothing was wrong or getting in the way of his chess studies. Things continued to get worse. I could tell, during our games, that he just wasn’t there. He had taken classes with me for years and played a great game when he was focused. Yet, that focus wasn’t there, and I couldn’t get an explanation out of him. The more I tried to find out why his playing was slipping, the more panicky he became. Finally, he blurted out “I just don’t want to play chess.” I looked at him and said, “it’s alright. You don’t have to do this is you don’t want to.” He was shocked by my reply.
He thought I’d try to keep him playing chess. Sadly, he told his parents he didn’t want to play chess and they reminded him of all the money they invested in his training. His father was a chess player who was good but not good enough to win a local championship, so he was living vicariously through his son. I see this from time to time. Of course, I got an earful from the father after his son said, “my chess teacher is fine with me quitting.” I was disappointed with my student wanted to stop chess, but completely understood.
In my conversation with my student, I told him that it’s extremely easy to become burnt out when traveling the road to mastery. It’s an occupational hazard! What I suggested to him was to take a break. Go do something else and have fun. Maybe you will come back to chess, maybe you won’t. However, you’re not doing yourself any favors by doing something you don’t want to. We talked for quite a while, and I told him of the many things I sought out to master only to stop the journey somewhere along the line. He asked me if I was disappointed in myself, and I told him I wasn’t. I wasn’t disappointed because I thankfully realized that it wasn’t for me. That is perfectly alright! Better to find something you truly love to dedicate your life to rather than suffer. Finding that something takes trying out a lot of somethings, searching for that perfect fit.
I can say that I’ve put in the time to have mastered the guitar, easily surpassing 10,000 hours, which is the mastery number people use. Of course, there’s more to just banging away on an instrument for 10,000 hours. It comes down to proper training over that timeframe. Today, I can play almost everything I want to play. Did I start at hour one and stop only when I reached the 10,000th hour? Absolutely not. I had to stop and still do to recharge my mental batteries. Today, I play 3 to 4 hours a day, but there were times when I didn’t touch a guitar for a year. When I try to force myself to push forward when my heart’s not into it, my skillset declines. I learned this the hard way. When I need to stop, I stop and don’t beat myself up over it!
If you find yourself getting burnt out on chess, take a break. I was always afraid that if I took a break from something I was trying to get good at, I’d never come back. This turned out to be true in some cases. However, the things I had a passion for that really mattered, such as music, were always there, waiting for me to return. When I did return, I came back stronger. My passion was recharged.
Learning chess is exactly like learning how to play a musical instrument. It’s a careful balance of theory and practice. Both require great concentration and dedication. Both can burn you out. You hear stories about chess players and musicians who spent 10 to 12 hours a day mastering their craft. I’m not that superhero and you probably aren’t either. Trying to spend that kind of time in deep concentration will crush you. Working on your skills for even 3 to 4 hours a day requires near super-human concentration. While you can do it, you must build up to it, starting with 30 minutes at a time and expanding the timeframe outward from here. I should note that I’ve been doing a lot of professional gigs which is why I’ve been spending so much time playing. However, if I start to get burned out, I’ll take a break!
Did I mention there’s nothing wrong with a casual relationship with an interest? I love electronics. I went back to school to learn more about the subject. I ended up with a certificate in electronics. However, it’s a fun hobby for me. I don’t want to be the world’s greatest electronics mind. I just want to have fun building things. You can enjoy something and know a great deal about it without having to be the best of the best.
In the end, my student decided to take a break. I suspect his parents will keep him far away from me, but that’s alright. Will he come back to chess? I have no idea. Maybe he’ll find his true passion now that he’s not playing chess. Maybe he’ll realize that chess is his passion. In either case, he wouldn’t be able to find his true passion unless he stopped and took a break!
If you feel as if learning chess is becoming a chore rather than something you look forward to, take a break. You’re not going to lose the educational ground you gained during your initial studies. If anything, when you come back to the game, your mental batteries will be fully charged. There’s no rule that states you must complete your studies in one long session. You don’t even have to master chess to play well and enjoy it. The only decision you must make is whether or not you’re enjoying yourself. If you are, play on. If not, give yourself a break! We’ll continue our regular series of articles next week. See you then!
Hugh Patterson
