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Subject: Re: Post-match interview with GM Ilya Smirin at http://www.kasparov.com/

Author: Chris Carson

Date: 06:42:49 05/15/02

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On May 15, 2002 at 09:18:54, Andrew Williams wrote:

>On May 14, 2002 at 19:34:29, Chris Carson wrote:
>
>>On May 14, 2002 at 19:26:17, martin fierz wrote:
>>
>>>On May 14, 2002 at 19:04:18, Chris Carson wrote:
>>>
>>>>On May 14, 2002 at 18:56:05, Mogens Larsen wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On May 14, 2002 at 17:39:32, Chris Carson wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>Very nice interview.  My thanks to GM Smirin, he seemed to be very "open and
>>>>>>honest" with his assessment.  I think all of his comments are very telling and
>>>>>>the programmers and our forum should take note.  I found the follwoing points
>>>>>>very interesting (just fit my own interests):
>>>>>>
>>>>>>1.  Computers seemed to avoid main lines.
>>>>>>2.  Having White is very important against a computer.
>>>>>>3.  Computers weak in closed positions and very strong in open positions.
>>>>>>4.  He found himself tired, even with the breaks and shorter time controls.
>>>[snipped back in]
>>>>>>5.  He would like a rematch.
>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>point 4 isn't correct according to the interview. Neither tired nor
>>>>>exhausted. That's your interpretation without any basis in the text.
>>>>>
>>>>>Regards,
>>>>>Mogens
>>>>
>>>>As usual Mogen, you are wrong:
>>>>
>>>>"Well, even though we played only four games per week, which helped me to pull
>>>>myself together between the games, it wasn’t so easy psychologically. As a
>>>>result, I lost concentration a few times during the match and it cost me at
>>>>least 0.5 point (and it could be even more if the computer was more accurate!)!
>>>>It’s just not so simple to play chess when you know that you have to avoid
>>>>certain kind of positions, even if your intuition is telling you it’s
>>>>objectively correct to go for them! However, I think I managed to withstand the
>>>>pressure, and at the moment I’m full of energy and not tired at all!
>>>>"
>>>>
>>>>A loss of concentration is "tired" or "exhausted", that is a psychological fact.
>>>
>>>
>>>read his lips please... and look at the games.
>>>"it was not easy psychologically" is given as reason for the loss of
>>>concentration. not tired or exhausted. this is not the same.
>>>if you look at the games, you will also understand what he means - e.g. the
>>>aborted game junior-smirin, where smirin had an easy draw as black, and was
>>>probably thinking along the lines "this is an easy draw and these comps are weak
>>>in the ending anyway, so why don't i just move back and forth a bit, nothing can
>>>happen here". he lost his concentration in this game not because he was tired,
>>>but because he underestimated junior.
>>>i know you have your agenda with this tired thing... don't let it influence you
>>>too much :-)
>>
>>I do not have an agenda, although it is clear that you and Mogens do.  I am a
>>psychologist.  I have a PhD in psychology.  I specialize in "cognitive" and
>>"cognitive/behaviorism".  A loss of concentration is due to being tired,
>>fatigued or exhausted or stress by definition.
>>
>
>Perhaps you're using the term "loss of concentration" in some formal,
>psychological sense, in which case you'd have to convince me that this is the
>sense that Smirin meant too.

This is a good point.  Perhaps there is a difference in perspective here.

>
>I think one can lose concentration for all sorts of reasons, in a more informal
>sense. For example, you could get bored, or hungry, or you could be distracted
>by something. When I'm working at home, I often get distracted by cats which
>squabble in the road where I live. In a competition you could lose concentration
>because you underestimate your opponents, or you think your opponent is offside
>and you expect the referee to blow the whistle. I've seen the football team I
>support lose concentration at set-pieces shortly after they have gone two goals
>up. I don't think that the phrase "loss of concentration" is restricted to
>situations where fatigue or stress is involved. At least, not in the vernacular.
>
>Andrew

You could be right here.



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