Training quote of the day #60: Daniel Pink

 

From Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink:

Mastery Is a Mindset

...For instance, consider goals. Dweck says they come in two varieties - performance goals and learning goals. Getting an A in French class is a performance goal. Being able to speak French is a learning goal. "Both goals are entirely normal and pretty much universal," Dweck says, "and both can fuel achievement." But only one leads to mastery. In several studies, Dweck found that giving children a performance goal...was effective for relatively straightforward problems but often inhibited children's ability to apply the concepts to new situations...Students with learning goals scored significantly higher on these novel challenges. They also worked longer and tried more solutions. As Dweck writes, "With a learning goal, students don't have to feel they're already good at something in order to hang in and keep trying. After all, their goal is to learn, not to prove they're smart."

How Wei Yi makes us feel better about chess

GM Wei Yi earned his place in this year's Candidates Tournament through strong, world-class play. But as this round 3 game against GM Fabiano Caruana demonstrates, even world-class players can blunder. In this case, why did it happen? Evidently GM Yi missed the combination of a backwards knight move unveiling a lateral, long-distance queen attack on his trapped bishop. It is this sort of difficult, non-automatic visualization challenge that can more often derail Class players, so it is at least somewhat comforting to know that chess can be hard for everyone.

[Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2026.03.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Wei, Yi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2754"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "37"] [GameId "2294223087464466"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. g3 g6 4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Bg7 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. Ng5 Nb6 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. Qxc6+ Bd7 11. Qxc5 h6 12. Nf3 Rc8 13. Qa5 Bh3 14. Qb5+ Nd7 15. Rg1 {this looks strange, but the point comes on the next move.} O-O 16. g4 {now the Bh3 is trapped, but White is not close to being able to exploit that...but it turns out, not too far from it, either.} Rc5 17. Qb3 {lining up the queen on the 3rd rank. Still no danger yet, with two pieces in between the Qb3 and Bh3. However, this changes immediately after} Ne5 $2 18. Nxe5 Rxe5 19. Nd1 {a backwards knight move unveiling a lateral, long-distance discovered attack wins for Caruana.} 1-0

FT article: Games we play as children echo through our adult lives

 

The Chess Players by  Antti Favén

The Financial Times recently referenced chess again, in the article "Games we play as children echo through our adult lives". While the role and function of chess is often misunderstood or misrepresented in popular culture, I think the author Enuma Okoro got it right in how she shared her experience:

My father was an avid chess player and when I was eight years old, he began teaching me the game. I remember how seriously he took this task. He wanted me to understand that this wasn’t just for fun but that it could also teach me to pay attention, to stop and think before making a move, and even at such a young age to begin to learn what it meant to strategise. We would often leave our matches unfinished, if necessary, until the next opportunity to continue. He taught my older siblings the game too, and when I played with them I discovered that part of the skill was understanding your opponent.

Some of the most important lessons were about the value of taking turns, of recognising that certain rules exist to ensure that everyone can engage fairly and with equal chance of success. A game like chess is also a reminder that when we relate with others, whether it’s a friendly interaction or a more loaded exchange, something is always at stake. And that we each have to determine how we value what’s at stake and what we’re willing to do to secure or protect it. Pausing, observing, trying to understand whoever is in front of you, knowing how to sit with tension until you determine the next best move are all lessons that can translate from the board to real life.

Annotated Game #339: How about that a-file

This final-round tournament game followed a common trajectory in the Colle, as I managed to seize on an inaccuracy in an otherwise equal position to put a lot of pressure on Black. I completely miss a Nxf7 sac possibility, pointed out by the engine, but establish a second-best winning positional advantage. Unfortunately I misplay things on the open a-file, giving Black perhaps even a small advantage. After that, a somewhat over-optimistic last shot at active play peters out into a legitimate draw. I was nonetheless pleased with the overall level of play and the result against a higher-rated player, capping a positive tournament result for the first time in a while.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class B"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D05"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2268222679466048"] {[%evp 0,69,10,38,17,23,32,5,14,9,8,0,9,7,16,4,21,26,10,11,18,7,13,-1,-18,0,17,46,51,23,54,-16,3,117,42,186,41,5,172,124,195,84,153,25,86,182,212,196,12,78,71,7,-88,0,9,-63,-73,-70,4,-27,-30,-82,-64,87,-1,-28,54,-1,1,-26,-1,-51]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. e3 {a safe choice.} (3. d5 {is the more principled reply, taking advantage of Black's pawn advance, and scores much better in the database than any other move.}) 3... e6 4. Bd3 d5 {now we are back in the main line Colle, via transposition.} 5. b3 Nbd7 6. Bb2 a6 {this seems like one pawn move too many, as development is not advanced enough for Black.} 7. a4 $14 {prophylaxis, aimed at contesting any b-pawn advance.} g6 {this is inconsistent with the earlier e7-e6 advance, since the bishop does not need an extra tempo to develop. That said, if Black is more comfortable playing the position with a fianchettoed bishop, then it is not necessarily a bad choice.} 8. Nbd2 Bg7 9. O-O b6 {The light-square bishop needs to be developed somehow.} 10. Ne5 {not the only good choice of strategy here.} (10. a5 {looks to disrupt Black's queenside. Accepting the pawn leads to trouble after} bxa5 11. Ra2 {followed by Qa1 with pressure against Black's fractured structure.}) (10. e4 $5 {would be the classic Colle pawn lever}) 10... Qc7 11. f4 {now we have the classic Stonewall/Colle attack structure.} O-O 12. c3 {this commits fully to a Stonewall structure, which is safer but less dynamic. Developing the queen would be more flexible.} (12. Qe2) (12. Qe1) 12... Rb8 {removing a defender of the a6 pawn, making it easy to choose my next move.} 13. Qe2 {creating the Q+B battery and connecting the rooks.} Qb7 {it's common to try and justify one's previous less-than-optimal move, which my opponent does here by misplacing her queen to protect the a-pawn.} (13... Ra8 {simply returning the rook to its original square is a bit galling, but best.}) 14. Ndf3 {I thought for a while here. This is not bad, but does not press White's small advantage.} (14. g4 {would start up the standard Stonewall attack on the kingside, targeting the Nf6. I rejected it at the time, thinking it would be too stereotypical.}) (14. Ba3 $5 {would get the bishop off the b-file, where it could be a target, and on to a much more useful diagonal.}) 14... b5 15. Rfb1 {protecting the Bb2 again and opposing the rook to Black's queen.} c4 {Black now seizes some space while keeping the queenside structure intact, thereby equalizing.} 16. bxc4 dxc4 17. Bc2 $11 Nd5 {this was unexpected, for whatever reason, but both looks good and is good.} 18. Qd2 {overprotecting c3.} Qc7 $2 {a good idea to place the queen here, but executed prematurely.} (18... Nxe5 19. Nxe5 f6 20. Nf3 Qc7 $11 {here the e3-e4 pawn lever is not available, as the f4 pawn would hang.}) 19. e4 $1 {this was easy to find, since it seizes space with tempo.} N5f6 20. Ba3 $18 {I felt this resulted in a decisive advantage, which the engine verifies.} Rd8 21. axb5 (21. Nxf7 $1 {is even better, but this sacrifice was not even on my radar.} Kxf7 22. Ng5+ Kg8 23. Nxe6 Qb6 24. Nxd8 Qxd8 25. e5 $18) 21... axb5 22. Bb4 {positionally Black is lost on the queenside, without control of the a-file and with the backwards b-pawn a liability.} Qb7 23. Qe1 {a "small" move, but best. The idea is to redeploy the queen to the kingside and combine with the knight to attack.} Nxe5 24. Nxe5 $6 {this gives away most of the advantage, as I divert my knight from the best attacking square (g5) while also leaving Black's defending knight in place on f6. The Ne5's centralization looks good, but is not useful enough to compensate.} (24. fxe5 $18) 24... Bd7 $14 25. Nxd7 $6 {now we are back to equality. The knight was still superior to the bishop.} Qxd7 $11 26. Ra2 Ra8 27. Rba1 $6 {natural-looking but mistaken, as Black's potential activity on the a-file now outweighs White's.} (27. Rab2 $5 {doubling the potential pressure on the b-file, while not allowing Black to threaten to enter into my position on the a-file.}) 27... Rxa2 28. Rxa2 Nh5 (28... Bf8 {played immediately would activate the bishop to better effect.}) 29. Bc5 {played after a long think, and a little over-optimistic. My opponent in response thought for a while, then did not go for the critical line accepting the pawn sac.} (29. g3 {would be the simplest way to consolidate and maintain equality.}) 29... Bf8 (29... Nxf4 30. g3 Nd3 31. Bxd3 cxd3 32. Qe3 $11) 30. Ra7 $6 {the point of the previous move in my thinking. However, after the essentially forced bishop exchange, it has less of a point.} (30. Bxf8 $11) 30... Qe8 31. Bxf8 Kxf8 32. g3 {unfortunately none of the attacking moves (Qh4 etc.) do anything for White, so I end up consolidating the equal position.} Ra8 33. Qa1 Rxa7 34. Qxa7 Nf6 35. Qc5+ {we were both relatively low on time and recognized that the position was equal, with no progress likely, so a draw was agreed.} 1/2-1/2

Annotated Game #338: A queen ending, or a comedy of errors

I should have drawn the following tournament game, an Exchange Caro-Kann, at multiple points. However, my opponent pressed effectively and induced errors on the defense, ending up with what should have been a won queen ending (after it was very much a drawn queen ending). A comedy of errors then ensued, with a draw at the end - which was the right outcome from my perspective, even if wrongly achieved. Still, "drawing ugly" is almost as good as "winning ugly". The overwhelming importance of queen activity, especially versus a bare king, is a major takeaway from examining the ending.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class B"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "B13"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "172"] [GameId "2271414718922553"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 {the Exchange Variation has become quite popular again.} Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. h3 {an alternative to the standard Bf4, it prevents ...Bg4, which is a key move in the main line for Black.} g6 {supporting the alternate way to develop the light-square bishop, to f5.} (6... Qc7 {defers the bishop development and prevents Bf4. This position is often reached via transposition, with ...Qc7 having been played earlier on move 5.}) (6... e5 $5 {is the principled response and the engine favorite, taking advantage of the absence of a Bf4 for White to break in the center.} 7. dxe5 Nxe5 $11 {Black in exchange for an isolated queen's pawn is more active and will either gain a tempo on the Bd3 or can exchange it to obtain the two bishops.}) 7. Nf3 Bf5 8. Bxf5 {the critical line, creating a significant structural imbalance.} gxf5 9. Bf4 e6 $11 {this is perfectly viable, but it runs into some unfamiliar awkwardness after White's next move.} (9... Rg8 {is more direct and comes with tempo, forcing White to defend the g-pawn. I think this is also a better practical move-order, since Black wants to play this anyway.}) 10. Qb3 Qd7 $6 {the problem with this is White's next move.} (10... Qb6 {reduces the amount of threats White can make, as Black can now exchange queens if needed.}) 11. Ne5 Nxe5 12. Bxe5 {this awkward pin would not be an issue with the rook on g8.} Be7 13. Nd2 {White has a slight advantage, as her pieces coordinate better, but Black is solid enough after} Rg8 14. Rg1 $6 {this allows me to improve my position, but I do not assess the middlegame properly.} Rc8 {this does not hurt, but it does not particularly help me accomplish anything, either.} (14... Ne4 15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. O-O-O f6 17. Bf4 O-O-O $11) 15. f3 {clearly intending to ram through g2-g4, but I miscalculate the response.} Nh5 $6 {unfortunately this is one of the worse options.} (15... h5 {is the most obvious reaction.} 16. g4 hxg4 17. hxg4 fxg4 18. fxg4 Nxg4 $11 {and the knight is pinned against the Rg8, but White cannot exploit this.}) (15... Qc6 {is more subtle.} 16. g4 fxg4 17. fxg4 Rg6 $11) (15... b5 $5 $11 {starts immediate counterplay, with ...b4 as a viable pawn sacrifice to open up lines for Black's pieces (the c-file and the e8-a3 diagonal).}) 16. g4 $14 Bh4+ $6 {this was played with no calculation of White's response, on the assumption that a check is always good.} (16... f6 {is awkward, but defends well enough.} 17. Bh2 Ng7 $14) 17. Ke2 f6 $2 (17... Ng7 $14 {is still possible, if a bit worse than before.}) 18. gxh5 Rxg1 19. Rxg1 $16 fxe5 20. dxe5 $16 {now White is a pawn up and I have no compensation, in fact White is also positionally better with the rook occupying the g-file.} Kf7 {I thought for a while here. This is the only move that keeps Black in the game, as the king helps control the g-file.} 21. f4 Rg8 22. Rxg8 {the best option, as the g-file cannot be kept under control.} Kxg8 23. Nf3 Bd8 $2 {I thought about retreating to both d8 and e7 and did not find much to choose between them, so picked what I thought was more flexible. However, White can now take advantage of this with her next move.} (23... Be7 24. h6 Bf8 $16) 24. h6 $18 Kf7 {staying in the corner seemed like a bad idea.} 25. Qa3 $2 {time pressure was starting to take its toll here. Incredibly, Black can now equalize with the active} Qb5+ $1 26. Kf2 Bb6+ $11 {White's extra doubled h-pawn is meaningless now, with Black's better piece activity.} 27. Nd4 Bc5 (27... Bxd4+ {immediately would have been a simpler way to draw, preventing any future N+Q combinations.} 28. cxd4 Qc4 $11) 28. b4 {unexpected, but it encourages me to play the good move} Bxd4+ 29. cxd4 Qc4 30. Qb2 $2 {here begins the queen ending comedy of errors, as highlighted by the engine.} b5 $6 {unambitiously (and uninspiredly) played to secure the draw, which it should have done.} (30... Qd3 $19 {and White has too many weaknesses, with the king and queen split too far from each other to cooperate; this makes them vulnerable to a skewer tactic from Black's queen. The immediate threat is to the h3 pawn, while the d4 pawn still needs to be guarded as well.}) 31. Qd2 a6 32. Kg2 Qc8 {this still draws, but the restriction of the queen's scope is not a good way to play.} (32... Kg6 $11 {keeps the Black queen threatening White's back ranks.}) 33. Qe2 Qg8+ 34. Kh2 Qg6 35. Qc2 Qxh6 36. Qc7+ Kg8 37. Qc8+ Kf7 {while this is all very annoying, White does not have a way to make progress.} 38. Qc1 Qf8 39. a3 Qe7 40. Kg3 h5 {this still draws, but again there are simpler ways.} (40... Kg6 $11) (40... Kg7 $11) 41. Qd1 h4+ 42. Kf2 Kg6 43. Qg1+ Kh6 $6 {unfortunately I miss how annoying White's next move can be.} (43... Kh7) 44. Qg8 Kh5 $6 (44... Qg7 $1 {and the K+P ending is still drawn, thanks to the closed pawn structure.} 45. Qxe6+ Qg6 46. Qxg6+ Kxg6 $11) 45. Ke2 Kh6 46. Kd2 Kh5 (46... Qd7 {is possible, as} 47. Qg5+ Kh7 48. Qxh4+ Kg7 $11 {and White's queen alone cannot make progress with the h-pawn.}) 47. Qh8+ Kg6 48. Qc8 a5 $2 {played in desperation under time pressure, as I thought White's queen would just keep scooping up pawns otherwise.} (48... Kh6 49. Qxa6 Qe8 $11 {holds, for example after} 50. a4 Qg6 {and again going after White's vulnerable king is the solution.}) 49. bxa5 $18 Kf7 {protecting the e-pawn.} 50. Qc5 Qb7 51. Qb6 Qe7 52. Qxb5 Qxa3 {of course I am still losing, but now have a practical chance of doing something active with my queen...eventually.} 53. Qd7+ Kg8 54. Qxe6+ Kh8 55. Qh6+ Kg8 56. Qg5+ Kh8 57. Qxh4+ Kg8 58. Qd8+ Kh7 59. Qc7+ Kh8 60. Qc3 Qa2+ 61. Kc1 Qf2 62. Qd2 {now it's my turn to be annoying.} Qf1+ 63. Kb2 Qb5+ 64. Ka3 Qb1 65. Ka4 Qa1+ 66. Kb5 Qf1+ 67. Kb6 Qb1+ 68. Ka6 Qb8 69. Qc3 Qa8+ 70. Kb5 Qb7+ 71. Ka4 Qd7+ 72. Ka3 Qb5 73. Qc8+ {here we go again.} Kg7 74. Qc7+ Kg8 75. Qd8+ Kg7 76. Qe7+ Kg8 77. Qe6+ Kg7 78. Qf6+ Kg8 79. Qxf5 Qxa5+ {my turn again.} 80. Kb2 $6 Qb5+ $6 (80... Qd2+ {would keep more of an open field between the Black queen and White king.} 81. Kb3 Qxd4 82. Qc8+ $18) 81. Kc1 Qc4+ 82. Kd1 Qxd4+ 83. Ke1 $2 {now I knew I could draw.} (83. Ke2 $18 {and the king can head for g4, while the e-pawn threatens to advance.}) 83... Qe3+ $1 $11 84. Kd1 Qd4+ $2 (84... d4 $1) 85. Kc2 $6 {going the wrong way.} (85. Ke2 $1 $18) 85... Qc4+ $2 {the problem is that the king could still head back to the kingside and run away from here.} (85... Qe3 $11 {gives up the checking crown to White, but permanently cuts off the White king from shelter.}) 86. Kb2 Qb4+ $2 {same problem as before, if the king runs back towards f3/g4, but neither I nor my opponent realize this, and a draw is agreed with my opponent coming near to flagging.} (86... Qe2+ $11) (86... Qd4+ $11) 1/2-1/2