Day four of the Chess Boot Camp here at Chessvine is where the mental ties all start coming together. In one sense this is a day of rest but in another sense this is a day of real hard work. Anything that a player has to do to get into his zone is exactly what he should do today. For me that involves movies.

I'm not sure why but for some reason when I watch a movie with an upbeat tone (rocky, bloodsport, and yes ... Searching for Bobby Fischer et al) my mind feels somehow clearer and I can visualize myself winning my chess games and remaining composed when I want to panic.


As I said earlier I am a very mentally susceptible player. Once I start losing the trend continues. This day of mental preparation is therefore really necessary. Another concept you may wish to explore is the idea of undoing psychological damage from the boot camp. For example if you played tough opponents on the blitzday and lost a large number of games you should on this day play opponents you're confident can be beaten. My most common foe in this circumstance is a computer chess program that plays only around Class C level. If I'm really focused I can beat it 90% of the time and this sort of one-sided fight is the idea.