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A lot of psychological problems may be associated with ratings. For example, some people are afraid of higher-rated opponents and fear not winning against a lower-rated one. This is caused by the wrong attitude to chess. Unlike chess engines, we do not have a fixed playing strength. A player who believes in himself will score better than a pessimist of equal skill. Anger and fear leads to the Dark Side causes blunders, while trusting in one’s powers gives additional strength. One should be aimed at improvement: learning new information, becoming healthier, harmoniously developing one’s personality.
 

Another common situation is facing someone with a lower rating. Most chess players switch to must-win mode in such cases. The thinking process goes like this: he is weaker, so I must beat him; if I don’t win against him, then against whom?; other opponents are stronger, so if I don’t win now, I will lose rating points. And so on. Your thoughts can be different, but the result is the same: this “must-win” attitude is sapping energy and increasing the tension. Also, you may start playing inadequately: first taking unnecessary risks against a lower-rated opponent, then forgetting to switch gears and going all-in against a higher rated one, thus committing chess suicide. All this leads to loss of points and disappointment. Let’s review the previously mentioned thesis once again. People do perform differently in each given game (e.g. a player rated 2000 may play one game at 1800-level, the other at 2000, and the third at 2200). Forget about ratings before the game, believe in your powers and go for a win, while trying to take advantage of your opponent’s weaknesses. Aim for constant improvement and get rid of the “must” attitude. You don’t owe anything to anybody at the chess board.
 

The other side of the medal is playing against a higher-rated opponent. If you remind yourself of the fact that one’s playing strength may vary, then why can’t you beat that guy? Everyone makes mistakes. Sticking to the above-mentioned example, if you are a 2000, you can try to do your best and perform at, let’s say, 2200. If your 2400-rated opponent has a bad day, he will also be playing at 2200. Now it’s an equal match all of a sudden! Of course, there is a certain chance that he will be in his top shape too (and play close to 2600). But you shouldn’t be afraid of that either: in this case you will learn a valuable lesson over the board and become stronger.  Therefore, don’t be intimidated by your titled and stronger opponents. At the end of the day not only the result of the game, but the experience matters. Treat all your opponents with equal respect. Everyone is vulnerable, even chess engines. In chess the strongest player during each given game wins, not the one who has more respect in the professional community, or a higher rating.  
 

Today I would like to share with you annotations to a first-round game from the Polugaevsky Memorial. As I was seeded in the upper half, in the 1^st round I got a significantly lower-rated opponent. During the game I didn’t bug myself with must-win thoughts, but simply tried to exploit my opponent’s mistakes. From reviewing his games I understood that he wasn’t good at tactics, so I tried to spice up the position. He attempted to avoid complications and made a seemingly solid move 13.e4, which in reality was a serious mistake that I managed to take advantage of.

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The Wolrld Team Chess Championship-2011 in Ningbo, China will be remembered by most chess fans as the first event in which the rating favorite - Russia - didn't make it to the top-3. The competition in chess is becoming more challenging: Russia has eleven 2700+ players to choose from. Ukraine 4-5, while others have less. Nonetheless, many countries can allocate 5 decent players (4 main and 1 reserve). Also, team events are special in the sense of the importance of team spirit. It can often compensate for a 50-100 points difference in average rating.
 

Armenia has proved this statement by winning the championship undefeated. Just four draws - against USA, Russia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine, and the Olympic Champions of 2006 and 2008 get another prestigeous title.
 

The tournament organizer, China, performed very well, proving that they know what patriotism and playing for one's country means. Even an unexpected loss against Israel in round 3 didn't stop them. Btw, Armenia also won its match against China, so silver was a well-deserved award for the former.
 

The mighty team of Ukraine started off by losing 1.5 points against the outsider Egypt, then lost to China, won against India and lost to Hungary. Many teams would have let it go, but the Ukrainians took their chance and won bronze. It was granted by an inexplicable play by the Russian team.
 

A nice start (3-1 vs USA, 3 vs 1 Hungary) was followed by a draw against Armenia and a shocking loss (1-3) to Azerbaijan, from which the Russian team couldn't recover. Top grandmasters started playing superficially. At some point hope was born that the Russians would be able to win the last four matches. Alas, in round 6 Ukraine got away with a draw, and in round 7 it seemed like Russia was winning 3-1 vs China, but it lost 1.5-2.5. A whitewash (4-0) against Israel in round 8 was a swan's song. Chess fans have noticed that in the case of a last round's non-loss by Armenia against Ukraine and China's loss to Hungary Russia would still have a chance for one of the medals. However, to start taking that into account, Russia had to defeat the Indian team. Given Anand's absence and a nearly 100-points average rating difference, this didn't seem like a heroic deed, but the strongest chess nation in the world lost 1.5-2.5 and finished at a relatively miserable 4th place.

In more detail about the results of Russian players:
 

Sergey Karjakin (2788) was clearly not ready to lead the team. The second highest-rated player of the championship scored -2 =4 and was sacked. Performance– 2624. Chess fans would notice that meanwhile Vladimir Kramnik gave a beating to his opponents in Dortmund. 4.5/5 is a result of chess engine (3000+), not human! It's a pity that the ex-World Chess Champion decided not to play for Russia, and the winner of the Russian Top League Alexander Morozevich wasn't even invited to participate. 
 

Alexander Grischuk (2747) kept shocking his teammates by leaving himself just a few minutes for 15-20 moves. Nonetheless, in time trouble he played brilliantly and scored better than others:  +4 -1 =3 and an impressive performance - 2836!
 

Ian Nepomniatchi (2711) became the informal leader of the team in this event in the first few rounds. Then his game started cracking up, and some totally winning positions weren't converted. This may have to do with fatigue, as he was the only player who didn't have any rest days.  +4 -1 =4 and a neat 2808 performance by the young Russian champion.
 

Experienced Peter Svidler (2739) disappointed his fans by scoring just 50%. +2 -2 =3 and the worst performance in the team – 2614.
 

While being somewhat psychologically constrained, Nikita Vitiugov (2733) proved his fighting spirit and put up a solid peformance - +2 =4, 2729. 
 

Hungary finished 5th mainly thanks to a successful comeback by its leader Peter Leko (2717), who performed at 2803. 
 

With the absence of Nakamura the USA team was not in contention for the medals and finished 6th. 50-year old chess veteran Yasser Seirawan (2635) was dubbed as "easy target" by many commentators before the event, but he scored +3 -1 =3 and performed at 2773, thus defending the honor of old-school chess.
 

Vugar Gashimov chose to decline an invitation to Biel to strengthen his team. Azerbaijan also employed the experienced ex-coach of the Ukraine team Vladimir Toukmakov. Nonetheless, Azerbaijan, a team that was considered one of the favorites, finished at 7th place.

India, lacking Anand, got the 8th place (just 7 team points), eliminating Russia's hopes for a medal in the final round.
 

Israel without Gelfand was also weakened by Emil Sutovsky's pathetic play (+1 -4 =2, performance of 2567). Ninth place.
 

The team from Egypt must have had a great experience at the event. They lost all their matches and scored only 9 individual points (the winning team got 22.5). Kudos to IM Sam Shoker who earned 4 points for his team (including a last-round win with Black against Mamedyarov himself!) and obtained a GM-norm.
 

The bitter taste of the results is too fresh to comment on it further and analyze the reasons. This can be done later, while for now any Russian chess fan would prefer to forget about this nightmare...
 

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Special article for Pogonina.com by Chess Coach William Stewart

The 1st Hangzhou Women Grandmaster Chess

Tournament was dominated by 20 year old rising Chinese star Ju Wenjun with a score of 6.5/9  and a performance rating of nearly 2700!  Hangzhou boasted the highest ever average FIDE  rating for an all-female event at 2524 FIDE.   This tournament victory is the best of Wenjun's career, as she earned her first grandmaster  norm and $5,000 dollars.  IM Harika Dronavalli of India had an impressive performance with  5.5/9, taking clear 2nd place and achieving her 3rd and final Grandmaster Norm.   The 2011 US Women's Chess Champion IM Anna Zatonskih must be disappointed after a difficult tournament, finishing

last with 2.5/9 points.  The reigning Women's World Champion GM Hou Yifan

probably isn't satisfied with her result either, as she finished in the

middle of the pack with an even score of 4.5/9. 

Ju Wenjun 

Harika Dronavalli achieved her 3rd GM Norm and 2nd Place   

P.S Updated live ratings after the event can be found here.

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