In around 1960, Mikhail Botvinnik, a former World Champion from the Soviet Union, also known as the patriarch of chess, invited a young boy to train with him.
After training, Botvinnik said, “This boy has no clue about chess. There’s no future for him in this profession.”
Such words coming from a legend and former World Champion like Botvinnik would be soul-crushing even for adults, let alone a young boy.
The legend
Many dreams would die. But not the dream of this child.
15 years later, this young kid became a World Champion. And today, he’s celebrated as one of the greatest chess players.
His name? Anatoly Karpov.
Imagine how much he had motivated himself after the crushing words he heard from a former World Champion.
How does motivation affect chess?
Most people think to succeed at chess, you need to be intelligent or be god-gifted.
However, a very big role is played by motivation. It’s a champion quality. It’s the fire in your belly that makes magic possible.
Motivation fuels long hours of practice.
Motivation encourages individuals to work on their game.
Motivation helps a player endure painful defeats and strive for continuous improvement.
So how do you go about finding it?
Finding motivation
There’s one easy question you can ask yourself to get started –
“What makes you play chess?”
Is it because you want to be the best player one day?
Is it because you love the champion’s trophies?
Is it because you want to win against your dad?
The reason can be anything that sparks a fire in you.
Once you have that reason, it will give you the strength to push on when you need it the most.
Take action
It could’ve been easy for Karpov to give up. But he didn’t.
So what’s your motivation for playing chess?
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News
News
- We are thrilled to share some wonderful news with you! Recently Dainik Bhaskar (one of leading Hindi newspapers) has mentioned Victorious Chess Academy as one among the top most chess academies.
- One of our brightest students, Bhavanya Panchumathi from Kuwait recently did something illustrious in the chess world.
- Victorious Chess Academy conducted its 21st Internal Tournament on 31st October 2021.
Not only the students but also their parents actively participated in the tournament. - Congratulations to dear Gargi Sane ma’am for achieving the respectable title of National Instructor (NI) from World Chess Federation – FIDE
- One of our brightest students, Sharvari Saharkar from the UK, has won the British Junior Chess Championship which happened on 13th and 14th of November. She stood first in the category of Under 8 Girls Rapid.
See what our online student says....
I'm very happy to have an opportunity to learn from Kapil Sir and being a part of the VCA family.
I would like to give Kapil Sir 9.5 out of 10 as He says "There is always room for improvement!"