With almost anything, one of the hardest things to get past is your own mind. And with chess, it’s how you play as well as one of the many obstacles you’ll face.
“It’s gonna be a tough day today for me but I’m not gonna give up and I’m gonna come back next year and win.” - Ons Jabeur
That was Ons Jabeur after losing to Markéta Vondroušová 6-4 6-4 in the 2023 Wimbledon Final. The previous year she had lost in the final to Elena Rybakina 3-6 6-2 6-2.
After losing the same tournament in the final 2 years in a row, a lot of people wouldn’t be able to say this in the interview right after the match. Sure, she was in tears, except the amount of dedication you have to have to be able to lose this big of a tournament two years in a row and still be motivated enough to say you’re going to come back next year is unreal.
But that’s the beauty of the game. In order to be some of the best, you need to have the dedication to keep going after a loss like this, and the same goes for chess.
A trait shared at the top
“I didn't show nearly what I was capable of in the critical moments, i feel it's a lot about Ian Nepomniachtchi and I'm just really, really anxious to get going and to show more of what I'm capable of than I have been able to [ so far ].” - Ian Nepomniachtchi
Ian Nepomniachtchi, the top Russian chess player, has been in the World Championship match two times in a row. Like Jabeur, he’s lost both times. Except also like Jabeur, he hasn’t given up. He admitted that following the loss, he hadn’t touched chess for a month, which is understandable. After that month, he got right back to playing, and he played in the Global Chess League.
What this shows is the dedication from these players. It is remarkable, to say the least, and it is a trait shared by most top players. Except that doesn’t mean you have to be a top player to gain it.
Not giving up
We’ve seen how all these top players haven’t given up after heartbreaking losses, except what about you? How do you gain the strength and dedication to not give up on chess for your next tournament? Well the answer is... you can’t.
Dedication isn’t something you can gain in a day. You get it from practice, from hard work. If you want to be able to bounce back from a loss, you need to do what you think you need to do. If you think maybe you need to take a step back from chess for a bit, do it. Your passion won’t go away, but your stress will.
Then when you come back, you’ll be more ready than ever to win that tournament, and even if you don’t, true passion is something that cannot be taken away by anyone else. The only person who decides your future is you.
