Table of Contents

Introduction
What is NLP?
Does NLP Work?
NLP and chess
Part 1: NLP Techniques
Technique #1: Foundation Anchor
Technique #2: Upset Recovery
Technique #3: The Reset Sequence
Technique #4: Maximum Chess Performance Programming
Part 2: NLP Maps
Key Map #1: Feedback
Key Map #2: Flow
New Map #3: Intention
Conclusion
Recommended Reading

New Chess Psychology

Igor Popov

(C) Copyright Popov Publishing 2014.
All Rights Reserved.

First printing: 2014

Disclaimer
The advice in this book is provided as general information only. The
publisher cannot guarantee that this information is free of typographical or
content errors. Furthermore, the content contains educational information
only up to its original publication date. The publisher nor the author shall be
held responsible for any negative effects on health or wellbeing as a result of
using the techniques described.

THE AUTHOR AND THE PUBLISHER WILL ASSUME NO LIABILITY
NOR RESPONSIBILITY TO ANY PERSON OR ENTITY WITH
RESPECT TO ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE RELATED DIRECTLY OR
INDIRECTLY TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS BOOK. THE
PUBLISHER WILL PROVIDE NO REMEDY FOR INDIRECT,
CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING
FROM THIS BOOK, INCLUDING SUCH FROM NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, OR BREACH OF WARRANTY OR CONTRACT, EVEN
AFTER NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

“There is no failure, only feedback.”

An NLP Maxim

Introduction

“Allow yourself to see what you do not allow yourself to see.”

- Milton Erickson

New Chess Psychology gives you a ‘new’ tool for mastering the mental
aspects of chess and increasing its enjoyment: NLP.
NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Don’t let the jargon scare
you. It is a practical, cognitive tool for managing and transforming your
mental states. You will develop the ability to enter and to stay in desirable
mental states at will, while avoiding and overcoming the counter-productive
ones FAST. It will improve your game performance... and you will have more
fun at the same time.

Specifically, the book will teach you the following:

Foundation Anchor - access good feelings whenever you like, even while
losing.
Upset Recovery - when you feel your game sliding, recover in minutes.
Reset Sequence - say good bye to your past conditioning and self-sabotage.
Maximum Chess Performance Programming - how do you program your
mind to perform at its optimum?
Feedback Map - do you still play chess within the success/failure or the
gain/loss dichotomy? There is a more effective way.
Flow Map - what is the best motivator? What will sustain your chess when
the going gets tough? How can your game feel great? How can you find
the motivation to constantly improve?
Intention Map - how can you meet your needs in good ways? how can you
care for yourself so that you flourish?
...and more.

These are the core of effective chess psychology. They worked for me and
others, and they can for you. All you have to do is try.

Igor Popov, Ph.D.
Los Angeles, California
December 2014

What is NLP?

“We take the very best of what people do, synthesise it down, make it learnable and share

it with each other...”

- Richard Bandler

NLP is a set of cognitive techniques that you can use to alter your state of
mind to achieve your goals. It was developed by Richard Bandler and John
Grinder in 1970s California. Grinder was a psychologist doing linguistics at
the Rockerfeller University, when he was approached by Bandler, an
undergrad asking for help in modeling the Gestalt therapy. Their partnership
led to a study of behavioral-cognitive therapies and eventually gave rise to
NLP. They were both brilliant, but rather odd personalities. It is rumored that
some aspects of Brad Pitt’s character in the Fight Club are loosely based on
Bandler. Grinder used to be in the Special Forces, but later became a
distinguished linguist.
The crucial idea of NLP is that excellence in any field corresponds to mind
states that can be modeled. We never simply experience ‘what happens’,
but only the internal representation of what happens. This ‘structure of
experience’ has a discernible pattern. NLP is about influencing and changing
this pattern in ways that are desirable and useful.
To have a new experience or a perspective, it is necessary to know what the
pattern is, how it works, and what changes must be made to get the desired
outcome. NLP is thus a set of tools for shaping perceptions into forms that we
want. Essentially, it is a brain hack.
If this sounds too abstract, do not worry. NLP is quite experiential. Once you
get into the techniques, you will understand how it works, and how it can
help your chess.

Summary

For now, keep 3 points in mind.
NLP is:

1.

a set of cognitive techniques that alters perception (no drugs required!

:)).

2.

practical in the sense that anyone can use it.

3.

about transforming the how aspect of experience.

You can use NLP to create the experience you want, in chess or

otherwise.

Does NLP Work?

“Change will lead to insight more often than insight will lead to change.

- Milton Erickson

NLP did not start with two guys just sitting down and deciding on some
arbitrary psycho mumbo-jumbo that sounded good. Bandler and Grinder
studied the techniques of the most successful therapists of their day
(Erickson, Satir, and Perls). In particular, Erickson was known as perhaps the
most effective hypnotherapist of all time. He specialized in ‘incurable cases’.
When others got stuck, they sent their patients to Erickson, who usually
brought about a major improvement.
There wasn’t anything mystical about his techniques. There was a structure
and a model he followed (implicit at that time) in order to make effective,
therapeutic changes in the patients’ internal world. Bandler and Grinder
analyzed Erickson’s therapy to the point where he felt they understood it
better than he did (see Recommended Reading at the end). Similarly, the
therapeutic models of Satir and Perls, the other two accomplished therapists
studied by Bandler and Grinder, were analyzed and assimilated into NLP.
What was it that made these people so effective? How were they able to ‘fix’
the dysfunctional mental states of others? How did they get the results that
eluded other professionals?
Bandler and Grinder distilled their findings into NLP, making it strongly
grounded in experiential reality. NLP is not based on abstract theories of
ivory tower academics, but on evidence of what works in practice. It has
been successful as a therapy technique, a learning acceleration technique, and
a treatment for depression, phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even
physical health problems. Pragmatic and empirical, it has been utilized by
such self-help luminaries as Anthony Robbins.
Far from a ‘theory’, NLP is not concerned with ‘knowing’, but with doing,
with being active and able to function at an optimal level. It is a performance
tool. The mind is powerful. NLP is a way to tap into that power.
I have been using NLP with success for a decade now, in chess, in my
relationships, and in business. It works... and is also fun to explore.

How can I experience life in the best way?

How can I create my own experiences?

How can I find and stay in the most positive and productive states of
mind?

That is what NLP is all about.

NLP and chess

“Once a response becomes a habit, you stop learning. Theoretically, you could act

differently, but in practice you do not. Habits are extremely useful, they streamline the

parts of our lives we do not want to think about...But there is an art to deciding what parts

of your life you want to turn over to habit, and what parts of your life you want to continue

to learn from and have choice about. This is a key question of balance.”

- John Seymour

NLP puts you in the driver’s seat of your perceptions. It enables you to
change not just how things appear to you, but how they make you feel. NLP
demonstrates that you are in control of how you experience what happens.
You can alter your internal world in ways that you never imagined possible.

How would you feel if you could:

play the same quality chess when you are losing as when you are
winning?
handle upsets quickly, in minutes (after a blunder!)?
enter your zone at will?
change the feeling of being ‘stuck’ or ‘not making progress’ into flow
and enjoyment?

Sound like big promises? They are! The results you get depend on how well
and how consistently you apply the techniques and adopt the NLP maps into
your mental landscape.

NLP will not give you new magical powers, but it will help you to discover
and use abilities you did not know you had.
Most chess players need to work on their psychology, their discipline,
patience, and resilience. For example, virtually nobody plays the same when
they are losing as when they are winning. What an edge if you could play
chess the same way at all times, and feel great. What would happen if you
could process negative feelings in minutes, as opposed to feeling bad for a
long time. Or if you could find motivation to study chess as much as you

want?
The materials are divided into two parts.
The first part (‘NLP Techniques’) will give you tools to create the
experiences you want. The second part (‘NLP Maps’) will teach you to create
new and better mental ‘maps’ for chess success.

Part 1: NLP Techniques

“Brains aren’t designed to get results; they go in directions.

If you know how the brain works, you can set your own directions.

If you don’t, then someone else will.

- Richard Bandler

An NLP technique is a sequence of steps designed to bring about a change in
your mental state.

We will begin with the Foundation Anchor, which puts your positive feelings
at your finger tips.

Technique #1: Foundation Anchor

The Foundation Anchor is a way to access positive feelings at will. You will
be able to recover from negative feelings FAST, and feel great no matter what
happens. You will also be able to generate motivation and energy.

1. Recall an experience that made you feel really good

It can be anything from your childhood or adult life. The only requirement is
that you remember feeling GREAT.

2. Make it as vivid as you can

Now make it really come alive in your mind. See it BIG. Make the colors
brighter, and the sounds more amplified. If there was any taste, make it more
distinct. Get into the sensations you felt then. Feel them strongly. Jump into
the picture. Don’t be a spectator. Experience it again. See it through your
eyes as if you were there now.
Make the scene move, from the start to the end. Notice the feeling in you.

3. Run it again and again

Run that experience repeatedly in your mind, with great vividness. Wallow in
that positive, happy feeling. Repeat several times. Relive it over and over.
Increase it. Make it strong. Repeat it until you feel it to its maximum.

4. Install

Say the words “Anchor 1” in your mind as the experience is playing. Imagine
the words floating across the scene you are picturing. Play the experience
again and say “Anchor 1” and see the words. Again.

5. Use

If you did the steps correctly, whenever you say “Anchor 1”, the scene will
pop vividly into your mind, and the positive feelings you experienced in the
past will be present. If the anchor seems weak, repeat the process. This
creates a feel good ‘button’ in your mind that you can push anytime you like.

Don’t stop there! Identify the 4 most positive experiences in your life.
Install them the same way as Anchor 2, Anchor 3...etc.
Aim for a variety. Include some good things that happened to you in your
childhood, with your friends, in your relationships, things that you love and
enjoy, that made or make your life happy and meaningful.
It is important to have a set of anchors at your finger tips that you can access
at will. It will help you in a number of tough spots.
If you have trouble coming up with the four experiences for your anchors,
you can use other materials: an image that is particularly inspiring to you, a
movie scene that motivates you, or a tune that you find especially appealing.
When you are upset (and everybody is sometimes), GO THROUGH YOUR
ANCHORS. You will start feeling an immediate relief, as the positive
feelings brought up by your anchors will offset and eradicate the negative
feelings you experience on tilt.
Of course, the anchors are not useful just for chess. You can use them for
anything, whenever you feel down, need encouragement, or just wish to have
extra motivation and energy. For instance, if you would like to study chess,
but feel lazy, use your anchors to motivate yourself. Accessing your best
feelings is quite energizing!

Technique #2: Upset Recovery

You can use Foundation Anchors to eradicate any upsets, but there is another
great method to help you get over negative feelings, like those experienced
after a blunder. Upset Recovery is even more direct.

1. Recognize Pain

Be aware of your inner mental states (moods, anxieties, fears, hopes,
wishes...) at all times. Notice when they become painful. Nobody tilts when
they are feeling great. We do it when something happens (usually a sequence
of bad moves), and our body/mind responds with pain. (Pain of loss, pain of
frustration...etc. For the purpose of the technique, the source of pain is
actually irrelevant. We are only concerned with how to process it.)
So the first step is to recognize the feeling of pain. It does not have to be
agony. It can be subtle. Perhaps a discomfort. Look at the following scale:

Ideally, when you play chess, your pain number should be stuck at 0. Have
this scale in your mind as you play. Monitor yourself for the presence of any
pain.
Should you ignore low pain (1 and 2 on the scale)? If you do, the problem is
that it can easily escalate. Even if you feel 1, go through the process.
Periodically ask yourself:

Where am I on the scale?

Any answer other than zero, and you should go through the process. It only
takes a second to check on yourself once in a while (you could do this after
each move). It increases your self-awareness tenfold, which is an essential

component of success.

2. Decide to Let Go of Thoughts About It

“I can’t !@#$ing believe I blundered again. I WAS winning....”
“WTF!!!!”
“Unbelievable. How can...”

Let go of them. They don’t help you. They are merely expressions of the
feelings underneath. As we will be addressing the feelings directly (cause),
there is no need to wallow in angry, self-damaging thoughts (effect). Doing
that tends to increase, not decrease the pain you feel.
So consciously drop all thoughts about it. It is a decision. Make it for your
own good.

3. Go Into the Sensations

After you drop your thoughts, you are ready to handle the pain. Your pain is
actually in the body. What sensations do you feel? Where are they?
During an upset, we feel unpleasant and painful sensations in the body. The
instinct is to want to make them go away. People try in all kinds of ways:

‘revenge chess’ - essentially making more aggressive moves, in order to
‘equalize’.
drugs / alcohol - medicating the pain by tranquillizing the body.
suppressing - forcing the feelings down.
repressing - taking the pain and projecting it outwards, with blame and
anger, unto others.

DO THE OPPOSITE. If you are a Seinfeld fan, you probably recall the
episode where George realizes that he has been doing everything wrong. So
to change his life, he decided to do the opposite of his normal self. As a
consequence, and to his great surprise, he lands a job with the New York
Yankees and a hot girlfriend.
Do the opposite: Instead of wanting to make the painful sensations go

away, make a conscious decision to stay with them. How do you do that?
By focussing your attention on them, by going deeper into them on purpose.
Suppose that you feel pain (upset, frustration...etc.) in your stomach. Focus
on it. Go into it. Don’t resist it. Experience it as it is. Be open to it, stay with
it. Keep watching that painful sensation. Put your focus right in the center of
it. Stay there willingly.
Something will happen in a relatively short time. Your awareness will
dissolve the pain. Think of your pain as a piece of plastic, and your awareness
as a laser that melts it. Consciousness is the great dissolver. When we are
aware, we are free. When we are unconscious, we suffer.
You know you have succeeded when the unpleasant feelings melt into ease. I
have cut down my own recovery time from one hour to less than 2 minutes
using this technique.
99% of the time, whatever bothers us is also experienced in the body as an
unpleasant feeling or sensation. You can dissolve it. I have known people
who used it to eradicate chronic pain. This is one of the great things about
NLP: what you learn applies across the board.
Give it a serious try.

Technique #3: The Reset Sequence

Everyone made mistakes in the past. It is a part of being human.
Unfortunately, we internalize the mistakes we made as a part of who we are:
the more serious the mistake is, the larger the shadow it casts in the mind. It
sabotages our behavior through regret and unconscious guilt. This technique
will teach you how to recover from mistakes.

1. Recollect

Remember a time when you made a mistake. It can be any mistake that pops
into your mind, big or small, recent or years ago. It can be a painful blunder
over the board or something else.

2. Play It with New Modalities

See yourself making that mistake in your mind. Play the movie slow. Feel
what you felt then.
Now play it again, but this time make the picture slow, black and white,
blurry, and small (decrease the size of the picture as you visualize it). If the
movie is a box size, make it a cell phone size, and then make it as small as a
match box, barely being able to see what is happening.

4. Play It Slow with New Behavior

Now imagine yourself doing the right thing (instead of the mistake). Make
the movie screen BIG, fill it with colors, make the picture sharp, and give it
positive and new overtones. Create it in your mind in such a way that it feels
happy as you do the right thing.
Jump into the movie, and replay it with you in the driver’s seat: the first
person perspective.

What do you see when you do the right thing?
How do you move?

What do you feel?
What is around you?
How does it happen?
Are there any sounds?
How does the experience feel through all your senses?

With the Reset Sequence, you override your old damaging tendencies that
you have acquired in the past. Effectively, you can ‘uninstall’ the past, and
walk away not just unscathed, but having a new program installed in your
mind. The next time the situation repeats itself, your brain is ready with a
new behavior. By repeating the sequence, you form it into an automatic
response. You condition your brain to do the right thing without
instructions, developing unconscious competence.

Technique #4: Maximum Chess Performance

Programming

Many chess players fail to increase their ratings despite trying for years. They
worked hard on the technical aspects of their game, but there seems to be no
improvement.
The truth is that purely technical approach to chess can take you only so far.
The important question is:

Is there a psychological technique to increase my rating?

YES!! You can do so by changing your submodalities. Submodalities are
aspects of what you see, hear, and feel. You already used them in the
previous technique by making the old image black and white, blurry, and
small.
“Chess” is a certain image in your mind. Your performance has quality
only to the extent that your mental image creates it. In order to make it
effective, you need to try different submodalities and see what works, what
makes you perform at your peak. One size does not fit all. You have to look
at how you create your image or movie in your mind, and experiment with
the changes.

1. Know Your Experience Control Panel

Think of these as scales that you can adjust in your mind any way you like.
This is your Experience Control Panel!

Visual:
Big - Small
Dark - Bright
Far - Near
Focus - Fuzzy
Still - Moving
Color - Black and White

Auditory:
Loud - Quiet
Fast - Slow
High tone - Low tone
Far - Near

Kinesthetic:
Smooth - Rough
Heavy - Light
Hot - Cold
Strong - Weak
Far - Near

2. Recognize Your Chess Submodalities

Look at the submodalities of your chess play. Start with the mental image or
movie that you have in your mind, and look at your Experience Control
Panel.
First look at the visual aspects. How does the image look when you play? Is it
big or small? dark or bright? far or near?...
Then notice the auditory features. Are there any sounds? Are they loud or
quiet? Fast or slow?...
Lastly, move to the kinesthetic. What sensations do you feel? Are they
smooth or rough? Heavy or light?...

3. Recognize Your EXCELLENCE Submodalities

Think to a time when you excelled at something... and you loved doing it.
Go through the submodalities of that image.
How did it look? How did it sound? How did it feel? Notice the visual,
auditory, and kinesthetic aspects. Pay special attention to any submodalities
that really ‘made’ the experience for you. These will be aspects of that
experience that really stands out. Again, this can be anything visual, auditory,
or kinesthetic.

4. Change Your Chess Submodalities into Excellence Submodalities

Now we will take the chess submodalities (discovered in step 2) and change
them into excellence submodalities (discovered in step 3). Compare the
visual, auditory, and kinesthetic submodalities of the two, and change
any submodalities in the chess image to match your excellence image. If
the color is off, adjust it to the excellence modality. If the sound is off, adjust
it as well...etc. In other words, make the ‘chess’ picture look like your
‘excellence’ picture in every aspect.

Your quality of performance is correlated with the quality of the picture you
create in your mind. You can change the submodalities of the ‘chess’ picture
in such a way that you naturally program yourself to perform at your best.
Use the Experience Control Panel to tweak the picture in your mind that
makes you feel good. Play with the properties. What works? What doesn’t?
This is individual.

To perform at your best in anything, discover the configuration of
submodalities that convince your brain to excel. The things that bring
out the best in you have specific submodalities, as do the things that turn
you off. If you present it to your brain in the right way, your brain becomes
effective.
NLP is experimental. You get to know yourself at a deep level, while
learning to control your mental representations (‘pictures’, ‘images’,
‘movies’...etc.) in ways that enable you to be excel.

I have given you 4 techniques. There are many more, but walk before you fly.
If you master these four, you are well on your way.

Use the Foundation Anchor to access good feelings whenever you like.
Use the Upset Recovery to regain your balance when you need to.
Use the Reset Sequence to get rid of your past conditioning.
Use the Maximum Chess Performance Programming to play at your absolute
best.

Part 2: NLP Maps

“We all have beliefs and expectations from our personal experience; it is impossible to live

without them. Since we have to make some assumptions, they might as well be ones that

allow us freedom, choice, and fun in the world, rather than ones that limit us.”

- John Seymour

NLP says that we don’t really know which beliefs are true, so it makes sense
to consciously choose beliefs that work the best. NLP is pragmatic. ‘Working
the best’ is measured in terms of consequences, delivering results. And to
really get results, you must be conscious about the directions in which you set
your brain.
Your beliefs are an important factor in determining your results. As a simple
example, imagine a chess player who believes (perhaps subconsciously) that
to be a ‘winner’, he must win every game. Of course, such a belief will lead
to pain. He will likely underperform, by putting strong pressure on himself.
Perhaps he will even give up the game. Compare that with a chess player who
believes that losses are a part of the game. Then a loss becomes no big deal
and is not threatening to the ego or one’s well being. There is no emotional
anguish or tilt. He played his best; nothing else matters.
Two different maps. One results in self-sabotage, the other in self-
empowerment. Beliefs are outcome potent. They exert more power over
results than is apparent. NLP places a premium on having efficient beliefs
that work in practice. Techniques are great, but to be truly effective, you also
need beliefs that are able to support those techniques in the right context.
So ask yourself:

Which of my beliefs have REALLY worked for me?

Which of my beliefs have SABOTAGED me?

A set of beliefs linked together is called a ‘map’. Everyone carries around
many maps. Some are useful, some are not. In this section, we will unearth
old, ineffective maps, and replace them with useful ones.

As a telling exercise, complete the following sentences:

I play chess mostly for...
Winning is...
Losing is...
Good chess is about...
Upset happens when...
Success means...
Failure means...
What I like about chess is...
What I hate about chess is...
My greatest strength is...
My greatest weakness is...
I am motivated when...

Hopefully, you are now more aware of your own maps.
Now let’s look at possible alternatives. They work in chess, because they
work in poker, tennis, therapy, writing, and a gazillion other endevors. I
experimented with them in different fields (I try to have the same universal
approach to everything). They will serve you well, if you give them a chance.

Key Map #1: Feedback

“There is no failure, only feedback” - NLP Maxim

Thinking in terms of feedback instead of the success/failure or the gain/loss
dichotomy can make a big difference. The outcome of any move or game is
feedback, never failure. Whether you win or lose, consider it as feedback to
you, an output to be analyzed as opposed to a personal judgement about you
or some kind of permanent setback.
Few chess players dissect their performance when they are winning; some do
when they are losing; winners analyze their play regardless of the outcome.
Turn your results into ways to improve. Look at what happened, the quality
of your decisions. Making room for short-term fluctuations, how did you
play? What are your weak areas? Where are you strong? How do you need to
improve?

Think about the benefits of this map:
1. Positivity - all outcomes simply become learning opportunities
(‘feedback’). Your ego is not at stake. With such mindset, you feel good and
positive, or at least neutral about negative outcomes.
2. Possibility - failure is not recognized as final. Failure simply means that
you are not there yet. No feedback is final. It is still possible to succeed.
3. Improvement - failure is recognized as helpful. You paid for the
experience that you can now use to improve. And how could you ever get
better without feedback?
4. Safety - the image of failure triggers the ‘fight or flight’ dynamic in your
brain. It puts your nervous system on high alert. Understanding outcomes as
feedbacks puts you at ease. Chess does not become a matter of life or death.
If you win, fantastic. If you lose, that’s ok. You learn from both.

Take the load off your back. All outcomes are just feedback. This is a new
way to handle the unpleasant. Think of the first example: playing the same
way whether winning or losing. If you have fully embraced the ‘no failure,
only feedback’ map, you will be at ease because your success will be

measured in terms of learning, not score.

“There is no failure, only feedback,” is a foundational NLP maxim. It works
well in everything. Think outside of chess. Failed relationship? It was a
feedback about worked and what did not. Successful business? That was
feedback too. Unsuccessful investment? Same thing. The only failure is when
you don’t learn from the feedback.
Quit punishing yourself in the web of the success / failure. You can learn
from every experience and use it to your advantage. Another way of stating
this powerful map is: “There is no loss”. Adopting this map as your own is
empowering, because it turns losing into learning.

Key Map #2: Flow

“Experience has a structure.” - NLP Maxim

Every experience has a structure. The question is how to structure your
experience in the best way. There is a word used to describe optimal
experience: flow. The world’s foremost expert on flow is Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced as Chicks-Make-Me-High, I am not making
this up). Csikszentmihalyi spent his life studying happiness and creativity and
discovered the notion of flow as a structure of optimal experience. His
seminal work Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience outlines the
following as factors of flow:

1.

Clear goals

2.

Feedback

3.

Balance of skills and challenges

4.

Loss of self awareness

5.

Loss of distraction awareness

6.

No worry of failure

7.

Intrinsic motivation (doing the activity for its own sake)

What does chess look like when you structure your experience around
the idea of flow?

Have Clear Goals - these should be goals in your control, in other words
process goals. Focus on improving one aspect of your game in each session,
technical or psychological.

Feedback - as already discussed, consider outcomes as learning
opportunities. They are feedback, not failure. In fact, remove failure from
your vocabulary. Failure is another word for fear. Access your anchors to get
rid of all fear whenever you need to.

Right Course - Pick the right course for your game. Be sure to play chess in
such a way that your skills are balanced with the challenges. Too hard and
you get anxious (no flow). Too easy and you get bored (no flow). Know your
sweet spot, and choose an opponent that challenges you without frustrating
you. (For instance, you should not be playing speed chess if your rating is
1300 and your opponent’s is 1900.)

Focus - give 100% on each move. Forget yourself, forget distractions. Find
pleasure in thinking about and finding the best move. If you feel it is tough to
focus or be motivated, go back to technique #4 and change the submodalities.
Remember, how you feel about anything depends on the picture of it you
make in your mind.

Intrinsic Motivation - To get the most enjoyment out of chess, have intrinsic
motivation. In other words, don’t play just in order to win over someone else.
Here are some examples:

Enjoyment.
Challenge.
The pleasure of finding hard-to-see moves.
Excellence.
The love of the game.
Self-development.
FUN.

These are all excellent main motivators that will keep you going through the
rough spots.

Read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. It is a story about Howard Roark, an
architect who is in love with what he does... and he does it for its own sake,
with deep intrinsic motivation. It is not that he refuses the rewards. But that is
not the reason for what he does.
Life is best enjoyed not for the rewards, but for what it is, being in the
moment, using your mind and body in new, complex, and creative ways.
That is what expands consciousness and makes us feel happy. That’s
flow.

Remember this paradox: you perform better when you are focussed on the
process, not on the result. Recently, I read an interview with a strong
grandmaster. He said he “got good” only after he abandoned his focus on his
performance, which was causing severe emotional fluctuations.
Structure your chess around the concept of flow to achieve ‘optimal
experience’. You will not lack motivation, and will enjoy the process for
what it is. Forget failure, forget results. Keep a clear and positive image in
your mind, and fully immerse yourself in the process of continuous
improvement.

New Map #3: Intention

“Every behavior has a positive intention.” - NLP

Maxim

How can every behavior have positive intention?
Think about yourself. Everything you do, you do for your benefit, even so
called ‘bad things’.
For example, people smoke in order to cope with life, to relieve stress, to feel
better. That’s positive intention. Sure, they go about it in the wrong way, but
that does not change the fact that they want to do something good for
themselves.
Use this map to increase the understanding you have of yourself. Name your
‘bad’ behaviors and state the positive intention (‘need’ or ‘want’) behind
them.

Example:
Smoking - want to feel good and relieve stress.
Overeating - enjoy food, comfort
Anger - feel in control, express myself
Feel good - alcohol
etc.

Notice that the goal of every behavior is to feel better. That is a positive
intention, and there is nothing wrong with that. But the problem is that not
all behaviors work. For instance, overeating may give you momentary
comfort, but has serious negative long-term side effects (poor health, poor
appearance, poor self esteem). It is important to look for behaviors that
meet your needs in healthy ways.
Write down your top 3 needs, and then think of a behavior that works (i.e.
meets that need in a healthy way). Start with your need in the first column (‘I
need to...’), and then put a positive action in the second column (‘New
Behavior to Meet that Need’).

Example:
Relieve stress - meditation
Feel in control - develop self-confidence by working towards my goals
Express myself - start blog, write books, try painting
Feel good - yoga (...releases endorphins naturally)

This map is about recognizing your needs, and then meeting them with
behaviors that do not sabotage you. It is about caring for yourself in the
right way, without guilt or damage. Do not feel guilty about your
‘weaknesses’. Simply recognize the positive intention behind them... and
then come up with new healthy behaviors.
Do more of what works, and less of what doesn’t. The key is consciousness.
If you don’t choose your direction, something or someone else will do it for
you. Take responsibility for your perceptions, behaviors, and life. Such a self-
directed life is gratifying because it is meaningful.

Conclusion

We covered several techniques and maps. They can make a real difference in
the quality of your chess, and in the way you experience life. The central
point is this:

How you feel about anything depends on the kind of picture you create

in your mind.

Make it bright and positive, and you will hardly contain your energy and

motivation.

Make it dull and painful, and you will wonder why you feel depressed.

Everyone lives in the world of their own making.

Make your world as you like. I have given you some tools. Use them for
chess, use them for everything. Transform your experiences into what you
would like them to be. You are in charge of your perceptions.

NLP is your Experience Control Panel. It is a tool. What you do with it, is up
to you.

As the kung fu panda said:

The secret ingredient... is you.

Happy Playing!

Recommended Reading

Bandler, Richard. Get the Life You Want: The Secrets to Quick and Lasting
Life Change with Neuro-linguistic Programming. HCI, 2008.
NLP Techniques for quick change. Learn from the Master.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.
Harper Collins, 2009.
Seminal work on optimizing experience. Not explicitly NLP, but useful for
structuring your experience.

Rand, Ayn. The Fountainhead. Plume, 1994.
A classic about individualism and intrinsic motivation. Intellectual fiction.

“Life will bring you pain all by itself.

Your responsibility is to create joy.”

- Milton Erickson