Kasparov on Chess Mistakes

Video by New York Public Radio

Former World Champion Garry Kasparov was interviewed on WNYC radio and spoke about making mistakes in chess. We all have been there… no matter what the level. The most popular refrain is, “I had a won game.” Mistakes are made and chess is unforgiving.

This clip is only two minutes long, but has a number of lessons. He discusses analyzing mistakes in past games. This is something that not all players do… not even strong ones. There are Master-level players who do not file their scoresheets or have their games in a database. Of course, Kasparov was known for his deep preparation and that was his recipe for staying at the top of chess for 20 years.

The often asked question… “How many moves do you see ahead” is an indication of a question asked by one who doesn’t play chess at all. We know that the number of moves one can see ahead is not the most important skill for chess. In fact, one can see 10 moves deep, but be analyzing the wrong path. Kasparov stated that the number of moves depends on the position. A famous World Champion (I think Lasker) said, “I only see one move ahead… the best move.”

Interesting video!