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BGonline.org Forums
What makes a player World Class
Posted By: trichard
Date: Wednesday, 25 November 2009, at 2:41 p.m.
The focus of the comments on this forum leans heavily to technical evaluations, with heavy emphasis on tiny differences in error rates as revealed by rollouts that sometimes take as long as all night. If you think I’m going to pan this emphasis, you’re wrong, because I find these analyses delightful to read and to study. However, I think there is too much concern for technical expertise and too little discussion of the non-technical factors that contribute to a World Class player’s success. The reasons for this overemphasis on technical problems seem to be twofold: technical errors are quantifiable, and therefore more definitive and less subjective than off the cuff opinions; and because the participants in this forum are for the most part highly intelligent, they tend to engage in technical analyses just for the sheer enjoyment of problem solving (throw in a little ego gratification, too).
I view playing to a very low error rate as a limiting factor – it won’t in itself win you the tournament, but you won’t get through a number of rounds to the finals unless you’re technically very proficient. And since any tournament has a lot of players with expert technical skills, the ones who win enough to be classified as World Class must have other attributes that aren’t quantifiable. Without going into a lot of detail, let me list what I think are some of these attributes:
Stamina – the ability to concentrate and engage in complex analysis over a long period of time.
Nerves – maintaining one’s composure and ability to concentrate when a lot is at stake.
Keeping your cool – Not getting upset when the dice f**k you over.
Intimidation – causing your opponent to make the wrong play or change his game because of the fear factor.
Avoiding excessive (and tiring) analysis when experience or falling back on reference positions can come up with the right play.
Ability to make a play which technically may not be “best” but takes advantage of a weakness in your opponent’s game.
Tells – e. g., observing when your opponent is sufficiently discouraged or apprehensive he will pass a cube he ought to take.
Gamesmanship – however broadly this is defined (I gather Ray Fogerland is good at this).
Rest – I don’t think you can play chouettes half the night and still be sharp the next day.
Drinking - I don't think a player can drink and play his best game, and this includes heavy drinking the night before.
I’d love to get the opinions of you tournament players on this. Perhaps some of you World Class (and near World Class) players will share some of your secrets.
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