"The way he plays chess demonstrates a man's whole nature."
                                                                           ~Stanley Ellin       

Attitude Check #4--The Third Freedom
"...freedom from fear   
      of doing something that
     benefits someone else 
 more than myself..." 

"I've come to the conclusion that the whole line is good for White."  Rich smiled and started setting up the pieces.  "Here, let me show you."  We were sitting in the café at Borders one evening a few weeks ago, looking at games and discussing opening systems.  His fingers darted quickly over the board as he shared his own analysis of a variation I'd been considering playing as Black.  We dug into some key positions, and after an hour or so, he'd convinced me.

Rich Shtivelband is an university student who won the most recent Washington Masters and made a strong showing in this year's Oregon Championship.  He's now a National Master and is steadily on his way to even higher ranking.  Rich is also a former student of mine, and a good friend.  He still calls or stops by with an occasional question about some part of his game he wants to improve.  However, that evening at Borders the roles were reversed--student was teacher, and teacher was learner.

It certainly wasn't a practical thing for Rich to do.  He and I face each other over the board every so often and, though he is now rated higher than I am, I doubt he takes our games lightly.  From a competitive standpoint, it would have been better for him to have said nothing, keeping the conclusions from his own hard work to himself and allowing me to persist in my superficial understanding of that line.  Quite likely he would have had a chance to take advantage of the situation in a future tournament, possibly winning a game off of me specifically by using this particular line.  However, Rich chose a different path.

I've reflected on that interaction several times while preparing to write about the third freedom--"the freedom from fear of doing something that benefits someone else more than myself."   There's no question that Rich helped me more than I helped him that evening.  And since he and I are both competitors, it's worth pondering some reasons why he might have done so.

Part of why he shared with me could have been simply a matter of "giving back," since I've worked a lot with him in his growth as a player.  However, I think it's rather deeper than that.  I believe Rich's actions reveal his high quality character.

From my own experience and observation, sharing from one's journey of understanding can be a great joy.  But then, I'm a teacher at my core, so the idea of passing on insights to others is natural to me.  I am also a student through and through, so discussing discoveries with others sits comfortably with me as well.  However, I realize that competitive realities make this hard for a lot of people to do.  Oftentimes chess players will hesitate to share as Rich did, out of fear of giving away more than they get.  Some may even label such an approach 'foolish' in the context of chess competition, arguing that it is necessary to hoard information and insights.  But people who take this attitude may not be aware of the important things they're missing out on. 

First of all, when you willingly share out of your hard-won understandings with a potential opponent, you are asserting that competitive results and ratings are not your only focus, but chess itself is what interests you.  Would any of us argue against the notion that it is more pleasurable to be fully absorbed in the complexities of a game than to be stressing over its outcome?  This kind of positive energy is contagious, and influences us back into a less self-absorbed, more relaxed and objective perspective--one with which we can better enjoy playing chess. 

Another reason for sharing is the simple matter of friendship.  The pursuit of chess skills can be a frustrating, nerve-wracking and solitary experience.  Sharing contributes to the development of friendships, and it's very important to have friends along the path, with whom we can laugh or ask for assistance when we need it. 

Life is a giving chain.  Think of someone, or several someones, who shared good wisdom with you at a crucial stage in your development.  These are people who risked opening up with you.  When you share, you keep the chain going.  At some point, the things you've shared will be passed on yet again to others.  Who knows how many people may ultimately benefit because of your sharing?

There will undoubtedly be people you'd rather not open up with very much, and that's likely as it should be.  But the point we can get from Rich Shtivelband's example is that it's possible to be an extremely strong chess player and a giving human being at the same time.  

The third freedom is about giving of ourselves without fear of getting too little in return.  Indeed, when you share your insights about chess, it may very well benefit someone else more than it benefits you.  However, sharing with others ultimately enhances the chess experience of everyone in your sphere of influence...and that includes you.

Nothing that you have not given away will ever really be yours.
                                                                                     --C.S. Lewis

   -Attitude Check #3 --The Second Freedom                    
-Attitude Check #2 --The First of the Four Freedoms 
-Attitude Check #1 --The Four Freedoms                    

© 2002-2004 Pete Prochaska. All rights reserved.

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