Desperate Measures by Luciano Uzuegbu

Like most chess addicts, I crave for chess games, often playing for fun and pride and on occasion, for money and so my personality is mostly tied to my games, absorbing the ever attendant pressure in the duel of 'life and death'. That's the definition of the game which has formed the hallmark of my personality (thanks to GOD!)

I have played my fair measure of chess, honorably captaining the chess club of my university (ABSU) in 1999, but have never finished tops in any of the major tournaments in Nigeria which is why many may readily call me a fish. ( which I would have to accept as I haven't worked hard enough to prove otherwise). My excuse (of course I have one) is that I work for a living and only hold chess as a true expression of my passionate leisure. However I think it would be quite misleading to sum me up as a low level player or underestimate my ability. I happen to think that I can hold my own against some if the best in the country.

You might be tempted to discard this writing as a nasty piece of a self-praising under-achiever, and there you definitely miss the point. I intend to draw your attention to what I call 'Desperate Measures' which underlie and determine most battles on board. To those situations when you have to 'March up to death with the desperation of a Spartan (Ed: you've seen the movie) than remain and be smothered to death in your fortress'. Sometimes, a difficult situation may arise from sacrifices, perhaps of pawns, made earlier in the game to gain activity. Here, one is hard pressed not only to achieve equality (which may never be) but also to go on a head-long collision with the enemy in a fight to finish! The pressure is usually so intense that your breath echoes it as loud as your heart beats with congested nostrils; you may even suffer a heart attack (Ed : I sincerely hope not ) and breakdown physically.

Your ability to keep your nerve while under intense pressure is the first step in saving your life. This is the true character of a warrior! As you absorb the pressure mounted by your opponent, as your king runs frantically from checks, as your major officers try not to be captured by a minor pieces (or worse still, taken for free), you have too keep thinking of how to deflect your opponents attack and how to 'hit him back hard' .

To do this, you must decide which soldiers will die and which ones should remain to protect the king. You must be prepared to make more sacrifices upon the ones perhaps made earlier. You must be ready to seize the tempo even in a relatively inferior position. Don’t ever think of defending forever as you’ll be defeated long before you’re out! Once you’re able to rattle your opponent’s king a little, carefully study the game and try to sniff out the tiny loopholes in his strategy, his position, his game. To succeed, you must constantly evaluate your position and be prepared to carry on with out any necessary measures to retain the tempo and keep his king busy!

My advice is an extract from my experience with managing bad positions, especially against top players ! As it turns out, I am in good company. At Corus 1999, the first game between Garry Kasparov and Veselin Topalov show you just what I mean by desperate measures. 
So the next time you play for a win in a tough position, be ready to wear the garb of a warrior, for this is the mindset required for survival and be prepared to go down fighting, for you can win with honor, even in defeat!