In the recent Dresden Olympiad, November 2008, Armenia and Israel, rated 9^th and 8^th respectively, somewhat surprisingly took the gold and silver medals.

Following the victory of the Armenian men’s national team, Armenian president Sargsyan made a speech.  “All the international commentators unanimously noted the team spirit of our players” - he said.  “Every member of our national team is an exceptional individual; however together they are a team: one willpower, one goal, one flag.”

Israel achieved its highest rank ever, and that without two of its top players – GMs Sutovsky and Smirin.  In this case too, the local press praised the team spirit of its players.

It appears odd to talk about a team spirit in an activity where the overall result is calculated by accumulation of individual scores.  However, team-spirit does indeed count.  I noted that the term is frequently used, in instances where chess teams perform much above their expected score.

Ingredients of team spirit in chess

How does team-spirit affect individual chess results?  It seems that in great chess teams, each player adheres to the following characteristics:

• To respect and honor one’s teammates.

• To support colleagues (team members), especially in times of crisis.

• To assist other team members in analysis and preparation.

• To keep good relations with team members, avoiding arguments and disputes until the competition is over.

• To ensure equal human status to all team members, regardless of their playing strength.

• To fight wholeheartedly for a common goal - the team’s success.

• To fight heroically, giving one’s best in each and every encounter.

• To sacrifice one’s individual goals for the sake of the team's interests.  A popular phrase – “all for one and one for all” – catches the essence of it. [This one is a cornerstone and may be manifested in a variety of ways e.g.:
  - agreeing to play successive rounds with the black pieces, or
  - to participate in a duel even when one doesn’t feel well; or
  - to give up one’s right to play so that a teammate would be able to have a chance of winning a board prize or a norm, or
  - agree to a draw in a winning position to ensure the team’s victory.]

• To share opening novelties with members of the team.  [This may seem trivial to the observer, but as GM Greenfeld, captain of the Israeli team states: “Many chess players find it inconvenient to share their knowledge with a peer who might tomorrow be their adversary”].

• All in all, a major idea of a good team-spirit is to achieve a synergy – so that the sum of the individuals' capabilities will add up to more than their accumulative force.

How do you build good team spirit?

Many activities have been tried, in various fields, to raise cooperativeness within a team and connect its parts into a well-functioning whole.

In chess we may refer to the following:

• Assimilating the team’s history and tradition in team members.

• Emphasizing previous achievements.

• Spending time in cohesive and integrating activities.

• Creating a unified vision.

• Forming concrete goals.

It is also crucial to build a commitment between teammates. [Army soldiers reveal that in a battle, they first and foremost fight for their buddies. In a similar vein, chess team, in which individuals make an effort not just for their own benefit, nor for abstract terms like “the flag”, but for the good of their team-friends, are likely to do better]. 

Some sources suggest that even trifles like a common uniform of team members is likely to raise their bond.

* A final note: It seems that good team spirit goes hand in hand with a current positive performance. One seldom meets a lousy team performance combined with a great team spirit. So perhaps perseverance of this evasive concept of team-spirit depends upon… winning!

Return to Inside Avni's Mind
 

© 2006-2008 by Amatzia Avni and Chessville

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