i want to know is there any way to keep mind consistent and calm while playing chess.
I tend to panic a lot when i feel like i am winning a game.
I also feel the same when i look at countdown timer especially when timer goes below `10 minutes( because I am a beginner and not capable to making quick thinking for now)
Sometimes i don't feel like playing while i am playing.( I have no idea why and play by intuition) which often ends up very bad.
Any methods to stay calm and keep mind consistent so that i can play chess not meddled by my intuition but by proper reasoning?
If you have to ask this question, you are not ready.
i know the panic feeling, that goes away with more play, i don't experience it any more and i am a beginner just like you.
The more games of chess you play the less panicked you will be.
if you learn some silly openings and play them against people over the board in real life you will begin to feel tremendously more comfortable. be creative and rambunctious, make yourself a fool and you will no longer feel panicked.
Hmm... It's true that experience helps, but sometimes you are just going to feel a little bit uncomfortable, especially in a decisive position. The excitement is part of why people play chess OTB!
Even after 500+ rated games over the board, this still happens to me. Get some sleep, play more games, and take slow, deep breaths if you still become anxious or distracted.
I have overcome anxiety by focusing on finding the best move... I always do a post-game review and analysis of every game that I play and my goal is not to simply win the game but to play the game blunder free and mistake free. Strive to become a more accurate player ( which requires thought over emotion ) and you too will overcome the anxiety thing. - Cheers and good luck.
It's just a game. You win some, you lose some. Why worry? You can study and learn from it after if you lose. Otherwise, you might win. (And you still might need to study to understand whatever moves played in an "intuitive" nature.)
Another thing you could do is, if you catch yourself stressing, aside from asking yourself why you're stressing or taking time to calm yourself -- spend that time doing deeper analysis instead. (And, if the clock is an issue, see my first comment: It's just a game.)
Try not to spend too much time assessing the "why" and trying to calm yourself to concentrate -- just play the game, and realize (especially online) ... it's just a game.
Fully agree with what has been said so far, to which i may add:
Intuition is no way a bad thing, it is important. It is the first step followed by concrete calculation. The calculation just fact checks the moves your Intuition suggests to you, based on internalized knowledge.
You panic because you dont understand the position enough. Keep training, read all books you can get, watch videos. This knowledge will be the source from which your Intuition develops. And once you have developed that you will often be able to play with the hands, not with the head and you will gain self confidence.
This progress takes a while, so relax and have fun with chess ;-)
I recommend reading the first few chapters (at least) of Dan Heisman's "A guide to chess improvement". It deals in a talky way with improvement advices for beginners both technically and psychologically (it teaches how to think properly in different stages of the game; when you're winning is a different kind of game, think defense first and simplification; also deals with time management issues and the criticality of a move and how to allocate the time for moves and many more small but invaluable tips). This book really helped me more than anything.
And if you lose, don't take it personally. It's not like you're stupid, but up to a point chess is a game of skill (you need proper visualisation, ability to see a few moves ahead and have some quick pattern recognition) and is not a pure intelectual (linked with IQ) game. I'm an adult and I took some beatings from 8-9 y old, not because they're smarter, but because they're more trained. So chill out even if you lose, you don't have to prove anything to anyone, just enjoy making good moves and the rest will follow.
And I think you don't have a chess intuition because you are a beginner and have not seen enough chess to know what works and what doesn't. An expert or master has intuition, but not a beginner. You just see some moves that you like and maybe they threaten something or defend something and maybe are even good or tricky, but is not intuition. As a beginner, when you make an 'intuitive' move, you're just lazy to calculate possible outcomes (assuming you're not playing bullet/blitz).
