It's a Groove Thing

When bassist Geddy Lee was interviewed by John Stix for the magazine Guitar for the Practicing Musician in 1991, he made frequent reference to the notion of groove in order to communicate the experience of recording Rush's latest album. "[W]e were playing real well just grooving together," Lee observed, indicating that the recording process for Roll the Bones was less methodical and more intuitive than for previous albums. Groove was deemed such a central theme that the interview was titled "It's a Groove Thing."

Groove is commonly invoked in the context of music because music is fundamentally an emotional experience. When players settle into a groove, the implication is that they and their instruments are being guided less by their mind and more by their gut. Groove is also invoked in the context of sports, because sports is fundamentally a physical experience. When atheletes find their groove, the implication is that they have achieved a level of internal and external coordination such that their movements flow more from instinct than from conscious thought. Given that chess is chiefly an intellectual endeavor, what connection, if any, is there between game performance and groove?

physics2112 Bullet stats (Lichess)

The graph above, which shows my Bullet rating between 23 June and 22 August, suggests two possible answers. One is that there is no connection between chess and groove. The reason the graph goes up and down and generally sideways is that the difference between ratings of 1100 and 1200 is minor. On a given day, an 1100-rated player can beat a 1200-rated player, and vice versa. As exciting as it is to advance from one round number to the next, a hundred points don't represent a major improvement in one's game. My level was and remains ∼1150.

The other possibility is that there is a connection between chess and groove. Graphs like mine swing sharply up and down as a reflection of one's mental state and of surrounding conditions during the intervals in question. Factors that affect a player's mental state include emotions, nutrition, sleep, and stress. Factors that affect surrounding conditions include noise, temperature, internet speed, and physical comfort. For example, experience has demonstrated that avoiding alcohol, sleeping well at night and playing on the toilet enhance my performance, while drinking beer, playing in bed and listening through headphones impair my performance.

Ultimately, the answer to the question posed above is somewhere in the middle. Groove has an impact on chess performance, but not to the extent that it affects the performance of musicians and athletes. When I'm in a groove, I'll win games at my level more easily and consequently win more games and the graph will inch higher. Conversely, when I'm in a rut, it will be harder for me to win games at my level and consequently I'll lose more of them and the graph will creep lower. Either way, the graph will continue bouncing between support and resistance until my level of play substantially improves (or regresses).

There is also a third factor to consider when analyzing the graph above: the opponent. I am finding that the games I win are often against opponents who are in the midst of a losing streak. In other words, when I groove it is at the expense of someone else's rut; and, conversely, when I'm in a rut I become easy prey for a player on a roll. It used to baffle me that players would rage quit with plenty of time left on the clock to mount a comeback, for chess games at the amateur level are rife with volatility and leads can change from moment to moment -- but that is exactly what I kept doing in my most recent losing streak.