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It was a to-and-fro game, very dynamic, very interesting, looking like Ding, with Black, had a chance to win in the middle game. Then came the Big Freeze. Ding froze. The clock ticked down, 8 minutes. 5 minutes, 43 seconds! He crashed right into the time limit (40 moves in 120 minutes). Ding spent so much time trying to find the “perfect move” that he failed to make a move at all. Till with seconds left, he made a blunder. There were plenty of moves — at least one or two! — that he could have made, that even I could’ve made — safe moves or “good enough” moves, to get him to move 40, and the extra time allotment. But instead he froze. It was shocking to watch in real time. As I did.
Perfection is the enemy of action. Chess lesson, Ding! Life lesson, kids!
I had this motto in my mind when I built my little boat in the backyard, ten years ago. I knew that I wasn’t doing a perfect job. That proper boatbuilders would raise their eyebrows and tut-tut. But I pushed on. Knowing that if I didn’t , I’d never finish.
ADDED: Chess.com “Ding’s collapse”