Master of Merrills - Chapter 3 - Looking back: Lessons Learned

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Master of Merrills - Chapter 3 - Looking back: Lessons Learned.


What was the most important lesson you learned from tournament play?

I learned that without diligence, disciplined analysis, learning, playing attentively and training, you will not go very far. No alcohol should be taken before a match and proper nutrition should be followed. You have to think like a professional sportsperson. Eat well, be nourished, but nothing should be too heavy. You don’t also want to get hungry mid tournament!

Part of proper preparation is to be well rested and be without unnecessary stress. It is not correct to arrive at the venue match day itself. You should arrive at the venue at least one to two days before, and be able to acclimatise to the area.

You want to be fit and healthy, but should not do a physical sport by bicycle or other such exercise, because that costs too much energy. A successful performance at a well attended tournament is impossible - at least in my experience without all these things. You should have about the same preparation as a track and field athlete - just with the right kind of care and conservation of energy.


Now that you look back, how do you feel about the titles you won?

I am not proud - of any of my titles. Because everything is a gift from God. He made sure that I met the right people who trained me - that they showed me how to train, practice and analyse.

He had granted me that the hard, disciplined work, practicing, replaying, bore fruit.

How many do the same and never realise it? It is God's gift that I was allowed to grasp all the theory and that I was able to call up and realise my potential and ability in the tournaments.

It was arranged so that everything went so in my favour at the World Championships, and also at the other championships - it was His will - therefore being proud of it would be out of place. Happy, pleased and satisfied yes - but proud, no.

It was His will that my mill play teacher, Martin Romang, met me in 1978 and pushed me forward. He wished for me that I would at least achieve a safe draw against anyone and everyone, including GM Nüscheler, at some point. Without his elementary school of playing, my successes would never have been possible, and I don't want to pass him over in any case - he absolutely belongs in a biography book, even before GM Hans Schürmann and others.

Besides, his school can't be that bad, because I have taught my later students in the same way as he taught me at that time. Quite a few have become champions with his school, and way or learning, which I have simply passed on. With time, I have simply modernized the "lessons" a little bit and adapted them to the today's world.


How long did it take before you saw big improvement?

It took quite some time, and it was not self-evident. After I won against "Epa-Marie", (her real name was Maria von Wyl), 2-1 on the second day in 1977, I lost again 1-3 the next day. But to be fair that was no longer as blatant a loss as the 0-6 before.

At that time I only played and placed stones destructively/defensively and was totally afraid of losing games. This must have been a terrible spectacle for the many spectators we had at that time. In addition, there were players from whom I hid in fear and anxiety in those days, for which they did not understand.

But later, from 1984 onwards, they hid from me because they then began to fear defeats against me. They also learned what fear of defeats against a good player meant to them and how this can arise. There are many people who are afraid of players - just as in chess and other games. However, with my initial way of playing at that time I could never hope for success. Martin Romang worked wonders and with the years my game moved on at first just a tiny bit - and later more and more - more open, more courageous and more offensive.

GM Hans Schürmann confessed to me one day that all the players doubted very much whether I would ever fully understand and grasp the mill game - they had a motto, "If someone never really manages to learn Mill, then this will be Schaub!" And to be fair, I also did not think at that time how things would progress for for me.

If one day there is a book about me, it would have to be connected directly to that first day and my the 2:1 victory over EPA Marie.

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