Det er flere likheter mellom sjakk og trading, noe den engelske stormesteren (grandmaster) Nigel Davies påpeker i teksten under. Skal du lykkes med trading, må du akkurat som i sjakk ha moro av det du gjør. Det er ikke intellektet det står på. Vil du nok, vil kortsiktig smerte overgå langsiktig lykke.... (teksten er kun ment som motivasjon): 

"In a study entitled "Thought and Choice in Chess", published in 1965, de Groot, a Dutch psychologist attempted to discover why Grandmasters were so much better than masters. He domonstrated that the distinguishing characteristic of Grandmasters was not intellect but simply their love of the game, practicing, thinking about and playing chess more frequently and with more passion than the masters.

This is borne out by my own experience. During my teenage years I thought about very little else apart from chess, reading everything I could get my hands on, playing at every opportunity and thinking about different strategies constantly. Over a long period of time this adds up to a lot of knowledge and experience.

Three years ago I become fascinated by trading and have found myself reading and thinking about it with much the same enthusiasm as I had with chess. When I used to meet up with some other trading enthusiasts they were amazed that I'd actually read 50 books on the subject from cover to cover, not to mention the numerous new ideas and strategies I was attempting (unsuccessfully) to come up with. On the other hand I find it almost impossible to spend any time at all on something which does not interest me.

I've tended to find that most people I've met who have been exceptional in a particular field have had a similarly 'passionate' (fanatical? obsessive?) way of going about things. It probably doesn't breed nice, well balanced individuals who can safely have tea with the vicar. But I do think it is far more likely to lead to excellence than the 'normal' approach of half-hearted dabbling."

Copyright Nigel Davies, 2003