Courage and Roaring

By GM Jonathan Rowson [Twitter @Jonathan_Rowson] published at his weekly column at the Herald Scotland Newspaper

Winston Churchill famously said that courage was the one virtue that made possible all the others, but I think it is easier to valorise courage than it is to understand it, and we often don’t recognise it in ourselves and others.

It is widely quoted that courage is not the absence of fear but the judgment that there’s something more important than fear. That sounds right, but there’s a great deal of complexity in how judgments relate to fears that gets lost in our main cultural symbols of courage; soldiers valiantly risking their lives to safeguard the wounded, firefighters braving the flames to rescue the forgotten.

Most images of courage relate to people doing something where fear for safety might advise you to do otherwise. In addition to such heroic courage there is also a different kind of courage based on trust, and that may be even more important.

Yesterday*, in the Candidates tournament taking place in Khanty-Mansiysk in Russia, former World Champion Vishy Anand continued his return to form by achieving a winning position against young Russian Grandmaster Andreikin. Victory was a tantalising prospect, since it would have virtually guaranteed Vishy tournament victory and a rematch for the World title with Magnus Carlsen.

Watching with the commentators and online analysis engine, we could see that objectively there were many ways Vishy could convert the advantage, but none of the solutions were entirely straightforward, and most would require enduring moderate risk and demonstrating sustained vigilance before victory was assured.

In the end, feeling tired and with too many moving parts in the position to feel it was wise to proceed, Vishy took the available draw by repetition. With a clear point lead and two games to go, he is still heavy favourite, so many people understood the decision, but there was also disappointment. Surely if Vishy really wanted to win the event, he would have taken this precious chance, and shown the courage of his conviction that he was winning, by converting like a true champion? Many watching were probably thinking that this is what the new World Champion, Magnus Carlsen would have done. 

But then I realised that in many ways Vishy’s decision was a deeply courageous one, because I was reminded of the saying of Mary Anne Radmacher: “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow’.” 

Vishy showed great courage after all. To pursue tournament victory at significant risk in that particular position would have betrayed a lack of courage, as if he doubted his abilities, and desperately had to grab his chance while it was there, rather than trust that he can hold his nerve for the last two games: 

*Written on 28th Mar 2014