This series is near its end, with this last installment left to fulfill. In this series we’ve tackled the mechanical and the psychological aspect of Counter-Strike by relating it to the game of Chess. Hopefully we are now more aware of the importance of predictability, probability, stratagem and aggression. However, all these subjects are attributes of the game itself; we’ve never discussed how we as an individual can become more aware and conscious of what goes on around us as well as how teams as a whole can work like one entity.

The matter of fact is, many times when we play this game we are losing to ourselves and not to the enemy. As Chinese saying goes: “One does not get defeated by the foe; one can only be defeated by the self”

In this installment I will show you methods on how to control your mentality, maintain composure and also how teams should function properly. Although not completely related to the game of Chess… who cares!

But before going on I must first give credit to the one who taught me all this, for those who know him he’s referred to as a friend, an influence, a teacher and for those who don’t then he is a man with so much wisdom and integrity that it makes the modern generation shameful. To people like Ninespot, jStar, Thanasi, cody, rockyte, akahn and I (although the list goes on) he’s known as TaJ.

Expect in this installment some very imaginative, often philosophical ways of thinking. If this isn’t your cup of tea then I strongly advise not to carry on with the reading or you’ll simply find it a waste of your time, but for those who take this game seriously then we should discuss relevant topics seriously.

Rings

To be able to think as a team player you must first know how the team functions and what importance you have for the team...

Imagine each player in the team being a ring - depending on the size of the team there can be 5 rings or there can be more, but we’ll assume there are only 5. Now imagine these linking with each other to form a circle with its own perimeter – the circle then is the team. The perimeter of this circle defines the team’s limits and potential. The only chance of its boundary expanding is if each and every single ring increases its own perimeter.

Now, going back to the individual rings, their perimeter defines the player’s individual roles. Each individual has their own specific role in the team and they must fill their own shoes in order for the whole circle to maintain its state. If a player decides to take it upon themselves to step into another teammates ring and fill their roles then that would be injustice as that player’s ring would be larger than the rest and the circle would become deformed. Likewise, if an individual player decides to not fulfill their role then their ring would shrink and again the circle would become deformed. Therefore it is only justice if each player does their job to its perfection, only then can the circle as a whole expand.

The purpose of this analogy is this: there are star players in the team and there are some who do not seem to carry their weight. But each player should have a role; star player's role are to BE star players and carry the team in frags, likewise, the team motivator's role should be to keep the team motivation up. The team cannot function when one person decides to step beyond their boundary, it cannot function when one person decides not to fill his/her own shoes.