I had a second chess phase in my late teens. I got to winning against every player I came across. In my twenties I met a Romenian who learned to play chess as a kid from his grandfather who used to be in the national team. I used to lose from him in the same utter and complete way others lost from me previously; with that feeling of "not knowing what hit you". (Anectode: In my second chess phase I applied myself obsessively. On one instance while walking down a street I saw out of the corner of my eye a pedestrian change direction and being assailed by a sense of anxiety, thinking: âa pawn can't move that way!â (in my native language 'pawn' and 'pedestrian' are the same word); it really is 'always on' in the background! ) In chess, the rules are given and fixed. Exceptional results are accomplished by learning at a young age, while the brain is still developing. In financial trading, knowing that the market is essentially technical, the useful, relevant, knowledge base is more ample, undefined, and changing. Results are in proportion to one's knowledge, tools and the time one dedicates to it. The best possible conditions for highest performance call for hundreds of thousands in equipment and risk capital. The more ignorant one is of the specifics, the more one needs to be cautious and the more one is subject to the emotional pitfalls. ras72 dixit If I don't understand what someone is saying, it means he doesn't know what he is talking about.