Explaining The "Monkey On My Back"

I saw this video on the Gilbralter Chess Festival website, and got thinking about all the people who have my number. Some newer readers of my blog never saw my earlier posts on the proverbial "monkeys on my back". These are the players who seem to have my number, and make me crazy as I find new and creative ways to lose to them. Some players have my number and I've yet to beat but I don't consider them as one of the proverbial monkeys on my back. I'm oh-fer lifetime against titled players like FM Boris Privman and IM Jay Bonin but because they out rate me by 500 - 600 points it doesn't bother me. Maybe some Thursday night I'll catch one of them on an off day, and pull a big upset. In the meantime I'll take my lumps because according to statistics I should lose to them around 99.9% of the time.

One of my students who reads my blog thought the nickname King Kong came about because the player plays or acts wildly. He was not familar with the term "monkey on one's back." So I explained to him exactly what was meant by the term. I then explained that losing over and over again to a lower rated kid had become more then just a proverbial monkey on my back. Having a losing streak against an adult near my rating had become gorilla proportioned, so who's bigger then a gorilla? King Kong. Hence the name. Now that he's higher rated then me, and has fried bigger fish then me I don't worry about whether or not I'm going to beat him.