Torr on Survey
Part 3. Devote yourself !

[The survey form] [1. The Mission] [2. Use a Database !] [3. Devote Yourself !] [4. Sour Losers] [5. Flexible concentration] [6. Holistic Chess] [7. Why move at all ?] [8. The Tutorr's 15 Guidelines] [9. Feedback page] [10. Downloads]

Working hard ?

I once had a boss who had some difficulties in relating to other people in a relaxed manner. In every situation his standard line was "how are you doing - working hard ?". I used to find this question hilarious, however, today Im quite pleased with it. Why ? Because it reflects something important: You should work hard !


This is true for chess too, surely. The results of the survey clearly demonstrates a correlation between rating and hours of devotion per week (Table 17).  The experts spend more time on chess. Even though there may be many different and many valid reasons for the figures in Tables 17 one cannot escape the fact that the experts spend more time on chess than the lower rated patzers. Thus, we have isolated the experts' habit no. 3 :

Devote more time to chess - and study harder

The study part can be deducted from Table 13-16 and Table 42. It seems that most players, strong and weak alike, find studying 'a lot' appropiate enough, perhaps reflecting that most players above school age have other obligations in the world than the pursuit of chess. However, 24 % of the experts think you should work hard to improve your chess as opposed to only 9 % of the those rated sub-1600. Considering the data in Table 17 and in Table 42 in conjunction it should be fairly safe to conclude that you should devote yourself in order to improve your chess !

Imagine the next time you hear about Kasparov's openings preparation. Imagine. Do you notice that you might already give the word preparation a different meaning - namely emphasizing the importance of devotion ? Kasparov is probably extremely dedicated to his preparation. Consider, just for a while, what this might imply to you.

Looking at other ballgames, just think about Bach, about Mozart, about da Vinci, about Picasso, about.....well, about all creators, achievers, do'ers. Successful people. What do they have in common ?

The experts are devoted !

Painting by Pablo Picasso

Q42. You should WORK HARD
to improve your chess (4)


rated sub-1600
Q42: rated sub-1600


Rated above 2400
        Q42: rating above 2400


Working with a positional player
and studying hard has helped me
to develop my own strategic understanding.

Alexi Shirov, Fire On Board


Chessbase

Q14. It is very important to
study positional hindsights  (4)


    rated sub-1600
             Q14: rated sub-1600

      Rated above 2400
Q14: rated above 2400


Memory map on chess survey

A memory map

FRITZ 5.32 from Chessbase        Improve Your Chess NOW  .. by Jonathan Tisdall

A position you can't refuse !
The data of the survey also suggest that you should focus on increasing your positional understanding. Even though the data does not clearly disfavor studying neither strategic manoevres nor pattern recognition over positional understanding directly or extensively, it seems you're better off getting your grips on weak squares and open lines rather than spectacular combos or geometric blizzards (Tables 13-15). In other words, the habit no. 4 of the experts could be:

increase your positional understanding even more

Perhaps some of you have noticed that the approach to reading theory and studying the games of the masters might alter with this finding in mind. Why ? Because a game of chess is constituted of positions from move one ! Hence, you may study the ways of the experts with reference to positional understanding in every chessgame in any book you have, in any pgn-file on your PC, from move 1. Say, get into position, on your marks...go !




The prerequisites for learning

Did you ever consider the fact that there can be no learning without memory !

Logically it follows that you need memory when you want to improve your chess, when you want to store your just-read theory, 'photograph' your last geometrically based mate, append a positional motive to your repetoire, etcetera. Fortunately, most chessplayers have a rather good memory at least according to the results of the survey (Table 46). Furthermore, most players think that they can learn new things easily (Table 44) and that they generally keep an open mind (Table 45), not bad capabilities at all, not to mention that most players consider themselves intelligent (Table 41). Thus, most players should have an excellent foundation for improving their playing strength.

Reading these lines, some players may actively seek new powerful methods for improving their memory even more. The bookstores are abundant with titles on mind mapping, mnemotic techniques, alpha-level learning and so forth. Actually, many of these techniques are extremely versatile and powerful - for all kinds of learning. Generally, they facilitate learning at the subconscious level and strengthen associative thinking. Neurologically this is evidenced by an increased number of connections between the brain cells. Personally, I can recommend flirting with these techniques, that is, if you want to improve your chess even more.
Remember, true learning involves learning other ways of doing what you can do already. 

Let us summarize some of the important points for effective learning :

  • expand your memory even more

  • strengthen associative thinking

  • keep an open mind


The next article will deal with  sour losers (Part 4)

Click here fore the next article on the survey results !





TWIC.. at The London Chess Centre
             

Disclaimer The data presented here and in the following articles can be analyzed and concluded upon in many ways (remember that the survey was scored on-line, and that the data may not be representative of all chessplayers alike). The conclusions presented here are mine entirely. Feel free to disagree, to have your own interpretations and to impove your chess in the manner that suits you. The full material of data will be published in the last article of this series. If you have questions prior to this, or other comments, feel free to mail me on torr@privat.dk

Copyright The contents on this page (graphical, textual) may not be reproduced without permission from the author. On citations or similar use, please credit the author Dr. Tor Rønnow, Denmark (mail: torr@privat.dk).