Temposchlucker

 Now I have a method to transform knowledge into skill, it stands to reason that I have a closer look at in which areas I can use the method as well, beyond the obvious. The obvious areas are: Opening Middlegame Endgame Tactics Positional Strategy And I have installed a daily training regimen for every obvious area already. Observations of my own games, and the playing of grandmasters have shown me there is another area as well, though. Every move has its own logic. That logic is often very trivial, since that logic is often why we move a piece in the first place. To bring a piece out, to protect a pawn, to restrain an opponent's piece et cetera. What I noticed though, is that not all simple logic is  seen by system 1. Not all simple knowledge is transformed into skill. It is more like learning a second language, where you often need to use a dictionary or have to google how an expression is used. The latest discovery is the change in order during training. For the actual skil...

  At least I have made a start with solving the opening conundrum. As usual, to find a beginning is the most difficult part. I have adopted the Chessable course   My first opening repertoire for black  from GM Jon Ludvig Hammer. That should be a ridiculous idea, because that course is aiming at 1000-1300 rating. Yet it isn't so ridiculous at all. I played 4 games with it after studying it for a few days. Two wins, two draws. The opening has one simple goal, getting you safe to the middlegame without falling for an opening trap. The method is simple: Put a stake in the center with e6 d5 Develop your kingside pieces Nf6 and Be7 Castle. Often you are castled on move 5 Fianchetto your light squared bishop Bb7 Nbd7 Attack the center with c5 Usually your side of the board looks something like White to move r2q1rk1/pb1nbppp/1p2pn2/2pp2B1/2PP4/2NBPN2/PPQ2PPP/R4RK1 w - c6 0 10 The first thing I noticed is that the opening stage is about the LoAs (lines of attack) too. I alrea...

 My main focal point for the next tournament will be the openings. I don't feel comfortable in many of my openings when an opponent deviates early OR I forgot the variation. While I have come to grips with the middlegame, I clearly have not solved the conundrum of the opening stage. Because 80% of my opponents deviate early, either because they forgot their book line too OR they have chosen some obscure variation OR they are just like me and have no idea what they are doing, the frequency of occurrence of my book lines is too low to get enough training in them. In general, with white I'm doing better than with black. I have found a band-aid for black though with the Chessable course  My first opening repertoire for black  from GM Jon Ludvig Hammer. Which is easy to learn and provides an answer for all early move deviations. While training this new repertoire, I'm quite aware of what exactly goes wrong with my usual approach. Have a look at the following position: Diagram ...

 I have the idea, that I currently have a method to transform knowledge into skill. It's pretty simple, it starts with knowledge. The knowledge is molded into logical narratives. Recently, I added another step to the process. When  the narratives are well known, I go through the solution of a problem while speaking out loud the things the move accomplishes. When every detail of the logical narratives is known, the task of system 2 is over. By going through the moves while reciting the knowledge, the lead is in the hands of system 1. So it feels at least. The order is reversed, first the perception, than the verbal description of the knowledge. As if the perception triggers the knowledge. I accidently stumbled on this last step. Somewhat inspired by Robert. For the first time I not only have a sound theoretical base, but I seem to have found the practical way to apply it too. This should make it possible for me to absorb a solution at a speed of one to two solutions per da...

 Robert and I seem to be struggling with the precise role of perception and verbalization in the acquisition of tactical skills. Let's try a different angle of attack. I'm very fond of the Reti manoeuvre. There is a whiff of magic in it. And it seems to express the core of chess: striving for two goals with one move. But before we can strive for two goals, we must first learn to strive for one goal. That is not as easy as it sounds. My ordinary method of throwing everything to the wall and see what sticks is abysmal inefficient when the tree of analysis transforms into a jungle. The core of my new method is to use logic as a machete. But logic is awfully inefficient too, because it is applied by system 2, which is notoriously slow by its very nature. In order to speed up things, we must siphon as much tasks as possible from system 2 to system 1. How to do that? look for a goal generalize the goal without accepting trivialities look for patterns that accompany the goal Let me ex...

  In May 2023 I formulated the way how knowledge could be transformed into skill, based on theoretical grounds. After 1.5 years it has become clear that the method works. I have tested the method in practice, and refined it based on the feedback I got. Let me summarize the findings. I found the right problem sets: The Checkmate Patterns Manual 1001 Chess Exercises For Club Players 1001 Chess Exercises for Advanced Club Players I found the right method: Formulate a logical narrative which describes the tactic Go every repetition a bit further, until the narrative is completed for every variation Repeat until the total solution is logically quite clear Speed of any kind is taboo Repeat until you have absorbed the whole solution Limit the quantity in favor of the quality You know that you have absorbed the solution when: You see the solution immediately with great clarity You become too lazy to verbalize the logic since you already know what the position is about You know where the pi...

 About two years ago, I postulated that tactical visualization can only appear when you have absorbed all the logical narratives that are involved. You can compare it with learning the vocabulary of a foreign language. If you don't know the words, you cannot tell a story. You must absorb the words AND their meaning.The meaning must trigger the retrieval of the right words in the right language Now I start to experience that this is true. I have posted about this tactical position some time ago, I don't remember when. But I do know, that my approach back then was very trial-and-error-based. White to move 2rr2k1/p4ppp/2q5/1pbNPb2/2p2P2/P3BQP1/1P3RKP/3R4 w - - 0 1 1001 Chess Exercises For Club Players Chapter 2. Elimination Of The Defence 02. Ris, Robert vs. Vanheirzeele, Daniël With trial and error as your only tool, it is easy to get confused during moving through the tree of analysis. But when you concoct a logical narrative for every variation, you will slowly absorb the patt...