“What to do with so much information?” The importance of a solid chess preparation

Surely one of the most disconcerting frivolous paradigms about chess is that it involves "a lot of information to memorize". A preconception that might discourage not a few people from learning a healthy way to develop their creativity and flexibility of thought.

That however, as 'obvious' as it may sound, is not true.

How, then, could strong players make their moves at fast paces of play, in which they have very little time to think, let alone wring out of their memory the endless streams of patterns and positions they have studied at the moment?

It often seems that they don't even think to make their moves.

And I mean good moves.

Such an intuitive dexterity for flowing with the tactics and strategy of the game must arise from something more than just rote memorization of rules, variations, patterns, etc.…


"To know a thousand things, know one well."
Musashi Miyamoto

What is true is that chess involves a lot of information to process... and in this sense, it is prudent to consider that the difference between memorizing and processing the game's information lies in the sensitive command of its rudiments.

Actually, only a few theoretical concepts are those that have to be taken into account to understand the logic of playing chess... A basic preparation, in any case, should consist of:

  • Analysis Technique,
  • Positional Assessment System, and
  • Calculation Method

Of course, such concepts cannot be considered as some kind of "universal magic formula" that reveals all the answers. The player's criteria is in this case essential to discern the nuances that more or less influence the decisions that can be made. So that the large amount of information is not overwhelming, but rather intelligible to process rationally.


"Methodical thinking is of more use in chess than inspiration."
C.J.S. Purdy

Thus, as we integrate logical and objective criteria into our thinking approach to interpret the realistic needs of one or another strategic situation, from its practical foundations, the dilemma of "what to do with so much information" from the game will in any case be more a question of what not to do with so little information.

Get a synopsis of the elementary theoretical preparation in chess, in this link.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to read chess books?

I found it redundant to title this entry 'Why Read Chess Books' in contrast to the arguments presented in the previous post, as even the slightest introspection into the subject might suggest to any practitioner that the fundamental and evident motivation for tackling the reading of chess literature is none other than to deepen and improve one’s independent understanding of the game. What a boast! Right? But there is always room for improvement. In any case, I don’t believe it’s an entirely dismissible topic, especially for those who enjoy reading as their primary learning method or as a complementary resource to didactic training. A couple of parallel reasons could be argued in favor of this relatively naïve thesis, particularly when considering the collateral nuances to such basic utility. I will formulate three reasons and then proceed to scrutinize the issue raised in the entry's title question. For those who already have some knowledge of chess, reading specialized boo...
Read more

Upcoming blog developments

This is a memorandum of the ideas that I consider developing in my training program and presenting in the mid-long term in this medium as exhortations to conscious and practical work in chess, in parallel to the writing of a treatise about independent chess training based on the first entry published in this blog, God willing. I also share them here as an introspective reference for the reader who is interested at improving his/her game, as well as for organizing and integrating the themes that I will be posting. Positional theory map. Compilation of the essential terminology to understand and interpret objectively the dialectic of chess, in order to assimilate concepts and facts of the game applicable to other fields of cognition and self-knowledge. 1. Elements of Initiative. 1.1.2. Opening Character. Obstacles to overcome and dissolve in chess training. Conceptualizations about the difficulties to overcome in this discipline and guide its learning efficiently. Complementary reading...
Read more

Training Diary 1. Thoughts on the use of modules integrated into the study and practice methodology. The threshold of limit difficulty and optimal performance.

Image
Contemplations on the utility of modern digital resources in chess training As I organize the publication of the content related to the previously classified preparation topics, I find it relevant to outline some key ideas highlighted in my recent training sessions. This is to complement the possible postulates that may derive from them and their respective corollaries of systematic application in the various multifunctional processes of learning and competitive performance in this discipline. The first thing to clarify is that the moderate use of chess engines to exercise the nuances of the player's independent thinking system is practically an indisputable requirement in perfecting pragmatic approaches for designing opening repertoires, creatively applying methods for calculating variations, and strengthening the natural understanding of each technical and conceptual element related to the subject. This requirement leads to realizing the importance of practical parameters that ca...
Read more