The Power of Boring Chess Habits

If you were backstage before a major Olympic final for the past 20 years, you might’ve seen a tall swimmer bouncing to the same rap playlist, swinging his arms with the same warm-up, stretching in the same order, every single time.

That was Michael Phelps. And that wasn’t superstition, it was strategy.

Phelps and his coach Bob Bowman designed his pre-race routine down to the minute. Same stretches. Same suit. Same music. Same mental rehearsal. For years. This wasn’t just about comfort. It was about building an automatic path to excellence. And if you think that only applies to swimming, think again, because chess players need boring habits too.

Peak Performance Isn’t Flashy. It’s Repeatable.
In sports, we’re often drawn to moments of brilliance: the buzzer-beater, the knockout punch, the impossible save. But when you study elite performers closely, it’s not the big moments that separate them, it’s the boring stuff.

It’s the warm-ups they don’t skip. The drills they do on autopilot. The routines they’ve repeated so many times, they could do them in their sleep. Why? Because repetition builds reliability. And reliability under pressure = performance.

In chess, we romanticise creative moves, flashy tactics, and deep prep. But the players who improve the most? They’re the ones who commit to routines that might seem... kind of dull.

And that’s exactly the point.

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The Chess Equivalent of Phelps’ Routine
So what does a “Phelps-like” approach look like in chess? It’s not about memorising 20-move novelties or studying for hours every day. It’s about showing up consistently and doing the right things, even when they don’t feel exciting.

Here’s what that might include:

• Warming up with 3–5 puzzles before a session, not to solve them fast, but to get your brain moving.
• Reviewing your last loss (briefly!) to spot a pattern, before diving into a new game.
• Ending sessions with a short review, even just asking, “What did I learn today?”
• Scheduling the same study window each day, so it becomes part of your rhythm, not a decision you have to make.

These small, repeatable actions build familiarity. And familiarity makes your thinking faster, calmer, and sharper, especially when things get stressful. Just like Phelps visualised every step of a perfect race before hitting the water, great chess players develop systems that carry them into “flow” without needing to force it.

Boring Builds Greatness
There’s a quote from MMA champion Georges St-Pierre that hits the heart of this:

“I’m not the best. I just do the basics better than anyone else.”

Chess improvement is often marketed like it’s about unlocking secrets: special openings, magical tactics, hidden master tricks. But most of your growth won’t come from secrets. It’ll come from habits. Habits that are so consistent, so boring, they eventually feel like breathing.

If you want to get better, you don’t need more adrenaline. You need a routine that runs itself, especially on the days when motivation doesn’t show up.

Final Thought: Your Gold Medal Routine
You don’t need to train like an Olympian to learn from one. You just need to find your version of the Phelps routine. What’s a short daily habit that makes you feel sharper? What’s one thing you could automate before playing? What kind of rhythm would make improvement feel like momentum, not effort?

Choose a few, and stick with them, long enough for them to stick with you. Because the secret to playing like a master isn’t just what you do under pressure. It’s what you’ve practiced enough to do without pressure.

Boring? Maybe.

But in chess, boring is often what leads to brilliance.

AUTHOR - KELVIN FINKE

Hi! My name is Kelvin. If you like this blog, consider following along. I am an active chess coach with professional background in strength & conditioning coaching and sports science. I'm passionate about bridging the gap between chess and health & fitness, and showing that chess is a great toolkit for cognitive longevity.

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