I doubt it is genetic. It can be age related. For example I heard that reaction times (motor skills) peak on 30s/40s then start to decrease due to age related changes in the brain. Many quick thinkers have a great deal of experience with the problem domain (chess in this case). They are able to quickly connect information, see patterns and synergies, spot contradictions, etc, they have strong and interlocking mental models. This is a skill in itself which can be developed and strengthened.
Is it possible to improve speed of thinking?
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Dec 24, 2020
0
#3
There are no tricks and it just involves the playing and analysis of your games. In psychology they call it developing a schema; that is, the more you are familiar with certain types of situations, the faster and more accurate your decisions become. Good players don’t have to calculate many situations because they are already familiar with certain patterns and can take mental shortcuts. That’s all there is to it.
NikkiLikeChikki wrote:
There are no tricks and it just involves the playing and analysis of your games. In psychology they call it developing a schema; that is, the more you are familiar with certain types of situations, the faster and more accurate your decisions become. Good players don’t have to calculate many situations because they are already familiar with certain patterns and can take mental shortcuts. That’s all there is to it.
So you think everything comes down to pattern recognition only. I am not sure about it.
Dec 24, 2020
0
#5
Of course not. All mental processes are improved by practice. When I was 10 I was impressed by how fast my uncle could solve math problems you threw at him. You would throw big numbers and math operators at him and he would throw back numbers almost instantly. He said you just have to practice, so for a few weeks I had my sister throw numbers at me and eventually I go pretty good at it. Calculating chess positions has to be the same.
Additionally, calculation involves throwing out bad options quickly and focusing on the good ones. As the saying goes, a novice looks at a problem and sees many options, and an expert sees few.
Additionally, calculation involves throwing out bad options quickly and focusing on the good ones. As the saying goes, a novice looks at a problem and sees many options, and an expert sees few.
Answering your question, yes it can be improved by having muscle memory of certain signal pattern that you have already encounter in the past. It just made the thinking part shorter
top players are all genetic freaks with brain wired for pattern memory. if you can play 2 simul blindfold games and do okay, then you have this genetic
Schema +1. I didn't know there was a word for it.
Dec 24, 2020
0
#9
I played a lot of chess when I was very young up to about the age of 14 and became a decent player, then played an occasional game over the years, no play for decades until now at the age of 79. Due to being totally bored during this pandemic I decided to give chess a try. I'm really struggling with the lack of ability to keep my focus long enough to play one decent game. Very frustrating
Pay2PlayAGM wrote:
Interesting question. Answer: all neurochemical transmitters in brain synaptic endings secrete at the same speed. It is not a question of brain impulse rate but of density of neuron synaptic connections. The more dense the connectivity if brain impulses the more scope for deep thinking.
Intelligence also comes down to how aligned one is with god. God is no spectre but rather the essence of the time space fabric around us. The field of subconiousness that connects us to the cosmic ether, allowing us to marinate the ideas of the collective subconcious whence creativity at its highest levels are derived.
Yes, more neurons can mean faster brain. I don't know about others but after good exercise i feel that my brain is functioning much faster and level of my play is significantly better. I suppose after exercise my brain has better blood circulation and hence faster speed.
NikkiLikeChikki wrote:
Of course not. All mental processes are improved by practice. When I was 10 I was impressed by how fast my uncle could solve math problems you threw at him. You would throw big numbers and math operators at him and he would throw back numbers almost instantly. He said you just have to practice, so for a few weeks I had my sister throw numbers at me and eventually I go pretty good at it. Calculating chess positions has to be the same.
Additionally, calculation involves throwing out bad options quickly and focusing on the good ones. As the saying goes, a novice looks at a problem and sees many options, and an expert sees few.
Additionally, calculation involves throwing out bad options quickly and focusing on the good ones. As the saying goes, a novice looks at a problem and sees many options, and an expert sees few.
I agree it helps. My chess is definitely improved after playing thousand games and puzzles but i am still very far from any WCM. The thing is that brains are hugely different. I have heard that our brains can differentiate by 10-20 times.
I used to think Bolt held the WR for 100m at 9.58 seconds- only to discover the record is held by an English chap at 8.90 seconds !
He was chasing a roll of cheese - downhill !!
Sailorsteve wrote:
I played a lot of chess when I was very young up to about the age of 14 and became a decent player, then played an occasional game over the years, no play for decades until now at the age of 79. Due to being totally bored during this pandemic I decided to give chess a try. I'm really struggling with the lack of ability to keep my focus long enough to play one decent game. Very frustrating
Do brains diminish a lot at this age? I saw one of your games and its quality is very low although you won. What about Korchnoi and Smyslov?
Long time ago i read that the main difference between players is how fast they think and this ability to think fast is a genetic thing that practically impossible to improve.
I always could solve hard puzzles but it took me very long time to do.
Same about playing chess which i improved a bit by playing very short time controls.
Recently i had a puzzle battle against WCM. She is much faster than me although her puzzle rating is lower than mine. She has 2700 puzzle rating and i 2800.
What do you think? Is this genetic thing or it is improvable?