Imagination has a lot to do with it at the higher levels. I personally think it is the mentality of a chess player and their approach to learning. IQ can have an impact, but does not have much of an imput until you reach the higher levels when concrete calculation and visualization are essential.
Qualities of a good chess player
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yea all the GM's always have these creative moves which win their games often.
Nov 11, 2008
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#4
"How should I play that one, Bert? Play it safe? That's the way you always told me to play it, safe. Play the percentage. Well here we go, fast and loose. One ball, corner pocket. Yeah, percentage players die broke too, don't they, Bert? How can I lose? Twelve ball. How can I lose? Because you were right. It's not enough that ya just have talent. You gotta have character, too. Four ball. Yeah, I sure got character now. I picked it up in a hotel room in Louisville."
-- Fast Eddie Felson
I was thinking about a couple of the earlier threads dealing with IQ and chess ability (one was "Does IQ=rating") and I was thinking, most people whom I consder to be more "intelligent" than me are much, much worse at chess than I am. For example, the top 3 kids in my high school were just bad. Admittedly, I played more than they did but I never studied chess until this year. But I was thinking, isn't CLEVERNESS one attribute that makes the legends why they are. True, there isn't even an attempt to make a quantitative test about cleverness but I wonder if chess.com agrees with me that cleverness plays a crucial role in one's chess skills and, maybe, limits ones potential, instead of IQ. Your reactions?