And of course I'm editing out contradictions and... I don't know how else to say it... insane ideas.
Like when he says:
"There are [chess patterns] in your subconscious that . . . enables so and so to calculate any type of variation."
He's claiming that patterns in one person's subconscious enable other players to calculate absolutely any variation.
I think it’s essential that readers know what each commentator ‘s highest USCF/FIDE rating is so they can judge whether the person making the comment has personal experience in this matter. Of course, players with chess.com verified titles already have proven their credentials.
My highest USCF rating was 2189. The highest it’s been since they started the online ratings is 2138.
I think it’s essential that readers know what each commentator ‘s highest USCF/FIDE rating is so they can judge whether the person making the comment has personal experience in this matter. Of course, players with chess.com verified titles already have proven their credentials.
My highest USCF rating was 2189. The highest it’s been since they started the online ratings is 2138.
Good advice of course.
Also I feel like... the answer is sort of simple.
It's just passion. If you love to play tournament chess and you love to learn about chess that's all you need. A person like this will find a way to do it. They don't need advice about study habits, playing habits, a reading list, etc.
I mean... it's simple but at the same time if you don't have it then 2000 is nearly impossible 
Maybe the only advice I'd give is something like... it's a long process.
Sure some 8 year old super talent may have done it in 2 years. Ok, but don't lose your passion because of that. If it takes you 10 years that's fine. Just keep enjoying and learning 
The vast majority, like >90% of our mental processes, just day to day, just sitting here typing, are unconscious.
I think most people will be able to agree with that.
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This probably isn't the best example... but try tying up your dominant hand for a day. Or take a piece of furniture that's been in the same place for years and remove it. Your brain suddenly freaks out Suddenly you're having to put conscious effort and attention into things you normally don't.
Every time you see go to pick something up, and every time your vision goes near that area of the missing furniture, you're aware of differences.
The original post was what it takes to get to 2000 USCF. When I was younger, my peak rating was 2191. I made a two hundred point leap by reading two books that changed how I thought about chess and they really improved my understanding of the game. They were Silman's first book on 'How to Reassess your chess' and John Watson's 'Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy.' Of course, there are thousands of books and not every book will have the same impact on each player. However, I can say with certainty those are the only two books I can think of that helped me take my play to a higher level.
its not complicated to extrapolate that Deirdesky is absolutely correct.
The fact strong players, even when there is a big range in their ability like 2100 and 2500 filter out so much to decide on a small number of candidate moves to consciously check with concrete calculation, and that they often concur Very often on what the initial candidate moves to consider should be strongly hints that this is a subconscious activity in play.
Given the fact that its our proclivity in picking candidate moves is what gave us an advantage over number crunching engines until not that long ago, then it follows that the subconscious element here is of supreme importance.
Unless you think humans analyze positions like going over a laundry list VERY quickly. The fact chess players often feel uncomfortable with moves but they cant cleanly articulate why,or when masters speak of piece harmony and pieces "longing" for a square is all algorithmic to you, then yes the subconscious is possibly the most important of the game.
I forget which GM said that if he had a little bell in his head everytime there was a puzzle like position,in an OTB game, he would be a top 10 level player. This ability to know when to invest time because your spider senses are tingling is a type of intuition honed by countless hours of pattern recognition and some innate talent. This often occurs before any concrete calculation on the matter. Heck, our current world champion and his perchant for "natural " moves a la karpov as opposed to ruthless calculation a la kasparov is the zenith of this gift.
In my town, getting to 2000 requires either scoring 100% over several events or traveling to another city to compete.
Ziryab, you must know what you are saying you have been here since 2007 wow!
its not complicated to extrapolate that Deirdesky is absolutely correct.
The fact strong players, even when there is a big range in their ability like 2100 and 2500 filter out so much to decide on a small number of candidate moves to consciously check with concrete calculation, and that they often concur Very often on what the initial candidate moves to consider should be strongly hints that this is a subconscious activity in play.
Given the fact that its our proclivity in picking candidate moves is what gave us an advantage over number crunching engines until not that long ago, then it follows that the subconscious element here is of supreme importance.
Unless you think humans analyze positions like going over a laundry list VERY quickly. The fact chess players often feel uncomfortable with moves but they cant cleanly articulate why,or when masters speak of piece harmony and pieces "longing" for a square is all algorithmic to you, then yes the subconscious is possibly the most important of the game.
I forget which GM said that if he had a little bell in his head everytime there was a puzzle like position,in an OTB game, he would be a top 10 level player. This ability to know when to invest time because your spider senses are tingling is a type of intuition honed by countless hours of pattern recognition and some innate talent. This often occurs before any concrete calculation on the matter. Heck, our current world champion and his perchant for "natural " moves a la karpov as opposed to ruthless calculation a la kasparov is the zenith of this gift.
I would definitely agree with this,of course not everyone here does. The subconscious "activity" that you speak of is all backed up by understanding from the "honing" process that you were speaking of. In other words when you're honing your pattern recognition everything is understood,which is what I was trying to say earlier,it is consciously understood,after that you can do it unconsciously,at a glance because you know the pattern and you already know that it works,therefore no conscious thought is really needed,the conscious thought comes when one is calculating to reach said pattern.
I stand by everything I said earlier whether it's understood or not by some here,the more Chess knowledge and understanding one has,the stronger he or she will be and that's just a fact. Therefore my premise in my other comments rings true,understanding is of extreme importance if one aspires to be a strong Chess player.
(and I've been here 8+ years) I have to read his posts very slowly and carefully to get anything more than a very vague sense of what he's trying to say.
For example this
Just... wow.
What's the problem.
For example #144.
But yes, when you ignore most of what he says, and just get a general vibe from the sorts of words he's using, you can make some very basic sense out of it like you have to study to improve or something even a child could have told me.
But when you read his specific words it's just a mess.
2000 takes some talent, but I agree with Fezzik, not a whole lot. You said you got serious about 5 years ago, but before I say "five years is a long time, if you're still 1500 for the entire 5 years blah blah blah" I'd have to ask what do you mean by serious :) How many chess books have you read (entire chess books ;) and how many of your tournament games have you analysed? I don't mean analysed by, I reviewed it at the tourney and then put it into fritz and looked at what fritz said for 10 minutes. I mean analysing it yourself or with a stronger player for lets say at least an hour total.
It's funny that some tough players don't know certain techniques. Such as the B+N mate or perhaps another technical endgame. The reason such a player might beat you though is they're a better analyst over the board. Their evaluations are better and their calculation is cleaner (don't have to look at the same line 5 times) or more to the point (better moves considered, more bad moves dismissed).
There's no way to tell what you're doing wrong without knowing you and your chess pretty well. So the advice I (or someone else) might give will probably be hit and miss. If you want my opinion though...
I would recommend objectivity though. Look at your wins and losses and find your mistakes regardless of which side won in the end. It doesn't matter how clever your trap was or how many of your opponent's fall for it, if there was a subtle defense that left you in a bad position you can't play that way anymore. I would recommend you read a strategy book like Pachman's or Silman's Reassess Your Chess. After that resolve to play only the moves you truely believe are good. Not because they're sneaky, or aggressive, or they've worked in the past. Not because you assume your opponent will respond by defending, ignoring, counter attacking, etc. Just the individual move by itself you have to like, and you can only start to do that with some strategic knowledge.
That and tactics. Not timed tactics. Solve puzzles until you get them right. This will improve your calculation making it cleaner (you eventually won't be looking at the same line over and over to re-check it).
good advice.
Thanks.
That's me from years ago. I didn't re-read it, but I'm sure I said something reasonable
(and I've been here 8+ years) I have to read his posts very slowly and carefully to get anything more than a very vague sense of what he's trying to say.
For example this
Just... wow.
What's the problem. A complete logical and understandable post. There's only one point to critizise. "Unconscious" and "Subconscious" are terms from freudian theory. They should be replaced by the more fruitful and better term automatic thinking or automatic information processing.
Is this presentation of the content easier to read?
We need knowledge to think. Chess knowledge is knowing features of a position and how to act around that features. If we have trained or practised enough to do it automatically we are able to calculate.
B.e. we must know what a mate is to develop the conept of back rank mate and seeing this in a line.
The problem is that for whatever reason he doesn't like me and so he's hating on me,I am speaking proper English,maybe he doesn't understand too well that's not my problem so why take it out on me, honestly he's not worth my time since he's so petty and immature, I will be ignoring him from here on out. I mean someone's gotta be the "bigger man" right.
Also he disagrees with my opinion so instead of doing the mature thing and agreeing to disagree he has to be a big baby about it and get petty and poke fun at my improper grammar etc. Dude this is the internet not a college English course,lighten up,...like seriously?
(and I've been here 8+ years) I have to read his posts very slowly and carefully to get anything more than a very vague sense of what he's trying to say.
For example this
Just... wow.
What's the problem. A complete logical and understandable post. There's only one point to critizise. "Unconscious" and "Subconscious" are terms from freudian theory. They should be replaced by the more fruitful and better term automatic thinking or automatic information processing.
Is this presentation of the content easier to read?
We need knowledge to think. Chess knowledge is knowing features of a position and how to act around that features. If we have trained or practised enough to do it automatically we are able to calculate.
B.e. we must know what a mate is to develop the conept of back rank mate and seeing this in a line.
The problem is that for w/e reason he doesn't like me and so he's hating on me,I am speaking proper English,maybe he doesn't understand too well that's not my problem so why take it on me,not worth my time,he's being petty,I will be ignoring him from here on out. I mean someone's gotta be the "bigger man" right.
Also he disagrees with my opinion so instead of doing the mature thing and agreeing to disagree he has to be a big baby about it and get petty and poke fun at my improper grammar etc. Dude this is the internet not a college English course,lighten up,...like seriously?
Also in terms of what else you wrote,I tend to agree with you but others don't. Everything is understood consciously,therefore these "patterns" that are stored in your subconscious mind are already known and fully understood. I don't know, the whole disagreement started because they believe that understanding isn't all that important in good Chess,I strongly disagreed with that but most people on the internet can't take it when you disagree with them so out comes the childish behavior etc.
All that stuff ya'll said about me was uncalled for but as I said, I'm not going to stoop to your level, I'll just be ignoring them from here on out. My advice to both of you and you know who you are, is to grow up and learn to disagree with people civilly instead of doing that crap you pulled a few days ago, it's a public forum and realize that not everyone thinks like you think K?
Buy the amount of weed necessary to hold you stoned for the next 6 months. Sit at home and practice chess every day while stoning. Copy This strategy and you will be there in no time.
Yall are bots
Luck.
Yes, "luck" was Capa's answer. 10/10
I do enjoy trying to untangle sentences though. It's like a puzzle.
Let me re-write the portion I quoted above.
"I have reservations regarding your idea that chess performance is mostly subconscious. However if you're only speaking for yourself, then maybe I can agree. I can imagine how the patterns you've taken time to understand are then internalized so that they aid your conscious efforts to evaluate and calculate during a game."
But if it takes 5 minutes to read 3 sentences, then... yeah. It's really hilariously bad writing.