A big reason why chess improvement is so complex nowadays is our tendency to overcomplicate things (especially common with adults!). A more hidden way to do that is to always try to find specific takeaways – even when there are none.
Especially when watching engine based, forced lines, often the only takeaway is the following:
Chess is hard, engines are way stronger than us, none of that made sense but it worked due to brute force calculation.
Read that as many times as you need to.
It’s About Passed Pawns
I recently made a YouTube video trying to prove that point. I go over a position with lines so absurd I still laugh out loud when I see them. If you haven’t seen it yet, it is worth watching for the absolute beauty of these lines (and maybe the most absurd defensive move I’ve ever seen).
Here I was thinking I found the perfect position where nobody would try to figure out a broadly applicable takeaway.
I was wrong. This is a comment I got:
Shoot. Seems I have to try harder.
Why Wrong Takeaways Are So Bad
The reason why I’m so passionate about bringing this simple point accross is simple:
Wrong takeaways destroy your game.
I see way too many players that are crazily confused and overwhelmed because they try to apply so many half-baked, mostly wrong, takeaways into their game. It makes calculation way harder, as “let me see if I don’t underestimate the value of a passed pawn” is super difficult to apply.
Especially if you still hang pieces, once again, the only takeaway is:
Stop hanging pieces.
That is often hard to swallow, because we think chess is this super complex, deep game, when often, it is rather simple.
You Have To Save Yourself
Here is my response to Juraj:
Once again, proud of myself for the clarity of the message I thought I hit the nail on the coffin.
I should know better. Here is Juraj’s final message:
Which is a good reminder of a much broader takeaway:
If you don’t want to listen, nobody can save you.
Or in chess terms:
Are you ready to accept chess improvement is simple yet very difficult?
Keep improving,
GM Noël Studer
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